1. Notes: 52 / 1 year ago  from bijan
   bijan sabet: Penniless Philanthropist

   I recently heard the expression “penniless philanthropist”. The idea is you can help people without writing a check. You can donate your time & energy instead. It can be rewarding and you can make an impact. The essential ingredients are working on causes you believe in and with people you love.

   I want to like this idea, but it has a fatal flaw. Helping a non-profit or a good cause helps a group thats ultimate purpose is to ‘do good’. A start-up’s ultimate purpose is to make money, go public, reward the VCs & angel investors, etc. So if one opts to help a start-up, they are choosing to give free time/labor/effort to someone’s else’s profit possibility. In the case of angel & VC funding, one would be helping already rich people become more rich. Nothing wrong with that (I guess), if someone REALLY REALLY loves the vision/concept & doesn’t mind being taken for a ride. 

   Contrast that with helping a non-profit or ‘good cause’: exert your time/effort/labor/etc and who is the main beneficiary? The cause of the non-profit, whether it be starving children in Africa or homeless in America or polar bears or whatever.

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      want to like this idea, but it has a fatal flaw. Helping a non-profit or a good cause helps a group thats ultimate...

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       bijan sabet: Penniless Philanthropist

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