logo
  • Nonprofit News
  • Management
    • Boards and Governance
    • Communication
      • Framing & Narratives
    • Ethics
    • Financial Management
    • Grassroots Fundraising Journal
    • Leadership
    • Technology
  • Philanthropy
    • Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Donor-Advised Funds
    • Foundations
    • Impact Investing
    • Research
    • Workplace Giving
  • Policy
    • Education
    • Healthcare
    • Housing
    • Government
    • Taxes
  • Economic Justice
    • About
    • Economy Remix
    • Economy Webinars
    • Community Benefits
    • Economic Democracy
    • Environmental Justice
    • Fair Finance
    • Housing Rights
    • Land Justice
    • Poor People’s Rights
    • Tax Fairness
  • Racial Equity
  • Social Movements
    • Community Development
    • Community Organizing
    • Culture Change
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Gender Equality
    • Immigrant Rights
    • Indigenous Rights
    • Labor
    • LGBTQ+
    • Racial Justice
    • Youth Activism
  • About Us
  • Log in
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Featured Articles
  • Webinars
    • Free Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Tiny Spark Podcast
  • Magazine
    • Magazine
    • Leading Edge Membership
Donate
Foundations

Oprah Wins Again! And So Do Her Charities

Rick Cohen
December 14, 2010
Share
Email
Tweet
Share

December 13, 2010; Source: iVillage Entertainment | While some people like Travie McCoy, want to be a billionaire like Oprah with oodles of philanthropic giving under her belt, there were others on the Giving Back Fund’s list of the most charitable celebrities worth taking note of—including several who contribute not to foundations that they established and control, but directly to independent charities.

For example, Usher gave $1 million to the Clinton Global Initiative for youth services. Yeardley Smith, Lisa Simpson’s voice on The Simpsons, gave $900,000 to the Grameen Foundation. Boxer Oscar de la Hoya put $1.3 million into Green Dot Educational Projects in Los Angeles. And Tyler Perry gave $1 million to the NAACP, the largest individual contribution the organization has ever received.

Undoubtedly some of the celebrities’ eponymous foundations are doing good work as well, but it is notable that some celebs simply make out their checks to reputable charities and dispense with creating and running philanthropic middlemen.

When Travie raps, “I’d probably visit where Katrina hit, And damn sure do a lot more than FEMA did,” he joins the likes of Usher Raymond and Tyler Perry in reminding celebrities that charitable giving can be just as rewarding as being “on the cover of Forbes magazine, Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen”—even if they don’t quite make it into Oprah’s billionaire category.—Rick Cohen

Share
Email
Tweet
Share

About The Author
Rick Cohen

Rick joined NPQ in 2006, after almost eight years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Before that he played various roles as a community worker and advisor to others doing community work. He also worked in government. Cohen pursued investigative and analytical articles, advocated for increased philanthropic giving and access for disenfranchised constituencies, and promoted increased philanthropic and nonprofit accountability.

Related
Rejecting False Harmony: How Philanthropy Can Support Real Healing
By Nwamaka Agbo
January 13, 2021
Sheila E.: On Creativity and Voice in Social Change
By Cyndi Suarez
November 10, 2020
Indigenous Canada Online Course Attracts 64,000
By Carole Levine
October 5, 2020
Farm Aid 2020 Makes Its Politics Known
By Ruth McCambridge
September 29, 2020
The Otto Bremer Trust Faces the Music, and It Is Loud
By Rob Meiksins
August 20, 2020
How Philanthropy Can Meet the Moment: The Vital Importance of Trust
By Shamar Bibbins
August 7, 2020

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
January 21, 2 pm ET

Remaking the Economy

Health, Racial Disparities, and Economic Justice

other posts by The Author
Fundraising Medicine: Creating Gift Acceptance Policies
By Rick Cohen
May 16, 2020
A Veterans Day Call for Cleaning Out Scamming Faux Veterans...
By Rick Cohen
November 10, 2017
A City in Remission: Can the “Grand Bargain” Revive...
By Rick Cohen
January 6, 2016
CYNDI SUAREZ
The Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap: Flipping the Lens
Powerful Interests Seek to Make Puerto Rico the Hong Kong of the...
Moving Beyond the Privilege of White Tears
logo
Donate
  • About
  • Contact
  • Newsletters
  • Write for NPQ
  • Advertise
  • Writers
  • Funders
  • Copyright Policy
  • Privacy Policy
Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 20-4080038

Subscribe to View Webinars