Look To The Stars News: Oprah's Angel Network

Giving Back Fund Announces Top 30 Celebrity Givers

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:30:00 -0000

The Giving Back Fund has released its 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.

Heading the list was Oprah Winfrey, who donated $50.2 million 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 and to encourage people around the world to make a difference in the lives of others”. Coming in second was Herb Alpert, who donated a total of $13 million to the Herb Alpert Foundation, followed by Barbra Streisand, who gave over $11 million to the Streisand Foundation.

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. 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.

The rest of the list included Paul Newman, who gave away over $10 million; Mel Gibson, who gave $9.9 million to the AP Reilly Foundation, the tax-exempt entity named for his late mother, which supports Holy Family Catholic Church in Malibu, California; Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who collectively donated over $8 million to good causes; and Lance Armstrong, who pledged $5 million to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Other celebrities listed included Michael Jordan, Rosie O’Donnell, Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Hefner, and Tiger Woods.

To see the full list of celebrities and their donations, see the Giving Back Fund website.

Charlize Theron Bringing Classrooms to Students

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:49:26 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Screen star Charlize Theron is bringing life saving information to rural kids in KwaZulu-Natal, a province that holds the unfortunate record of the highest HIV infection rate in South Africa.

Where sex, teenage pregnancy, rape and HIV are taboo topics and half of all females are expected to contract AIDS, 10 percent of them before graduating high-school, Theron created the Charlize Theron African Outreach Project and partnered with Oprah’s Angel Network to assist the charity Mpilonhle in bringing education, free condoms, HIV testing and treatment to the kids via a mobile health and computer clinic.

Theron says, “Medical staff told me many students here have lost one or both parents to AIDS. The mobile clinic is one of the few places offering help, guidance and a safe place to talk.”

Launched last November, the clinic spends one week per month at each of four remote high-schools where thousands of students receive computer training sessions and health education workshops with a special focus on HIV, plus a visit with an HIV counselor and a nurse. Tuberculosis, cholera and schistosomiasis, a debilitating parasitic infection, are some of the diseases that also plague this area due to limited access to clean water.

The clinic is already having a positive effect. One grade 11 student said, “After I finish grade 12 I know it will help me in the future. Maybe I will be a teller working with the computer. I thank you Mpilonhle because my future is in my hands – it is up to me to reach my goals.”

Theron’s presence in her home country has also made an impression: “Most of us are afraid to dream just because we are afraid our dreams won’t come true,” said one inspired student. “(Charlize) has awakened my dream of becoming a business woman. And I know that someday I’m going to achieve this.”

Theron says, “You come here, and you see how people are struggling. And then you see the spirit of these people and how resilient they are. That’s the miracle.”

Oprah Tops Celebrity Philanthropy A-List

Sat, 12 May 2007 08:24:15 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

A list of the 30 largest public donations made by celebrities in the past year puts Oprah in the top spot.

The Giving Back Fund, which encourages and advises on celebrity philanthropy, compiles its list each year. President Marc Pollick said, “Encouragement-by-example is the main reason for the Giving Back 30 list.”

Oprah gave $58.3 million to Oprah’s Angel Network and her recently-opened Leadership Academy.

Of the other celebrities high on the list, Barbra Streisand was in fourth spot, having given $11.75 million through her Streisand Foundation.

Tiger Woods took fifth place, giving $9.5 million to organisations including the Tiger Woods Learning Center funded by the Tiger Woods Foundation.

Giving Back’s Marc Pollick praised an increasing trend in celebrity donations, saying, “Ten years ago when Slate magazine first published the Slate 60 reporting on the most generous American philanthropists, the last donor on their list gave $5 million. This year the last donor donated $30 million to charity. This is the type of growth we are hoping to inspire within the sports and entertainment community. One cannot help but be influenced by the generosity of his or her peers.”

The full list and information about how it was compiled can be found at givingback.org. This site has previously reported on many of the list’s featured celebrities and their donations; a comprehensively linked version of the list appears below:

