Many who struck it rich in tech field have given back

SAN FRANCISCO — For decades, corporate philanthropy in America was synonymous with financial icons Carnegie, Rockefeller and Vanderbilt.

But technology fortunes have joined in. Hewlett- Packard cofounder William Hewlett and his wife, Flora, set up a private foundation in 1967. The Hewlett Foundation, with grants to educational and cultural institutions, is one of the largest grantgiving entities in the U. S., with assets of more than $ 7 billion.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, named after HP’S other founder, David Packard, was started in 1964 to focus on science and conservation. It has assets of $ 5.4 billion. “Charitable work was a natural extension of the HP Way of giving back to the community,” says Peter Hero, founder of the Hero Group, a philanthropy- consulting firm.

Microsoft co- founder Bill Gates and his wife created the Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation, which has granted $ 26 billion to health and development causes. An armada of Microsoft employees, who struck it rich as the software giant’s stock soared, decided to give back, setting up a number of charitable entities.

Tech’s legacy lives on through entrepreneur Steve Kirsch and such CEOS as Linkedin’s Reid Hoffman and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. In 2010, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated $ 100 million to Newark public schools, a struggling district that could use the money to become a laboratory for reforms.

Some boast a celebrity pedigree. The Office’s Rainn Wilson backs Mona Foundation, a nonprofit championed by onlinemarketing platform Reply. com. The foundation backs grassroots educational initiatives across the world, with a focus on women. “It’s about finding a cause, not necessarily a charity, you believe it,” Wilson says.

In his first book, Compassionate Capitalism, Salesforce. com CEO Marc Benioff insisted philanthropy should be integrated into every business. He created the Salesforce. com Foundation, donating 1% of Salesforce’s equity, 1% of annual profit and 1% of employees’ paid time ( six days a year) for volunteer work. The foundation has assets of about $ 20 million. ( Google later implemented the same model to donate $ 115 million last year.)

Benioff, who has met ebay founder Pierre Omidyar at charitable functions, and wife Lynne donated $ 100 million to the construction of the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Mission Bay. They also just gave $ 1.5 million to San Francisco charities to set up housing for homeless families. “Personal philosophy about philanthropy changes as you get older. Maybe you’re touched by something you read or see,” Benioff says. “Above all, you must maintain focus on what you support.”