The Giving Back 30
Oprah Winfrey Once Again Leads the Giving Back 30 List
of Largest Charitable Donations by Celebrities for 2008
(September 14th) Parade magazine released today The Giving Back Fund's second annual Giving Back 30 survey, a ranking of the celebrities who have made the largest donations to charity in 2007 according to public records.
To compile the most accurate rankings, The Giving Back Fund culled media reports of charitable giving by sports and entertainment professionals; reviewed PF-990 tax-forms; contacted more than 250 publicists, attorneys, agents, agencies, and managers for information about their clients; sent inquiries to more than 150 charities known for their celebrity associations; and contacted the major sports leagues.
“Our hope is that celebrities will begin to become more comfortable sharing information about their charitable giving --- perhaps not disclosing everything they give, but sharing enough that they will serve as role-models to their peers and fans,” said Marc Pollick, President and Founder of The Giving Back Fund. “We know that many celebrities re-direct income from sponsorship and merchandising deals to charity, or help to raise funds in other ways,” continued Pollick. “We are researching reliable means to report this information in a separate list.”
The Giving Back Fund did not include grants made by foundations in the list so as to avoid counting the same funds twice --- once when the donor gave money to a foundation and again when the donor decided on a beneficiary for that money. The Giving Back did not calculate giving as a percentage of the celebrities income because there is no consistent way to calculate income when taking into account income from sponsorship and merchandise sales.
Donations to private foundations are disclosed in public documents. However, donations to public charities are not publicly disclosed and therefore may not be reported in the Giving Back 30.
About PARADE: PARADE, the most widely read magazine in America , is distributed in nearly 450 of the nation’s top newspapers. The magazine, which launched in 1941, now has a circulation of 32.4 million and a readership of 72.6 million. Each Sunday in PARADE and every day at Parade.com, our mission is to connect emotionally with Americans about the issues they care most about and move them to action. For more information,
www.parade.com.
| Ranking | Donor | Amount Donated | Pledged Recipients |
| 1 | Oprah Winfrey | $50,200,000 | To the Oprah Winfrey Foundation and Oprah's Angel Network; to "support the inspiration, empowerment and education of women, children, and families around the world; to encourage people around the world to make a difference in the lives of others |
| 2 | Herb Alpert | $13,000,000 |
To The Herb Alpert Foundation. In 2007 the Herb Alpert Foundation distributed more than $50,000,000 million in grants, which included a $30,000,000 gift to UCLA. Since 1988 Mr. Alpert has donated more than $100,000,000 million to the Herb Alpert Foundation |
| 3 | Barbra Streisand | $11,000,000 |
To the Barbra Streisand Foundation. The Barbra Streisand Foundation distributed $16 million in 2007. Barbra Streisand Foundation, numerous civil liberties, environmental, and civil rights organizations "dedicated to democratic values" |
| 4 | Paul Newman |
$10,005,000 | $10 million to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio from which he graduated, for a scholarship program; an additional $5,000 to Ypsilanti High School's drama department |
| 5 | Mel Gibson |
$9,899,654 | To the AP Reilly Foundation, the tax-exempt entity named for his late mother, which supports Holy Family Catholic Church in Malibu, California |
| 6 | Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt | $8,400,000 | The Jolie-Pitt Foundation. $5 million directed to the Make It Right Project - new project aims to rebuild 150 homes in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans with an emphasis on "green" technology with a goal to prove that it can be replicated elsewhere. $100k to the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which promotes cross-cultural understanding through journalism and music. Ms. Jolie starred in a movie based on his tragic murder; one million gift to help Afghan refugees in Pakistan |
| 7 | Lance Armstrong | $5,000,000 | Pledge to Lance Armstrong Foundation, which unites, inspires and empowers people affected by cancer over the next 10 years. |
| 7 | Michael Jordan |
$5,000,000 | To Hales Franciscan High School for the historically African-American all-boys school |
| 7 | Eric Lindros |
$5,000,000 | $5 million dollars in support of London Health Sciences Centre. The gift is one of the largest one-time donations ever received by London Health Sciences Foundation and will support programs at the hospital including the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic where Eric was treated during his NHL career. |
| 10 | Rush Limbaugh |
$4,200,000 | To Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, a charity that provides financial assistance to the children of fallen Marines and federal law enforcement officers. |
| 11 | Rosie O'Donnell |
$3,515,512 | $1,872,970 to early education centers and other child-related programs funded; $1,000,000 to Rosie's Broadway Kids Initiative; $642,542 to the Project Katrina Initiative |
| 12 | Richard Jefferson | $3,500,000 | To University of Arizona for a new basketball / volleyball facility |
| 13 | Jerry Seinfeld |
$3,000,000 | To Seinfeld Family Foundation, which distributed more than $2 million to various charities including Oprah's Angel Network, The American Red Cross, Autism Speaks and City Year |
| 14 | Hugh Hefner | $2,000,000 | To University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts to build new exhibition space |
| 14 | Dan Rather | $2,000,000 | To Sam Houston State University for scholarships and communications programs |
| 14 | Tom Shadyac | $2,000,000 | Valley Floor Preservation Partners to preserve 570 acres of meadows and wetlands just outside the entrance to the Victorian-era resort townof Telluride |
| 17 | Sam and Lynn Waterston | $1,751,000 | Established Waterston Family Foundation in August of September 2007; previously Mr. Waterson was involved in refugee work and is on the Board of Refugees International |
| 18 | Tiger Woods | $1,350,000 | To Tiger Woods Learning Center to get students thinking about the role education plays in their futures |
| 19 | Andre Agassi
|
