DO UNTO OTHERS

'Craig's Philanthropic Compass'
Exclusive Interview with Craig Newmark
Featured in 'Innerviews'
Hosted by Allié McGuire

​Best known as the founder of the classifieds ad site craigslist, Craig Newmark showed tens of millions of Americans that the Internet could be reasonably useful and easy to use. Now, he engages in full time philanthropy, focusing on helping and protecting the people who help and protect our country. That includes cybersecurity, trustworthy journalism, and support for military families and veterans.

ALLIÉ: Craig, your dedication to supporting veterans is admirable. Can you share a personal experience or connection that has fueled your passion to support those who have served?

CRAIG: Well, I'm heavily supporting both veterans, but also active service military families. The deal is that I actually grew up during the Vietnam War, and I was very, very politically naive, but I do remember soldiers, specifically Army, coming back from the war and being treated badly. And in my naivete, I really didn't understand the issues around the war, but I did see that soldiers were being abused, and it was just not fair. It was wrong. That kind of stayed dormant in my head until 10, 15 years ago, I was at a lunch thing sitting next to a volunteer for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, things clicked in, I got involved with a lot more of that group and then with a lot of other veterans organizations, and I'm highly involved even now, regarding military families. I've been working with Blue Star Families for some time, and they've been telling me that active service families have to sometimes choose between getting food for their families or good housing, and that's just not right. And that just finally sank in several months ago after a visit to the Pentagon and after an effort where I was helping pack food as a photo op at God's Love We Deliver, which serves veterans who can't get out of the house as well as a lot of other people. So military families and vets. It's been a long time on the vets side, although a shorter effort on the family side.

ALLIÉ: Well, for the work that you do and the support that you give, let that be a reminder to all of us that there is so much need there and the current situation shouldn't be what it is. So, supporting veterans and those military families isn't the only cause that you're passionate about. You have a strong commitment to trustworthy journalism and combating disinformation. Craig, what do you hope the future of news and information integrity looks like?

CRAIG: Speaking in a very personal way, I just want to be able to subscribe to news services that I can trust that I know are not going to lie to me, or let's say repeat the lies of other people. That's pretty simplistic, but that was set in motion in Sunday school where Mr. and Mrs. Levin taught me about this ninth commandment thing about bearing false witness. They set my moral compass in general telling me that I should treat people like I want to be treated, and also knowing when enough is enough, which is the bottom-line answer to my monetization strategy for Craigslist going back to ’99.

ALLIÉ: To have that compass at such a young age and to carry that with you all this time… Let’s switch gears another moment here. Let's talk Girls Who Code and women's rights. These have been close to your heart as well. Was there a moment or a story that connects you to this cause of closing that gender gap in technology?

CRAIG: It's a bunch of moving parts coming together. On the most important level, well, if you're going to treat people like you want to be treated, that means being fair to everyone regardless of a gender or ethnicity or anything. And when I was in college for computer sciences in the early seventies, a lot of women were getting into the field and a lot of women got jobs. But slowly women started leaving the field and I didn't notice that until 10, 15 years ago. And eventually I did figure it out and decided that I should talk to people who knew something about the matter and then support them. Girls Who Code, is the exemplar of that group. I’m working with other groups now with a great focus on cybersecurity since that’s an area of urgent need in our country and it's something I actually know something about. For example, my knowledge of the active service families experience is from people who support them on an everyday basis. But when it comes to cybersecurity and technology, and people of all sorts in the field, those are things I have firsthand knowledge of, and I guess I’m playing to my strengths.

ALLIÉ: I love the way that you’re using your strengths to support others in so many in so many ways. Education and civic engagement are areas where you’ve made a significant impact, what specific outcomes or changes do you hope to see in these areas? How do your personal values guide your philanthropic choices?

CRAIG: Well, again, it’s the idea that I want to treat people like I want to be treated and well, I got lucky in a lot of regards, and I had the benefit of a lot of programs, governmental or otherwise. And I figured since I've been lucky enough to do well, I should share that with lots of other people. And that's what I'm doing in a number of fields, for the most part, you've identified. I'm now thinking about the issues around the CUNY School of Journalism, which I support, reflecting that the City University of New York, that's CUNY, for 175 years or so, has been helping people growing up with no money get the educational background to get into the middle class or do even better. And I'm wondering what I should do about that. It reflects my own history growing up with no money and then getting a good education and on top of that, getting lucky. Frankly, any success I've had financially has been by accidentally being in the right time in the right place. That makes me like the Forrest Gump of the internet, and I figure I should go from there, and again, the moral compass my Sunday school set.

ALLIÉ: Yeah, so very much the golden rule there that you’ve employed in your own personal and professional life. Regarding your dedication to underserved communities, can you share a personal experience that strengthened your commitment, specifically, to equity and inclusion?

CRAIG: I guess it starts with my own background where I grew up in a neighborhood which had a couple of junkyards in it, truck maintenance, industrial glass repair. And it was only when I turned 60, about 10 years ago, that I realized that wasn't the common American experience. But I grew up with people including myself, who needed a break. And I figure now I'm doing some things that people should do to give other people a break. I learned that now and then I should be my brother's or my sister's keeper. And having been set in that regards over 60 years ago, I'm just following through with that. I figure other people who've been fortunate should follow through with that. And I'm struggling with how I can persuade more people with real money to do that. By real money, I mean in the billions. Those are not my normal social circles, but now and then, I'll stumble onto someone who could be encouraged.

ALLIÉ: I appreciate you leading by example and hoping that others will follow suit in the service of others. Looking ahead, when you reflect back, Craig, on all your life's work, what do you hope your legacy will be?

CRAIG: Basically, I'd like to make the world a little better for everyone, which is kind of vague, but that on a gut level is what I'm going after. And I've identified a few specific areas where I can help towards in that direction. I'm still exploring things, still figuring out how we can do better for our military families and vets, how we can do better in cybersecurity and other areas. Now, in all this, I do have a sense of humor. For example, my support for pigeon rescue has to do with - well, I love birds and I have a sense of humor, but I actually am seriously following through on that, although that's not an area where I'm contributing a hundred million. It's a smaller amount but the deal is that I have a moral compass and I'm just following through with that. And if I influence a few other people, that ain't bad.

ALLIÉ: That's not bad at all. Well, thank you so much, Craig, for taking the time to share your story, and just for helping all of us become a bit more aware now. Thank you so much.

CRAIG: Hey, it's my pleasure. It's basically a nerd's got to do what a nerd's got to do.

ALLIÉ: I love it. ∎

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Learn more about Craig and his philanthropic work: craignewmarkphilanthropies.org