The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a marketing tool, not a charity
▻https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/chan-zuckerberg-initiative-marketing-tool-charity-baselt-steiger
the Chan-Zuckerbergs have not pledged to donate anything. They’ve pledged to “give away” the huge majority of their Facebook shares, which is easy to mistake as the same thing. But the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is not a non-profit. It’s a limited liability company [*LLC] and it’s owned by Mark Zuckerberg. The Initiative is not obligated to donate anything to anyone. When the Chan-Zuckerbergs say they will “give away” their wealth, that *includes “giving it away” by investing in for-profit corporations, primarily ones focused on education technology: $5 million to MasteryConnect and $15 million to AltSchool last month alone.
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An LLC gives Zuckerberg much more control over the organization, and as far as I can tell, there’s not much to prevent the Initiative from “giving away” money to Big Oil and Haliburton down the road, if Zuckerberg decides that’s what he wants to do.
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The Initiative is different because it’s a company deliberately designed to look like a charity, but with none of the accountability or transparency that comes with being a charitable non-profit or private foundation.
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But Facebook’s quiet rebranding, thanks to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, is reminding users of Facebook as we used to perceive it: Facebook the Charity. Facebook the Charity is providing an always-free service to the public! Facebook the Charity is connecting you with your best friend from elementary school! Facebook the Charity reminds you to vote and facilitates donations during national disasters! Facebook the Charity lets you share cute cat videos to your heart’s content! We can trust Facebook the Charity!
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What I will say is that Mark Zuckerberg is smart. As a non-profit professional, I caution against the blurring of lines between true charities and for-profit companies whose products happen to make our lives a little easier or provide some amount of social value. But as a Facebook advertiser, I also open my arms wide and welcome the masses back to a seemingly trustworthy Facebook. Go ahead, tell Facebook everything about yourself—I’ve got a great ad to show you.
Article écrit par quelqu’un qui est Fundraiser and marketer in the non-profit sector