He's a Model Citizen for the 21st Century

There's a third principle behind Hayes's approach to civic entrepreneurialism: if you want to touch people's hearts, capture their imaginations. Charitable events can't feel stuffy or self-important if they hope to attract young people; production values matter. A case in point: Silicon Planet http://www.siliconplanet.com , a high-tech urban rave featuring live music, multimedia, a fashion show, an art auction, and a Webcast, taking place this fall in a converted warehouse in downtown San Jose. The event will benefit ARIS, Silicon Valley's primary HIV/AIDS resources agency. Hayes views Silicon Planet as a "long-awaited gathering of the tribes to applaud the new economy and the new culture we've wrought in the Valley." He hopes to make Silicon Planet the prototype of a new genre of fund-raising event that would become "the center of the universe for high-tech culture for one night."

Audacious, perhaps. But no one ever accused Tom Hayes of thinking small. His ultimate goal? To create a model for charitable organizations as agile, smart, and adaptive as their counterparts in business. "We've created a lot of wealth in Silicon Valley," says Hayes. "Now we need to find the balance between the opportunities of technology and the obligations of citizenship to create a true technology community."

Michael S. Malone (msmalone@aol.com) is a frequent contributor to Fast Company. You can reach Tom Hayes by email, tom_hayes@amat.com .