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It's a Given
Entrepreneur Magazine
By David Worrell
February 7, 2008
Online advertising agency Vantage Media has already rewritten
the rules for internet search-based online advertising. Now the
company's savvy founders, brothers Todd and Mark Dipaola, 28 and
30, respectively, are out to change the way entrepreneurs view
philanthropy. To start, they put their money where their mouths
are. In 2006, four years after starting El Segundo, California-based
Vantage Media from scratch, they set aside several million dollars
as an initial endowment for their new charitable venture, the Dipaola
Foundation.
Million-dollar endowments are not in every company's budget, but
Todd says it's important to get the philanthropic ball rolling
by setting aside a portion of your profits each year. "A foundation
is an ideal vehicle for lifelong giving," says Todd. "It enables
single-year tax deductions to grow through investment and be gifted
at the pace we set."
The brothers hope that other entrepreneurs will follow their lead
and devote more of their profits to philanthropic causes. Their
message? Find a way to change the world beyond running your business. "Business
doesn't begin and end with the almighty buck," says Todd. "There
is a much more important system of relationships that we serve;
our employees, customers, clients, suppliers and even the homeless
guy I pass on the way to work are interrelated in the big picture."

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