Sorry to let the cat out of the bag so soon, but I think the straight answer to this question is no, Amazon does not have an obligation to philanthropy. However, before I go any further let me get two things clear: yes, we do have Amazon employees who volunteer at Jolkona; no, I’m not one of them.

In case you were on the moon (with Jeff Bezos’s private aerospace company perhaps), the issue of Amazon’s apparent absence in the philanthropic life of its hometown (Seattle) featured in an article belonging to a wider four-part series by the Seattle Times questioning some of the company’s practices.

View from an Amazon office building, South Lake Union, Seattle. Photo credit: Flickr, Cliff Hung

First of all, I don’t really wish to comment on the other issues regarding Amazon’s ethics of business, mainly because capitalism doesn’t strike me as a particularly ethical system in the first place. It’s a paradoxical argument, in my view. And secondly, because we’re talking about philanthropy here, not business. Which is precisely my point.

The truth is, a company has legal obligations to its shareholders, employees, customers, and…. well that’s about it.

At the heart of philanthropy is not corporate business. At the heart of philanthropy is the individual promoting the well-being of man-kind. Businesses, though, are about people, and so one could argue that it would be beneficial for them to care about the well-being of the community and people they serve.

But as we’ve seen the foundation of almost every business is a visionary individual. Likewise, the foundation of almost every non-profit is not thanks to a corporation, but to a single person with a single mission. A case in point, of course, is our own CEO, Adnan Mahmud, who started Jolkona whilst simultaneously holding down a full time product manager position at Microsoft.

Microsoft, though, is a good example of a large corporate business that does encourage philanthropic participation from its employees, offering donation matching, volunteer matching, and pro-bono software to non-profits, among other company wide philanthropic initiatives. The question, then, becomes can businesses like Amazon become serious participants in encouraging individuals towards philanthropy and they themselves as a company promoting the well-being of others? Absolutely they can. And there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that they indeed should.

According to a study by Corporate Citizenship 85% of Americans have a more positive image of a product or a company when it supports a cause they care about. Whilst 79% of Americans say they would switch from one brand to another if the other brand is associated with a good cause. It’s hardly rocket science, but in a nutshell: a company is likely to make more money if they are seen to be connected to philanthropic causes. Tom’s shoes is an excellent example of this.

The gain for Amazon, then, in theory, should be greater profitability. But if philanthropy equates to profitability, then one might ask why has Amazon not done more for philanthropic initiatives in its own community. Clearly, though, they’ve assessed what is most profitable for them, and at the moment they seem to be saying corporate philanthropy is not the direction they want to go in. You can’t criticize them for that. Can we criticize them ethically, though? We can question them, yes. But I still don’t believe corporate businesses have obligations to philanthropy. Whether or not, though, Amazon will suffer an eventual consumerist backlash is yet to be determined.

The possibility remains that if Amazon becomes more philanthropic it could improve its own bottom line, which in turn would be a win win situation for shareholders and the community.

Does Amazon have a obligation to philanthropy? No. Might Amazon benefit from taking part in philanthropic activities? Very possibly, yes. Could Amazon have a big impact on the philanthropic community? Absolutely they could.  But again, I personally believe philanthropy is more about the individual, not corporate business. Non-profits need and value the help of corporate businesses, but we must rely on ourselves to better the world around us.

Don’t ask what Amazon can do for philanthropy. Ask what you yourself can do for philanthropy.

Be the change you want to see in the world here.

This post was written by Gabriel St. John.  He is a volunteer with Jolkona and contributes and manages the blog.  He has a Masters of Research degree in European Languages and Culture. He hails all the way from Cornwall, England, where he studied at the University of Exeter.

Motrin

This guest post was written by Derya Rose, on behalf of Yachana Foundation, a Jolkona Foundation partner.

Evenings in rural Ecuador are often filled with the familiar whirring of diesel generators, providing a little bit of power to communities off the country’s main electricity grid. When these machines are off, the soft glow of candles fills the night. Families cooking, students studying and children playing – all by candlelight.

Although this environment may seem charming (after all, candlelight often inspires romantic thoughts), it presents a real burden to the rural poor. Families not only pay up to $270 per year for candles, they also encounter frequent burns as well as accidentally set fire to their houses on occasion. Add strained eyes from reading in dim light to the equation, and one can see that this situation isn’t quite as charming.

Founded by Douglas McMeekin, the Yachana Foundation has been operating in the Ecuadorian Amazon since 1991.  Recently, Douglas found out about an innovative, flexible mini solar panel that was designed specifically for use by the rural poor, or who Douglas calls, the people that live at the base of the economic pyramid.  This solar panel, which contains no glass and is virtually unbreakable, provides clean power to four useful accessories. The first is an LED lamp, which can be recharged over 500 times and can last between six and thirty hours per charge, depending on the intensity selected. This product alone can easily solve many of the economic, health and environmental problems posed by candle use. Other accessories include rechargeable radio batteries, a mobile phone charger and a spare battery pack, each with its own set of economic, social and environmental benefits.

We at Yachana found in these products an opportunity to operate a triple bottom line distribution business. First, the end user would enjoy the benefits described above (and more), allowing them to invest more money on their kids’ educations, health, clothes, businesses and so on.  Next, the environment would benefit from tons less spent on the disposal of wax as well as millions of used batteries being discarded.  Lastly, 100% of the business’ profits would go to support the Yachana Technical High School.

Right now, with the help of various government agencies, we are rolling out this product regionally and aim to offer it in all regions of Ecuador within the next year. 

If you would like more information about how you can support Yachana and it’s various community development initiatives, please contact Hugh Yarbrough at hugh.yarbrough@yachana.org.ec

	Preserve Amazon Rainforest