Editor's Corner: The Virtuous Circle of Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy
Damon Vangelis
Issue date: 10/29/01 Section: Editor's Corner
This issue of The Reporter features Bill Hewlett’s life as a model for entrepreneurs and business leaders seeking a way to give something back to the community. As we prepared this feature, we reflected on the lessons that could be gleaned from it.
We were most struck by the concept of the “virtuous circle” of entrepreneurship and philanthropy, which we believe provides a powerful motivation for men and women to pursue business careers. It demonstrates a direct relationship between business and public service – and in the process infuses a business career with something more than a simple financial bottom-line. It evokes a grander purpose and vision – something the noted Catholic Theologian Michael Novak has characterized as “Business as a Calling.”
We were also struck by the emphasis Bill Hewlett placed on education – perhaps the most important element in building “human capital”, and something that, as John Stuart Mill argued long ago, strengthens democracy.
Hewlett had a very close connection to Stanford, his alma mater. As a student in the early 1930s, he studied under Frederick Terman, a leading expert at the time in the field of radio engineering. It was Terman who is credited with encouraging Hewlett and Packard to start a business.
Later in life, as Hewlett became successful in business, he provided considerable support to the university. In 1994, both he and David Packard donated $12.5 million to Stanford to establish the Frederick Terman Fellowship, honoring their mentor. And this past spring – a few months after his death – the Hewlett Foundation made the single largest gift ever to an American institution of higher learning: a $400 million grant to Stanford. Three-quarters of the grant will be reserved for the School of Humanities and Sciences; $100 million for scholarships and undergraduate programs.
We also learned more about how the Hewlett Foundation – as one of the largest philanthropies in the world with assets of $5.5 billion – establishes tests for success. This has been a challenge that private grant-making foundations have faced ever since they were first created by the likes of Carnegie and Rockefeller in the late 19th century.
We were most struck by the concept of the “virtuous circle” of entrepreneurship and philanthropy, which we believe provides a powerful motivation for men and women to pursue business careers. It demonstrates a direct relationship between business and public service – and in the process infuses a business career with something more than a simple financial bottom-line. It evokes a grander purpose and vision – something the noted Catholic Theologian Michael Novak has characterized as “Business as a Calling.”
We were also struck by the emphasis Bill Hewlett placed on education – perhaps the most important element in building “human capital”, and something that, as John Stuart Mill argued long ago, strengthens democracy.
Hewlett had a very close connection to Stanford, his alma mater. As a student in the early 1930s, he studied under Frederick Terman, a leading expert at the time in the field of radio engineering. It was Terman who is credited with encouraging Hewlett and Packard to start a business.
Later in life, as Hewlett became successful in business, he provided considerable support to the university. In 1994, both he and David Packard donated $12.5 million to Stanford to establish the Frederick Terman Fellowship, honoring their mentor. And this past spring – a few months after his death – the Hewlett Foundation made the single largest gift ever to an American institution of higher learning: a $400 million grant to Stanford. Three-quarters of the grant will be reserved for the School of Humanities and Sciences; $100 million for scholarships and undergraduate programs.
We also learned more about how the Hewlett Foundation – as one of the largest philanthropies in the world with assets of $5.5 billion – establishes tests for success. This has been a challenge that private grant-making foundations have faced ever since they were first created by the likes of Carnegie and Rockefeller in the late 19th century.