hacker philanthropy
/ˈhakər/ fəˈlanTHrəpē/
noun – term used to describe a new generation of philanthropists who are working to solve the world’s most pressing problems
Sean Parker speaks onstage during the launch of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
Based in Oakland, California, FCP is just a short drive away from some of the world’s most forward-thinking and cutting edge companies that call Silicon Valley home. We hear people talk about being innovative a lot. And I mean a lot. Another bromide firmly embedded in Bay Area zeitgeist is the concept of “hacker culture,” which generally refers to technologist, engineers and inventors working to innovate on our break up the status quote. But lately, in our conversations with clients with reporters, we are hearing a new term come up with increasing frequency: “hacker philanthropy.”
Coined by Facebook investor billionaire Sean Parker, the term “hacker philanthropy” is meant to describe a new kind of philanthropist. Parker recently described the paradigm shift to the Financial Times: “I don’t even see it as giving away money as much as trying to solve a set of social or political problems that are not easily addressable with for-profit companies and investments.” Recently, Parker pledged $250 million to reshape the field of cancer immunology through the new Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. Similarly, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged up to $1 billion shares of their Facebook stock to advance human potential and promote equality. Others in Parker and Zuckerberg’s cohort like Netflix’s Reed Hastings and Salesforce’s Marc Benioff have made similar pledges of support to some of the world’s most pressing problems.
According to an op-ed by Parker in the Wall Street Journal, “hackers share certain values: an antiestablishment bias, a belief in radical transparency, a nose for sniffing out vulnerabilities in systems, a desire to ‘hack’ complex problems usingelegant technological and social solutions, and an almost religious belief in the power of data to aid in solving these problems.” Hacker philanthropists are applying these principals to philanthropy in the hopes of catalyzing more concrete change in the world.
So what does this mean for us non-billionaires? For one, it sets a positive example for future generations of business leaders. Hopefully, we continue to see fewer Gordon Geckos in the world and see more people using their platform of wealth and status to cultivate good in the world. Secondly, I am inclined to agree with Sean Parker that the new model of hacker philanthropy will yield much higher results in philanthropic investment.
From where we sit at FCP, we are excited to watch the currently nascent concept of hacker philanthropy take shape. We are also inspired by our current clients who are already disrupting their corners of the philanthropic world. For instance, former Amazon and Microsoft exec David Risher co-founded Worldreader to create a more literate world. Worldreader has successfully provided more than 2.7 million digital books to children throughout Africa and India.
Hacker philanthropy will not only continue to be a discussion in media, particularly among those on the Silicon Valley tech beat, but it will also affect our clients. Perhaps pledges from Parker, Zuckerberg and Chan will result in the creation of more non-profits in the bay area. Only time will tell, but we are excited to watch this growing trend take shape.