巴菲特致股东的信（2003年）⑬股东指定捐赠计划

Designated Gifts Program

股东指定捐赠计划

From 1981 through 2002, Berkshire administered a program whereby shareholders could direct Berkshire to make gifts to their favorite charitable organizations. Over the years we disbursed $197 million pursuant to this program. Churches were the most frequently named designees, and many thousands of other organizations benefited as well. We were the only major public company that offered such a program to shareholders, and Charlie and I were proud of it.

从 1981 年到 2002 年，伯克希尔执行了一项股东指定捐赠计划，股东们可以指定伯克希尔捐赠给其喜爱的慈善机构，这些年下来，在这项计划下，我们总共捐出 1.97 亿美元，教会是最常被指明的捐赠对象，当然还有其它成千上万的单位受惠，我们是唯一一家提供这类服务的公开上市公司，查理跟我对于这项计划相当引以为荣。

We reluctantly terminated the program in 2003 because of controversy over the abortion issue. Over the years numerous organizations on both sides of this issue had been designated by our shareholders to receive contributions. As a result, we regularly received some objections to the gifts designated for pro-choice operations. A few of these came from people and organizations that proceeded to boycott products of our subsidiaries. That did not concern us. We refused all requests to limit the right of our owners to make whatever gifts they chose (as long as the recipients had 501(c)(3) status).

不过我们却不得不在 2003 年停止这项计划，其导火线在于对于堕胎问题的争议，多年来，在股东的指定下，伯克希尔同时捐赠的许多金钱给多家与堕胎议题相关的组织，支持与反对双方都有，这也使得我们时常收到反对捐赠给敌对阵营的抗议，其中有些组织甚至发动其成员抵制我们关系企业的产品，我们原本并不以为意，我们拒绝了所有限制股东依其喜好捐赠的无理要求(只要受赠者符合 501(c)(3)税法要求的规定即可)。

In 2003, however, many independent associates of The Pampered Chef began to feel the boycotts. This development meant that people who trusted us – but who were neither employees of ours nor had a voice in Berkshire decision-making – suffered serious losses of income.

然而到了 2003年，The Pampered Chef 旗下许多独立的会员却开始感受到抵制的效应，这样的演变代表某些信赖我们，但并非我们员工或是在伯克希尔决策过程中无法发言的人将面临收入锐减的困境。

For our shareholders, there was some modest tax efficiency in Berkshire doing the giving rather than their making their gifts directly. Additionally, the program was consistent with our “partnership” approach, the first principle set forth in our Owner’s Manual. But these advantages paled when they were measured against damage done loyal associates who had with great personal effort built businesses of their own. Indeed, Charlie and I see nothing charitable in harming decent, hard-working people just so we and other shareholders can gain some minor tax efficiencies.

对于股东来说，相较于自行捐赠，股东指定捐赠在税法上享有较优惠的效益，此外这样的计划符合我们一向倡议的合伙人制度精神，这也是我们在股东手册中揭示的首要的原则，但这样的优点在部分白手起家辛苦建立自己事业的死忠成员无端受害之下相形失色，确实，查理跟我认为若仅为了股东自身些许的税务优惠，就伤害这些正正当当、辛勤工作的善良百姓，实在称不上是什么慈善之举。

Berkshire now makes no contributions at the parent company level. Our various subsidiaries follow philanthropic policies consistent with their practices prior to their acquisition by Berkshire, except that any personal contributions that former owners had earlier made from their corporate pocketbook are now funded by them personally.

因此伯克希尔往后将不在母公司阶段进行任何形式的捐赠，至于旗下关系公司仍将维持其各自在并入伯克希尔之前就行之有年的惯例，除非这些捐赠是先前的老板自行本身负责的个人捐赠计划，这部分必须要从他们自己的腰包掏钱。