巴菲特致股东的信（2001年）⑨慈善捐赠

Charitable Contributions

Berkshire follows a highly unusual policy in respect to charitable contributions ¾ but it's one that Charlie and I believe is both rational and fair to owners.

慈善捐赠

关于慈善捐赠，伯克希尔所采取的做法与其它企业有显著的不同，但这却是查理跟我认为对股东们最公平且合理的做法。

First, we let our operating subsidiaries make their own charitable decisions, requesting only that the owners/managers who once ran these as independent companies make all donations to their personal charities from their own funds, instead of using company money. When our managers are using company funds, we trust them to make gifts in a manner that delivers commensurate tangible or intangible benefits to the operations they manage. Last year contributions from Berkshire subsidiaries totaled $19.2 million.

首先，我们让旗下个别的子公司依其个别状况决定各自的捐赠，只要求先前经营该企业的老板与经理人在捐赠给私人的基金会时，必须改用私人的钱，而非公款。当他们运用公司的资金进行捐赠时，我们则相信他们这么做，可以为所经营的事业增加有形或无形的收益，总计去年，伯克希尔的子公司捐赠金额高达 1920 万美元。

At the parent company level, we make no contributions except those designated by shareholders. We do not match contributions made by directors or employees, nor do we give to the favorite charities of the Buffetts or the Mungers. However, prior to our purchasing them, a few of our subsidiaries had employee-match programs and we feel fine about their continuing them: It's not our style to tamper with successful business cultures.

至于在母公司方面，除非股东指定捐赠外，我们不进行任何其它形式的捐赠，我们不会依照董事或任何其它员工的意愿进行捐赠，同时我们也不会向巴菲特家族或芒格家族相关的基金会捐款，虽然在买下公司之前，部分公司就存在有员工指定的捐赠计划，但我们仍支持他们继续维持下去，干扰成功的公司文化并不是我们的作风。

To implement our owners' charitable desires, each year we notify registered holders of A shares (A's represent 86.6% of our equity capital) of a per-share amount that they can instruct us to contribute to as many as three charities. Shareholders name the charity; Berkshire writes the check. Any organization that qualifies under the Internal Revenue Code can be designated by shareholders. Last year Berkshire made contributions of $16.7 million at the direction of 5,700 shareholders, who named 3,550 charities as recipients. Since we started this program, our shareholders' gifts have totaled $181 million.

为了落实股东们的捐赠意愿，每年我们都会通知 A 股股东的合法登记人(约占伯克希尔总股本的 86.6%)每股指定捐赠的金额，每人至多指定三家慈善机构，由股东指名慈善机构，伯克希尔则负责付款，只要国税局 IRS 认可的慈善机构都可以捐赠。去年在 5700 位股东的指示下，伯克希尔捐出了 1670 万美元给 3550 家慈善机构，自从这项计划推出之后，累计捐赠的金额高达 1.81 亿美元。

Most public corporations eschew gifts to religious institutions. These, however, are favorite charities of our shareholders, who last year named 437 churches and synagogues to receive gifts. Additionally, 790 schools were recipients. A few of our larger shareholders, including Charlie and me, designate their personal foundations to get gifts, so that those entities can, in turn, disburse their funds widely.

大部分的上市公司都回避对宗教团体的捐赠，但这却是我们股东们最偏爱的慈善团体，总计去年有 437 家教会及犹太教堂名列受捐赠名单，此外还有 790 间学校。至于包含查理跟我本人在内的一些大股东，则指定个人的基金会作为捐赠的对象，从而通过各自的基金会做进一步的分配运用。

I get a few letters every week criticizing Berkshire for contributing to Planned Parenthood. These letters are usually prompted by an organization that wishes to see boycotts of Berkshire products. The letters are invariably polite and sincere, but their writers are unaware of a key point: It's not Berkshire, but rather its owners who are making charitable decisions ¾ and these owners are about as diverse in their opinions as you can imagine. For example, they are probably on both sides of the abortion issue in roughly the same proportion as the American population. We'll follow their instructions, whether they designate Planned Parenthood or Metro Right to Life, just as long as the charity possesses 501(c)(3) status. It's as if we paid a dividend, which the shareholder then donated. Our form of disbursement, however, is more tax-efficient.

我每周都会收到一些批评伯克希尔慈善捐赠支持计划生育的信件，这些信件常常是由一个希望看到抵制伯克希尔产品的组织所策划推动，这些信件的措词往往相当诚挚有礼，但他们却忘了最重要的一件事，那就是做出此项捐赠决定的并非伯克希尔，而是伯克希尔的股东。这些股东的意见可谓是非常分裂，举例来说，关于堕胎这个问题，股东群中支持与反对的比例与美国一般民众的看法比例相当，我们必须遵从他们的指示，不论他们决定捐给计划生育或者是生命之光，只要这些机构符合税法 501(c)(3)的规定。这就等于是我们支付股利，然后由股东自行捐赠出去一样，只是这样的形式在税负上比较有利。

In neither the purchase of goods nor the hiring of personnel, do we ever consider the religious views, the gender, the race or the sexual orientation of the persons we are dealing with. It would not only be wrong to do so, it would be idiotic. We need all of the talent we can find, and we have learned that able and trustworthy managers, employees and suppliers come from a very wide spectrum of humanity.

不论是在采购物品或是聘用人员，我们完全不会有宗教上、性别上、种族上或性取向上的考量，那样的想法不但错误，而且无聊，我们需要我们能找到的所有人才，而在我们能干又值得信赖的经理人、员工与供货商当中，充满了各式各样的人士。

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To participate in our future charitable contribution programs, you must own Class A shares that are registered in the name of the actual owner, not the nominee name of a broker, bank or depository. Shares not so registered on August 31, 2002 will be ineligible for the 2002 program. When you get the contributions form from us, return it promptly. Designations received after the due date will not be honored.

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想要参加这项计划者，必须拥有 A 级普通股，同时确定您的股份是登记在自己而非股票经纪人或保管银行的名下，同时必须在 2002 年 8 月 31 日之前完成登记，才有权利参与 2002 年的捐赠计划，当你收到表格后，请立即填写后寄回，逾期恕不受理。

Charitable Contributions Berkshire follows a highly unusual policy in respect to charitable contributions ¾ but it's one that Charlie and I believe is both rational and fair to owners.

Charitable Contributions

Berkshire follows a highly unusual policy in respect to charitable contributions ¾ but it's one that Charlie and I believe is both rational and fair to owners.