$1,300,000 | To Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation dedicated to transforming U.S. public education for underserved youth |
| 20 | Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson | $1,000,000 | To The University of Miami's football facilities renovation fund |
| 20 | David Kopay | $1,000,000 |
To the University of Washington's Q center for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, queer, questioning and intersex students, faculty, and staff |
| 20 | Tracy McGrady | $1,000,000 | To Stand up for Darfur and other related projects; to improve education for Sudanese Refugees |
| 20 | Mike and Jennifer Miller | $1,000,000 | To establish the Mike and Jennifer Miller Endowment Fund to support Sanford Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. |
| 20 | Adam Sandler | $1,000,000 | To the Boys and Girls Club in Manchester, NH where he was raised. |
| 20 | Steven Spielberg | $1,000,000 | To Not On Our Watch Project established by cast of Ocean's Thirteen; Mr. Spielberg is Chairman of the Righteous Persons Foundation to which he makes an undisclosed annual donation |
| 20 | Denzel Washington |
$1,000,000 | To Wiley College to re-establish the famed debate team on which his movie, The Great Debators, was based. |
| 27 | Isabel Allende | $869,655 | To The Isabel Allende Foundation, which pays homage to her daughter who passed away at 28; Promotes a vision of a world in which women have achieved social and economic justice. Also supports healthcare, education, protection against violence. |
| 28 | Jerry and Karen West | $800,000 | To West Virginia University. Includes $250,000 for the new Athletic Academic Performance Center in the Coliseum and $300,000 to be divided equally between the Jerry and Karen West and Ann Dinardi Basketball Scholarship Fund and the Jerry West Scholarship Fund. The designation for the remaining funds will be announced at a later date. |
| 29 | David & Valerie Robinson | $779,499 | To the David Robinson Foundation, which supports the Carver Academy, mentoring programs, hunger programs |
| 30 | Richard Seymour |
$724,825 | To Richard Seymour BGC Foundation (Blessing God's Children), which holds youth camps and health fairs |
- To honor the most charitable of individuals in the sports and entertainment communities
- To encourage increased giving within the sports and entertainment communities
- To encourage increased transparency in sports and entertainment philanthropy
To compile the most accurate ratings, we culled media reports of charitable giving by sports and entertainment professionals. We also reached out to more than 250 publicists, attorneys, agents, agencies, and managers for information about their clients, sent inquiries to more than 150 charities known for their celebrity associations, and contacted the major sports leagues.
Using this data, we ranked the celebrities by what they had donated and pledged in the past year. We did not calculate their giving as a percentage of their income since we feel any estimate of income would be too speculative.
We did not include grants made by foundations so as to avoid counting them twice --- once when the donor gave money to a foundation and again when the donor decided on a beneficiary for that money. In the case of David Geffen, the amount stated is the amount he donated to his private foundation in 2006. Previous gifts from his self-funded foundation include a 2002 $200 million grant to the UCLA Medical School.
In 2006, George Lucas' Lucasfilm Foundation granted $175-million to USC to establish a new film school. We could not determine how much of that gift was donated by Mr. Lucas in 2006 and so it is not included. Similarly, Paul Newman donates 100% of his Newman’s Own profits to charity but we were unable to determine a dollar amount for 2006. Newman’s Own’s web site indicates that more than $200 million has been donated by Paul Newman and the Newman’s Own Foundation since l982.
We confirmed information in the list through at least one source other than a media report. If a charity posted the donation on its website, we considered that a confirmation. Inclusion in the Slate 60 compiled by the Chronicle of Philanthropy was considered adequate in that they conducted their own research and confirmation.
Only one celebrity who we identified as qualified to be in the list according to media reports requested not to be included. We did honor his request. Undoubtedly, we missed some donors because they chose to have their gifts remain confidential, or their advisors chose not to forward on our request.
In addition, many celebrities choose to redirect payments for their performances to charities and some, most notably Mr. Agassi, have agreements with corporations in which a corporate donation to their charity is often a prerequisite for a continued relationship. We did not report on these donations because there is no reliable source to confirm these types of confidential agreements.
Several individuals donated significant private collections to museums last year but they were not included in the list because we could not confirm the value of their gifts.
Robert DeNiro donated more than 3,000 of his own costume items and props to the University Of Texas' Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center. Sylvester Stallone donated memorabilia from the first five "Rocky" films to the Smithsonian Institute and Donald Trump donated 436 acres of open space to New York State to create a park.
Katrina and Tsunami Relief Efforts
It is important to note that many individuals not on the list this year gave six, seven, or even eight figure contributions to Katrina relief and Tsunami relief efforts last year. Furthermore, multi-year pledges are only included if they were pledged in 2006 so donors may be fulfilling previous pledges without recognition in the list.
The Giving Back Fund included only those gifts donors made in 2006 to groups classified as charities or foundations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Giving Back Fund formed a committee of qualified experts to review our findings to help ensure that we were consistent in our reporting.
In subsequent years, we hope that donors will become more comfortable sharing information about their charitable contributions. We believe this information will both inspire others to greater charitable efforts and encourage transparency in sports and entertainment philanthropy.
Contact Us
To inform us of a donation or pledge by a celebrity in 2007, please email us at: GivingBack30@givingback.org