Sharing the Wealth Home Charitable Giving Five-Step Guide
   
Planning to Give
Making Charitable Giving Part of Your Financial Plan: A Five-Step Guide
Chris Farrell's Sound Money Guide to Sharing the Wealth
(PDF; Adobe Reader needed)
Questions to Ask
Profiles in Giving

Got A Million Dollars

Who Said That?

Resources
Glossary, Books & Web Sites
Facts & Figures
Further Research

Sharing the Wealth Summit
Summit Report
(PDF; Adobe Reader needed)
Summit Schedule
Online Audio
List of Speakers
List of Participants


FROM MPR NEWS
The Changing Face of Philanthropy in Minnesota:
a radio series on giving in the New Economy.
Guide Home | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Profile Index
   P R O F I L E S   I N   G I V I N G

FOCUSED ON GIVING
Jeffrey Skoll
Vice President of Strategic Planning & Analysis, eBay Inc.

 
Jeffrey Skoll
 

Three years ago, Jeffrey Skoll, then still paying off his college loans, was living off his credit cards after leaving a full-time job to help found and build eBay, an online auction company in San Jose, California, and one of the best-known Internet success stories to date.

With his newfound prosperity, Mr. Skoll, now 35 years old and the vice president of strategic planning and analysis for eBay, set up a $50-million charitable foundation to help others. (Separately, he also helped eBay establish a $40 million foundation.)

As a young boy in Montreal, he learned that helping others can also bring personal satisfaction. Each year when the river overflowed in his neighborhood, he pitched in to help with sandbagging efforts. "I've always been involved in the community in some way," he says, but major-league philanthropy is new to him: "Everybody goes through life wishing they could change things, and sometimes they say, 'If I ever make it, I'll come back and change it.' Even so, a lot of them who make it never do return. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to make an impact on some of the things I've addressed through my life."

  WORDS OF ADVICE
"In Silicon Valley, there are a lot of younger people who have done very well. But they are working 80- to 100-hour weeks, and they just don't have the time to give." He recommends they use a local community foundation. When he started out, he says, he received a lot of help from the Community Foundation Silicon Valley. Now an employee at the community foundation helps him administer his philanthropic activities.
 

The mission of his foundation is empowering people with the tools to improve their own lives. He makes it a point to focus on both local community needs, such as schools, and global needs. The Internet isn't constrained by geography, and neither is he. Among those who benefit from his philanthropy are indigenous people around the world who participate in People Link, an organization that helps native artisans sell their products online, increasing their control over their markets and profits and reducing the cost of middlemen. In addition to helping fund the organization, Mr.Skoll helped set up its Web site.


Guide Home | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Profile Index


Minnesota Public Radio Home     Search     Email  
© Copyright 2002 | Terms of Use  |  Privacy