I typically favor the 'hands off' approach to social causes. That is, individuals can do more good on their own than benevolent corporations or governments. That said, Google doesn't exist to do good deeds. It is a corporation designed to make a profit by providing a valuable service and charging for it. Donating was not necessary, and I applaud these 'giving back' efforts. I particularly like how it was quantified primarily in terms of number of people affected, instead of amount of money given.
Personally, I would rather they remove ads from YouTube videos. YouTube is a great channel for learning, but is becoming marginalized by needless, annoying crap popping up. Instead they have done what the rich always do, make a small, visible allocation of their profits to a "cause" that is easily marketed. They will certainly derive more revenue from increased traffic due to this advertisement than it cost them, and they get to feel warm and fuzzy about it at the same time.
