Assignment:
Creative Thinking Case
Geekcorps
A Peace Corps for techies? Ethan Zuckerman had a mission: to bring the technology revolution to developing countries such as Rwanda, Mongolia, Lebanon, Bulgaria, and Ghana, via techno-savvy volunteers.
Zuckerman, a 1993 graduate of Williams College, became an instant millionaire in 1999 when Lycos bought the online company where he served as vice president of research and development. A self-confessed nethead, he wanted to do something he believed was important.
Geekcorps (ww.geekcorps.com) was started February 2000 with $100,000 of Zuckerman's own money.
Seven months later, its first team of volunteers was at work in Accra, Ghana, where Zuckerman had spent time on a Fulbright fellowship. Geekcorps now delves into a database of 3,500 volunteers from 11 countries to select teams of seven or eight rigorously screened volunteers; they are given four months to prepare for their stint abroad. Geekcorps pays for travel and provides lodging and a small stipend. On sabbatical from their jobs for periods of one to four months, volunteers are trained to teach their skills to people with different backgrounds.
"WE never tell the volunteers to go in and do the project; they teach the in-country staff and company members to do it themselves," says Ana Marie Harkins, Geekcorps director of programs. In return, each business agrees to transfer the skills it acquires to the community, free of charge. "The number one asset to for a Geekcorps volunteer is a good sense of humour and the ability to roll with the punches," says Peter Beardsley, 26, who spent six months in Accra. "If you let power outages and leaky roofs get to you, you're
going to have a hard time." But it is not all work and no play for the volunteers, who spend their free time exploring the host country and meeting its people.
After the dot-com bubble burst, corporate donations dwindled. The United Nations and other organizations provided some grants to help keep Geekcorps afloat. In 2002, Zuckerman joined forces with the International Executive Service Corps (IESC), an organization with a history of sending business professionals to developing countries. "We both believe that the way to transform an economy is by building small business, by bringing over skilled volunteer," says Zuckerman. Thanks to the IESC partnership and private donations,
Geekcorps had enough funding for the next year and a half.
Critical Thinking Questions:
1) Ethan Zukerman still hopes to attract donations from corporate sponsors. If you were Ethan Zuckerman, how would you explain to a high-technology firm why contributing to Geekcorps would be a strategic giving choice?
2) Do you think other consumer goods firms-for instance, a maker of breakfast cereals or a clothing company-would see donating to Geekcorps as an opportunity to meet their social responsibilities to employees, customers, or investors? Explain.
3) Why do you think corporate donations dwindled after the dot-com bubble burst? Do you think companies have a moral obligation to continue corporate sponsorship programs during economic downturns? Defend your answer.