New Directions at Google.org

The New York Times reports that Larry Brilliant will be stepping down as executive director of Google.org and taking on the role of chief philanthropy evangelist at Google.

Brilliant explains the move in a blog post and gives some clues about the new direction that Google's philanthropy department will be taking. "During our review it became clear that while we have been able to support some remarkable non-profit organizations over the past three years, our greatest impact has come when we've attacked problems in ways that make the most of Google's strengths in technology and information." He's referring to projects that have leveraged Google's programming capabilities like Google Flu Trends, RechargeIT, and Google PowerMeter.

Brilliant's indication seems to be that Google's philanthropic focus will be more on collaborative projects like these and less on direct grants. Some people are cynical: as the New York Times article quotes Siva Vaidhyanathan, "The habits and ideology of the company will lead the philanthropy rather than the needs of the communities or the planet."

Nathaniel at Change.org is more hopeful. "More than anything else, Google unlocks the power of information," he says. "It's not hard to understand how that core capacity could be the driving force behind their entire philanthropic strategy." Nathaniel discusses the changing world of philanthropy, and highlights the importance of cooperation between nonprofits and for-profits — not just monetary support — in effecting scalable change. Of course, none of this will impact Google's free and discounted services for nonprofits (previously discussed).

For more on Google and philanthropy, check out Jim and Becky's excellent article.

Photo: missha

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