Investing in or giving back?

According to this NYT report, Goldman Sachs gave $241.3 million to charity, making the firm the fourth-largest corporate giver in America. Goldman Sachs has been one of the leading corporate philanthropists in the last five years. Since 2008, the firm has given away more than $1.6 billion, in a remarkable effort to change its tarnished reputation. Whether that works or not is something to be decided but, apparently, it is creating bad feelings between the bank - which has been cutting back sharply on expenses - and the Goldman Sachs Foundation- which is giving the money away. Communication is also an issue: an employee is quoted saying that the philanthropy program is “run as if it’s a Broadway show,” against Goldman Sachs' culture of discretion.
Another, major, concern is voiced  by Warren Buffett, whose holding company is one of Goldman’s largest shareholders. He is troubled by the principle of large-scale corporate philanthropy because, as Milton Friedman used to say, this money comes out of shareholders’ pockets. Buffett reportedly added that "he didn’t look up how much Goldman gave to charity when he bought a giant stake in the firm during the depths of the financial crisis, and that Goldman’s generosity — or lack of it — has never factored into any investment decision he has made." The firm is giving to charity much more than before the real estate collapse now that corporate charitable donations are going down in the USA.
Motivations? This is what the reporter tells us:
"At the time Goldman started the program it made no public connection between the largest single charitable contribution in its history and public anger over its role in the financial crisis, but it was clear the money was part of the price of reputation reclamation."
Results? We need to wait a bit more but apparently it does help bolstering the firm's reputation. Malene Barnett, who graduated from one of the prograns funded by Goldman Sachs, has changed her opinion about Goldman: “All I knew before was a lot of people there made a lot of money... Now I see they are trying to give back. Before I didn’t have that impression but I believe now they are really trying.”