Amazon Cold Shoulders Seattle Charities

(photo from gizmodo.co.uk)

While many have sung Amazon's praises as a prototype of the "new normal" retail business model, the Seattle-based firm is coming under fire for its uncharitable charity practices. As a recent Seattle Times article noted, Amazon is often invisible in the Pacific Northwest's non-profit and charity scenes. Not only are Amazon big shots notably absent from the Seattle charity circuit, Amazon's charitable contributions are often either negligible or completely nonexistent.

Those who have attempted to communicate or do business with Amazon knows the company is breathtakingly difficult to deal with. It some ways, Amazon's arrogance and monolithic behavior is reminiscent of life behind the former Iron Curtain. The direction for Amazon's aloofness unquestionably starts at the top with its boss, Jeff Bezos. Similar to some other tech zillionaires (notably the late Steve Jobs), Bezos believes in total control, treats shareholders with complete indifference, and simply does not talk to the media (except for his pet projects). Amazon's new Seattle headquarters buildings do not even display the company's name. Uniquely for a Fortune 500 firm, Amazon's employees are rarely involved in charitable community work and, if the Seattle Times story is accurate, are discouraged from doing so by Amazon's spooky corporate culture. (The article does note that Amazon's frosty perspective on charities is slightly thawing.)

One explanation was offered by venture capital manager and early Amazon investor Nick Hanauer. "When you have 50 or 100 percent annualized growth rates," Hanauer noted, "there's just an infinite amount of work to do to keep the thing from exploding...It requires a lot of intensity and commitment that doesn't permit a lot of other things."

How much time does it take to write and sign a check for a worthy cause?