Charitable Hopes Rest on Young Tech Firms

The high-tech world has long been criticized for its stinginess toward charities. Given its affluence, some say, digital corporations should don the cloak of civic responsibility once worn by those working in the aerospace, utility and telecommunications worlds.

A recent study by the Urban Institute found that Orange County ought to be doing better, citing that it fell outside the top 10% of metropolitan areas known for fund-raising.

As charity-friendly powerhouses such as Rockwell leave the area, the future hope rests on the shoulders of the area’s new wave of technological up-and-comers.

“I feel that the bad rap against the tech community is justified,” said Henry T. Nicholas III, president and chief executive of Broadcom, who donated $1.3 million this year for the expansion of South Coast Repertory theater. “I definitely believe we have a new generation of wealth right now, and it’s younger than the previous one.”

Traditionally, Nicholas said, a lot of folks in the computer world would not get involved in philanthropic activities until retirement. But as start-up firms become established corporations, and their founders mature from hungry pups to polished professionals, their need to give back to the community will grow.

“I don’t hold out artistic contributions as being any less important than the technological ones,” Nicholas said. “It’s just that the technological ones happen to be more profitable.”

P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com.