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Tigress
Registered Member
Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252
| Posted 12/11/2003 6:31 AM (GMT -6) |   | My brother works for the Alford Group and he sent me this e-mail the other day:
Celebs Cashing in on Charities
December 9, 2003
BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter Advertisement
When small charities have big dreams about fund-raising, they often set their sights on the stars -- Hollywood stars. The Evanston-based charity consulting firm, Alford Group, advises them to c'mon back to earth.
Celebs, even for good causes, "usually don't come for free," says Alford vice president Greg Simoncini.
Indeed they don't.
A California court case is providing a peek at celebrities and charity work, with such names as Bill Cosby and David Schwimmer being used to illustrate the limits of largess.
Examining some 2,000 pages of court documents related to the mail fraud prosecution of Southern California promoter Aaron Tonken, the Los Angeles Times revealed Monday how celebrities "line their pockets" with fees from charity events.
Cosby was in line to get a $75,000 fee and $10,000 in expense money to accept a Humanitarian Award at a UCLA cancer research benefit earlier this year. (His spokesman told the paper Cosby would have waived the fee if the event had gone off, but it was canceled after Tonken's troubles emerged.) Schwimmer got two Rolex watches worth some $26,000 before an appearance at a charity gala that benefitted the John Wayne Cancer Institute.
Other celebs cited by the Times included Ray Charles getting $75,000 for singing four songs at a benefit for disabled children and Paul Anka picking up $100,000 to perform three songs at a hearing-aid foundation gala in Minnesota. Comedienne Roseanne Barr, after she agreed to emcee a benefit gala, was gifted with a $60,000 "rib run" to a restaurant in Canada, via private jet, that included $350 worth of caviar on board and an $11,500 shopping spree in Windsor, the Times reported.
It's not just movie stars: former President Gerald Ford was paid $200,000 to receive a Special Giving Award at a multicharity benefit -- about 15 percent of the evening's take, the paper estimated.
Evanston consultant Simoncini said celebrity fees are typical in the fund-raising world: Generally, the cheapest are athletes, who can command $10,000 or more. Some celebrities have their own foundations, so they will request payments be transferred to their personally approved charity. Sylvester Stallone was honored at a charity gala in London -- in return for a $35,000 fee he had sent to his maid's sick child, the Times said.
Others will waive their fee but get expensive gifts -- actress Camryn Manheim got a $24,000 Harley motorcycle to emcee an event -- pricey transportation like private jets or plush penthouse hotel suites.
The manpower it takes to escort celebrities, and sometimes cater to their whims, can also be draining. Cher flew a private jet to Atlanta for a fund-raiser but said she wouldn't need it for the return to California. The plane returned west. Then, she changed her mind. The promoter chartered another jet. Again, Cher changed her mind, raising the cost of air travel to $63,000, the Times said.
There is no denying the upside to celebrities and charity, though. The famous can goose the gate, allowing charities to raise more money than they would have without the star power.
Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a Chicago-based charity watchdog group, gives the hypothetical example of a local garbage company executive getting a man-of-the-year award as part of a fund-raiser. "You get a celebrity to introduce him and suddenly it's glamorous," said Borochoff.
Actress/producer Goldie Hawn was a hit at the Jewish United Fund's Vanguard Dinner at a downtown hotel last month. The dinner for 700 was open to those who gave a minimum of $5,000 to the Jewish United Fund-Israel Fund Campaign.
"The first question you probably have is, yes, I am Jewish," said the blond comedienne, the daughter of a Hungarian Jewish mother and a Presbyterian father. She talked about the joy of moviemaking but said raising four children was "the only success that really matters to her," said a report in the Jewish United Fund News.
"I know you understand. That's why I can talk to you like this, because we're family. That is our faith," said Hawn.
Michael Kotzin, executive vice president of the Jewish United Fund, said Hawn was paid a fee, which he said was private. Her appearance "added substance to the event" and was well received, he said.
Borochoff said his watchdog group has no overriding objection to using celebrities: "If you can get a David Schwimmer, and you give him some watches, and you draw more people and raise more money, is that so bad?"
However, he does urge donors to do some digging. "People should ask, What's the celebrity getting?"
Tigress 
"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."
-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" | | Back to Top | | |
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phil_five
Registered Member
Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 29
| Posted 12/11/2003 7:27 AM (GMT -6) | | The New York Times, a while back, ran an article detailing the small portions of donations that some charities use for, well, charity.
There was a charity for Native American children in the South West (for books and things) that gave 2 percent of its donations to Native Americans, after salaries and cost of operation.
Phil
So, if you are looking for a business opportunity: Start a nonprofit, I guess. | | Back to Top | | |
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honorman
Registered Member
Date Joined Oct 2002
Total Posts : 1137
| Posted 12/11/2003 7:35 AM (GMT -6) | | | Remember 9/11? While everyone was giving to it, other charities were going under. People didn't give more, they just gave to different charities. In the end, it is up to us...God wants us to be responsible for our money... | | Back to Top | | |
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