@Shawn. “First, as I can see from some of the comments, people seem to suggest that I’m saying Steve Jobs and/or Apple is “bad” for not doing this. No company is obligated to donate to charity. Period.”
You might not have said it but the whole tone and wording of this column starting with the title, is slanted to imply exactly that feeling. And comments like ‘they aren’t the leader they should be’ just add to the whole ‘Apple is Bad’.

What I wonder is just how many major companies ARE on your ‘good’ list. I suspect that Apple isn’t the only villain.

@Pedro “Returning to Apple, it’s in the interest of companies to take care of the communities where they operate,”

Indeed. And Apple does that. In dozens of ways. Just a few days ago I helped my sister take 30 second graders to an apple store for their own private class. Cost to the school, the bus to get them there. They paid Apple nada. Apple openly welcomes the LGBT community to work in their stores and yes they did strongly oppose Prop 8. They are working to improve their environmental practices. and yes they are responding to the Foxconn issue as best they can given they have no legal authority in China.

@G.Irish. Do you have access to Apple’s internal policies. you must if you KNOW that they don’t do any kind of charity work. For all we know they do, they just don’t trumpet it around.

@charli – this isn’t about a “good” vs “bad” list. I’m just talking about who is the leader – which is clearly something you can measure just like many now consider Apple to be the #1 tech company.

@charli, thank you for bringing an example of how Apple gives back to the community. There are many others for sure. The environmental policies are other part of CSR.
As I said earlier, big projects regarding CSR take lots of time and an entire department working on it, Apple is doing its part in the CSR and their practices seem to show it.
Founding NGO to help eradicate poverty is an all different dimension and can’t be taken lightly, if Apple sees themselves in the condition to work in that area, I think it has the profile to embrace the challange.

Shawn seems to be suggesting that global poverty is a more deserving cause than US education. I disagree. I think that the two causes are equally deserving, and that it is okay for Apple to put all its efforts into one, rather than dividing its efforts in two.

Apple has been an education champion for almost 35 years. Apple is almost 35.

@charli I can backup @G.Irish’s claim in the global poverty sector. Most of my contacts from UN agencies to multinational charities don’t ever recall Apple ever making a charitable contribution to them. That’s different from saying Apple hasn’t issued a press release and is doing charity on global poverty in secret.

And, yes, you are absolutely right regarding Apple’s great policy towards LGBT issues and US education. In no point of this blog post did I say Apple is evil, uncaring, bad or doesn’t care about helping others. I’m just saying they aren’t a leader and are most likely ignoring the biggest cause in our world today. This is in stark contrast to the previous #1 tech company.

@Pedro – nice chatting. Was hoping my comment would be approved before you had to go. I was basically going to cite the blog post “Apple Gear Shines in Fight Against Global Poverty” which is about my work and a YouTube video “The Disregarded Disaster in Bangladesh” on my YouTube channel which highlights how Apple gear can be used in developing countries. I’ve just only scratched the surface.

@Steve – I agree that the two are equally deserving of attention (albeit are problems on different scales).

I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. For the record, Microsoft did both.

@Esteban – Thanks for the comment. Thought I’d respond to a few points you made :)

First, most of my examples that Microsoft is doing are examples of things they are doing with charities and NGOs. They usually don’t have any special strings attached – any more than any other company or NGO agreement.

So, second, you’re in a much better position to speak to Microsoft’s agreements with governments. I’m sure they probably throw in a lot of strings because they are worried about corruption. Maybe not in Brazil – but in other developing countries. But, again, I don’t know for sure.

Finally, when I say Apple doesn’t contribute much if anything in the fight against global poverty – it’s NOT that I simply looked at their press releases. I’ve been asking many organizations and many contacts in my travels. I’ve also talked with some Apple employees who tried to help me – but didn’t find any charitable programs for global poverty.

Best :)

Shawn, sorry for my english, I just saw a few typos I made and reading it again, I don’t think I made myself clear enough in my writting.
When I say strings attached I meant to say that programs I know microsoft used to support – not necessarily government programs, but NGO’s, charities and other programs – here in Brasil, just sufered cuts or stopped receiving funds, after the Brazilian Government decided to go open source. It’s like they were being punished for the Goverment (as I said, probably Microsoft’s biggest client here in Brasil) not buying windows and office licenses anymore. That’s why I say I don’t like this approach and couldn’t praise Microsoft.
I didn’t say you looked at press releases or anything like that, and let me be very clear, kudos to you for the work you do, really, and also for bringing this up, and make us have discussions about this. I just I said I don’t know what they do or don’t do, because Apple is a very secretive organization on almost every level, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do some work on this end and just don’t go out saying what they do, like was the case with greenpeace and better enviromental practices.
Once again, all the best.

@Henry – you may not be able to find a figure for Microsoft, but that’s also because Microsoft does far more than cut checks. They partner with charities (like NetHope), the develop technologies that charities and aid workers on the ground can use (like CARE in Kenya), they match donations of employees, and have a dedicated response program for natural disasters in developing countries.

I think when a company as large as Apple reaches their position then the company transcends the normal responsibilities that a company adheres to. Apple are in a position to not only make a difference to the economic infrastructure of the planet (i.e. sort it out) but have the chance to improve and possibly save lives. This sort of potential is not within the grasp of most companies who are simply trying to make a profit and make it to the next year. Apple, like Microsoft, have made it and it would be a great example to others if Apple developed a strong moral backbone to go along with their strong business structure.

I find it a bit baffling that so many people are defending Apples apparent non-charity approach and lack of social responsibility. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer; Apple can help break this trend.

Well done Microsoft – credit where credits due. Bill gates realises that you can’t take it with you when you are gone – better to spend it now and make a difference.

You should note that while Apple did surpass Microsft in Stock market value, Microsoft is still a much more profitable company, whose assets are far greater than those of Apple. With this in mind, it’s only appropriate for Microsoft to be the “big giver”… They need the tax break.

Some people here are saying that Apple does not “have to” donate to charity. You’re right, they don’t have to; Neither does Microsoft. But as a consumer, I get to choose where to send my money, and if I like/dislike the way a company conducts themselves in the world, that can be a factor in my decision. Thank you Shawn for bringing this to our attention.

I’m a bit of an Apple Fangirl, and I’ve often thought of Microsoft as the big bad greedy company and Apple as the hip young cool company. This post has made me reevaluate my assumptions.

Spiritually, I knew from Apple’s beginnings that Steve Jobs and his company were solely about greed. I have never purchased a Mac, IPod, or IPhone and never will as long as that spiritual aura of GREED hangs over Apple. From their start, you could tell they were a greedy bunch due to the pricing model of their products. Most of their products are out of reach for the average John Doe working average 9 to 5 jobs.

It is disgraceful that Apple is the top tech company right now and with all that money fail to promote and give to charities. But spiritual law will soon manifest to show that those who much is given who fail to give back will reap what they have sown.

Search for philantropy + bill gates + monsanto on Google and see how generous Bill Gates really is.

Seems like creating thousands of jobs around the world is a most excellent way to fight poverty.