What do you do when you are a successful businessman, an investor with a fortune worth billions? You crowdsource ideas for your philanthropy plans, if any. Amazon's Jeff Bezos must have thought just that before tweeting an interesting request to thousands of his followers on Thursday.
The founder, chairman and CEO of the world's largest online shopping retailer – Amazon.com – wanted some ideas to do good in the world, ideas which demand urgent action and would have a lasting impact. Bezos is already invested in various long-term personal plans in non-profit companies such as Blue Origin space firm and The Washington Post, a contrast to his latest appeal for "helping people in the here and now".
The active community on Twitter jumped right in to help Bezos out with his quest for charitable ideas. His post on Twitter did not reveal how much of his wealth is would be willing to dedicate to charity work, which is not surprising, considering the lack of public information on his philanthropy.
"I'm thinking I want much of my philanthropic activity to be helping people in the here and now — short term — at the intersection of urgent need and lasting impact," Bezos tweeted on Thursday.
Request for ideas… pic.twitter.com/j6D68mhseL
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) June 15, 2017
His reference to the work done at Mary's Place in Seattle was Amazon's recent commitment to provide a homeless shelter for families – called Mary's Place – with a permanent home in a new Amazon office building, construction of which is due to start later this year. Bezos is looking for similar short-term philanthropy ideas with the said "lasting imact".
Bezos's tweet has attracted more than 15,000 replies in about 14 hours. We've picked out the top ones below:
These things are mostly fought by small and sometimes local charities, and they never have the funding they need to make a big impact
— Tom Coates (@tomcoates) June 15, 2017
If we can keep them going and support them through these incredibly difficult teen years they can thrive and contribute.
— Tom Coates (@tomcoates) June 15, 2017
Including @amazon are struggling to find the diverse skilled workforce they need. We need a new college that provides high quality education
— Sylvain Kalache (@SylvainKalache) June 15, 2017
They've already been trainer with taxpayer dollars. Highly skilled and motivated.
— Jake Wood (@JakeWoodTR) June 15, 2017
One step back: Fund comprehensive, sex-inclusive sex ed. Almost immediate drops in unwanted pregnancies & teen sexual violence.
— Helen Rosner (@hels) June 15, 2017
Help pay off student loans. They keep so many from raising their credit score: getting a better job, buying a home or car. Instant impact.
— April (@ReignOfApril) June 16, 2017
Seriously, African innovations can bring a lot of Africans out of poverty. Free AWS accounts for 3 years for most African startups will help
— Victor Asemota (@asemota) June 15, 2017
The lifetime costs of child abuse are $210k for each victim. Think about all the $ that will be saved if we PREVENT abuse before it happens!
— Childhelp (@Childhelp) June 15, 2017
If you think you have an idea that could make a difference, reply to Bezos's tweet. You can also tag IBTimes, India, and we might feature it in our article.
