In early March of 2008, Goldman Sachs announced that, after a year of developing the program, the company was donating $100 million to provide at least 10,000 women with a business education as well as to develop and to improve business education programs at universities across the globe, especially in developing regions. The gift is one of the biggest corporate donations since 2000. Spread out over five years, the program will also aim to assist poor and disadvantaged women in the United States.
The gift made big news in March of 2008, and it raises some interesting questions about the motivations behind the donation, such as why Goldman Sachs chose to donate the money to support education as opposed to hunger or infrastructure. Goldman Sach’s position suggests that the company believes that education is critically important to both individual and global success. Mr. Blankfein of Goldman Sachs recognizes that the gift will likely raise objections, but he stands by the act of philanthropy because investing in educating women in developing countries will eventually positively impact those countries’ economies. Essentially, the money will improve the conditions in developing countries where Goldman’s money will be spent.
Goldman is joined in the venture by partners which include the Pan-African University in Lagos, Nigeria, to the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona. The fact that the project zeroes in on women is not surprising considering that score of nonprofits are working to provide women with financial educations and tools so that they may improve their own communities.
The Goldman Sach’s donation is not so much a gift, then, as it is an investment. The company expects that, in five or ten years, when a generation of women have benefitted from the donation, that their contributions to their own local economies will eventually come back to help the community as a whole.

Tags: Career Education, Non-Traditional Students