Google.org Puts $25 Mln Toward Philanthropy

Google's philanthropic organization Google.org is expanding beyond funding alternative energy development towards battling poverty and climate change.

Internet giant Google also operates Google.org, a “hybrid philanthropy” organization which puts one percent of Google’s equity and profits towards philanthropic endeavors, as well as the time and expertise of its employees. Some of these initiatives are traditional non-profit and humanitarian organizations, but others are for-profit ventures. Google.org had been primarily focused on assisting the development of alternative energy technologies, but yesterday Google announced the division will put about $25 million in new grants towards combating global poverty, climate change, and other emerging threats like environmental disasters and new diseases.

Google.org’s new initiatives fall into five broad categories: to predict and prevent diseases and environmental catastrophes, improve education and public services, spur growth of small- the medium-sized businesses, developer renewable energy resources, and speed commercialization of hybrid electric vehicles.

“These five initiatives are our attempt to address some of the hard problems we as a world need to face in the coming decade,” said Google.org executive director Dr. Larry Brilliant. “We have chosen them both because we think solving them will make a better, fairer, safer world for our children and grandchildren—and the children and grandchildren of people all over the world—but also because we feel that these core initiatives fit well with Google’s core strengths, especially its innovative technologies and its talented engineers and other Googlers, who are really our most valuable assets.”

Google.org’s new grants include $5 million to Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases, and Disasters (InSTEDD) to improve early detection and responses to emerging global health threats, $2.5 million to the Global Health and Security Initiative (GHSI) to strengthen disease surveillance in southeast Asia, a $2 million grant to Indian non-profit Pratham to conduct country-wide assessment of education efforts, along with $4.7 million to TechnoServe to support business development in Ghana and Tanzania, and $10 million to California’s eSolar, which is working on a solar-powered replacement for a traditional power plant boiler.

Google.org has taken some flak for its scale, with some pundits wondering how much good can be done with a token amount like one percent of Google’s equity and revenue. Google.org, however, believes results matter more than the numbers, and hopes its choices of where and how to expend its money and resources will speak for themselves.