Position	Celebrity	Donation	Cause(s)
1	Oprah Winfrey	$58,300,000	Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, Oprah’s Angel Network, and other groups
2	Geoffrey Beene	$44,000,000 (bequest)	Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
3	Jack and Marie Lord	$40,000,000 (bequest)	Hawaii Community Foundation
4	Barbra Streisand	$11,750,000	Streisand Foundation, numerous civil liberties, environmental, and civil rights organizations “dedicated to democratic values”
5	Tiger Woods	$9,500,000	Tiger Woods Learning Center, Earl D. Woods Sr. Scholarship Fund, and other Tiger Woods Foundation programs
6	Rosie O’Donnell	$5,700,000	Katrina Relief efforts including Renaissance Village (a temporary shelter for Katrina victims), day care centers, a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, and a Habitat For Humanity sub division in Baton Rouge
7	Martha Stewart	$5,000,000	New York’s Mt. Sinai Hospital for a center on healthy aging
8	Carmelo Anthony	$4,282,000	CAF Youth Center in Baltimore, AAU Basketball, Syracuse University Recreational Center, and other charities
9	Pat Boone & Shirley Boone	$3,000,000	Pepperdine University for the Graduate School of Education and Psychology Center for the Family
9	LeRoy Neiman	$3,000,000	The School of the Art Institute of Chicago to support a Master’s class in figure drawing
11	Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt	$2,415,000	School and Community Center in Swakopmund in Namibia, Daniel Pearl Foundation, Namibian hospitals, Doctors Without Borders, Global Action for Children and others
12	Nicolas Cage	$2,000,000	Amnesty International for a fund to help child soldiers
12	Dwayne Johnson (“The Rock”) and Dany Garcia Johnson	$2,000,000	University of Miami to name new Alumni Center living room
12	Paul McCartney	$2,000,000	Adopt-A-Minefield
12	Arnold Palmer	$2,000,000	Pledged to the Arnold Palmer Foundation ultimately to benefit the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
16	David Geffen	$1,600,000	David Geffen Foundation
17	Susan Saint James and Dick Ebersol	$1,300,000	The Gunnery to help pay for a new dormitory in memory of their son Teddy killed in a plane crash
18	Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg	$1,250,000	Boston University to renovate facilities
19	Andre Agassi	$1,070,000	Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation
20	Tiki and Ronde Barber and family	$1,000,000	University of Virginia to support the McIntire School of Commerce, the Virginia Athletics Foundation, Childrens Hospital, a scholarship fund for African-American students, the Young Alumni Council, and to challenge young alumni to participate in the capital campaign
20	Bob Barker	$1,000,000	Georgetown University to endow a fund at its law school that will focus on the study of animal rights
20	Gloria Estefan	$1,000,000	Miami Paralysis Project
20	Dr. Phil McGraw & Robin McGraw	$1,000,000	Dr. Phil Foundation
20	George Steinbrenner & family	$1,000,000	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for Boshamer Stadium for baseball
20	Tony Stewart	$1,000,000	Victory Junction Gang Camp
20	Denzel Washington	$1,000,000	Save Africa’s Children
27	Mike Sexton	$560,000	Special Olympics, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, Children, Inc., Wounded Warrior Project, Ohio State University, and other charities
28	Lance Armstrong	$500,000	Lance Armstrong Foundation
28	Dolly Parton	$500,000	Fort Sanders Medical Center
28	Elizabeth Taylor	$500,000	New Orleans AIDS Task Force to purchase mobile medical unit for AIDS sufferers in New Orleans

McConaughey's Corvette on eBay

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 21:32:58 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Matthew McConaughey has put his 1971 Chevy Corvette up for auction on eBay to help with the ongoing 2005 hurricane relief efforts.

The actor is donating 100% of the auction’s proceeds to Oprah’s Angel Network to aid those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

He says, “I admire and enjoy this car, but it’s a luxury that I’m willing to relinquish at this point because I am fortunate enough to have everythin I need, and the sale of it will help so many with the necessities in life.”

The auction for the Mediterranean Blue Stingray, which McConaughey has affectionately called ‘Mako’ during the 7 years he has had it, ends on July 27.

Charlize Theron Hosts Children's Benefit Auction

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 13:23:03 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Charlize Theron hosted an auction on June 27th to raise money for children in her native South Africa. The event in Los Angeles drew the support of other Hollywood celebrities, and raised $140,000 to help families in need.

The auction was attended by stars such as Lindsay Lohan, and items up for auction included a jacket from Will Smith, signed DVDs from Tom Hanks and an original Scarface poster donated by Al Pacino.

The Charlize Theron African Outreach Project benefits Oprah’s Angel Network and helps support vulnerable children in rural South Africa.

Celebrity Donations To Katrina Relief Efforts

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 15:50:00 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

A list of what some celebrities have done to help Katrina victims:

Steven Spielberg, $750,000 to the American Red Cross and $750,000 to the Bush Clinton Fund
Nicolas Cage, Diddy, George Clooney each donated $1 million.
Oprah donated $1 million through her charity, Oprah’s Angel Network
Hilary Duff donated $250,000.
John Travolta delivered supplies using his private plane.
Sean Penn rescued people using an occasionally leaky boat.
Michael Jackson offered a song, “From the Bottom of My Heart”.
Jamie Foxx raised $600,000 with a celebrity auction.

Bon Jovi Donates to Oprah's Angel Network

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 15:17:40 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Jon Bon Jovi stunned Oprah in September with a $1 million donation to Oprah’s Angel Network in support of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Look To The Stars News: Oprah's Angel Network

Giving Back Fund Announces Top 30 Celebrity Givers

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