Google.org
Google.org is the charitable arm of Internet search engine company Google.
The organization has committed over $100 million in investments and grants as of May 2010. To fund the organization, Google granted them 3 million shares during their initial public offering. As of August 2011, Google.org's 3 million shares have an approximate value of $1.58 billion. Google has also pledged to contribute one percent of their annual profits to their charitable organizations.[1]
Among its first projects is to develop a mass produced plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that can attain 100 mpg (miles per gallon) (see vehicle-to-grid).[2]
In November 2007, Google.org announced RE<C (Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal), a project that will invest upwards of several hundred million dollars in order to produce renewable energy at a profit from wind and solar sources, particularly solar thermal energy. RE<C, as the name suggests, has the ultimate goal of creating more than a gigawatt of power (enough to power a city the size of San Francisco) from renewable sources that would be cheaper than energy produced from coal.[3]
The director from 2006 until 2009 was Dr. Larry Brilliant.[4] Upon stepping down, Brilliant was replaced by Megan Smith, Google's Vice-President of new business development, and the organization began focusing on creating engineering solutions to global problems with projects such as Google Flu Trends and Crisis Response, an effort to respond to natural disasters.[5]
The company maintained high levels of giving while waiting to see what engineering solutions it could develop. In 2010, Google gave over $145 million to non-profits and academic institutions.[6] In the same year, Google was named the Bay Area's top corporate philanthropist by the San Francisco Business Times for giving $27.6 million to Bay Area charities.[7] Charitable funds come from Google.org, the Google Foundation and the company itself.
The Head of Advocacy and Communications of Google.org, Jacquelline Fuller, is member of the International Advisory Board of the African Press Organization (APO).
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[edit] Major initiatives
Google.org's five major initiatives, announced in January 2008, are:[8]
- Develop renewable energy cheaper than coal (RE<C): create utility-scale electricity from clean renewable energy sources that is cheaper than electricity produced from coal.
- Accelerate the commercialization of plug-in electric vehicles (RechargeIT): seed innovation, demonstrate technology, inform the debate, and stimulate market demand to foster mass commercialization of plug-in vehicles.
- Predict and Prevent: identify "hot spots" and enable rapid response to emerging threats, such as infectious disease and climate risk.
- Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services: use information to empower citizens and communities, providers, and policymakers to improve the delivery of essential public services (such as education, health, water and sanitation) in the developing world.
- Fuel the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: increase the flow of risk capital to small and medium-sized businesses in the developing world.
[edit] Renewable energy
In 2008, Google.org joined a number of renewable energy initiatives, including:
- investing $130 million in eSolar for solar thermal plants
- presenting at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum-Wall Street, held June 18–19, 2008 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Google.org Climate Change and Energy Initiatives Director, Dan Reicher, will chair the opening remarks.[9]
- investing $10 million in Makani Power for kite systems that tap into jetstreams
- Filing a patent application for floating data centers powered by wave power.[10]
- invested in AltaRock Energy, first U.S. demonstration project of Enhanced Geothermal Systems to create renewable energy through geothermal power.[11]
[edit] Google Foundation
Google.org also manages the Google Foundation.[12] The foundation was founded earlier, with Google's help and with similar stated goals, and is a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
Its board consists of Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. The two officer positions, besides Brilliant's as executive director, are both held by Gregory Miller, Google.org's Senior Advisor & Chief of Investments.
Google contributes services of some of its own employees to the foundation's work, and also funded the foundation with $90 million late in 2005.
[edit] See also
- Low cost solar cell
- v2g
- Google PowerMeter
- The Final Inch
- World Day Against Cyber Censorship, Netizen Prize
[edit] References
- ^ "About Us". google.org. http://www.google.org/about.html. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- ^ Hafner, Katie (2006-09-14). "Philanthropy Google’s Way: Not the Usual". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/technology/14google.html. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- ^ "Powering a clean energy revolution". Google. 2007-11-27. http://www.google.com/corporate/green/energy/. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Google Names Larry Brilliant as Executive Director of Google.org". Google, Inc.. http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/brilliant.html. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- ^ Google Chief for Charity Steps Down on Revamp
- ^ Tech for good - catching up on Google.org
- ^ Google named Bay Area's top corporate philanthropist
- ^ Google.org
- ^ "Renewable Energy Finance Forum-Wall Street". reffwallstreet.org. http://www.reffwallstreet.com. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ http://thoughtsonglobalwarming.blogspot.com/2008/09/google-files-patent-for-wave-powered.html
- ^ Huang, Gregory. "Why Vulcan, Google, and ATV Are Backing AltaRock Energy, Betting on Next-Gen Geothermal". Xconomy. http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2008/08/21/why-vulcan-google-and-atv-are-backing-altarock-energy-betting-on-next-gen-geothermal/. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^ http://www.google.org/about.html
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Google Foundation
- Project 10100 (10100 = googol)
- Google Finds It Hard to Reinvent Philanthropy
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