10 Most Charitable Celebrities

The nonprofit fundraising and awareness efforts of celebrities is something that I have been writing about in posts like the 10 Most Charitable Celebrities from the 2013 Oscar nominees, the top 20 Celebrity Gone Good Part 1 (and Part 2), the 5 Celebrity Charity Events by Musicians, Hurricane Sandy relief Part 1 & Part 2 and most recently 10 Celebrities Doing Interesting Things to Change the World. The reason behind these posts is to try and celebrate those who are having a positive impact and making a real contribution to the world. Today, we’ll be adding to this list with the 10 most charitable celebrities according to one of my favourite celebrity charity resources Look to the Stars along with some of my own research.

Annie Lennox

1. Annie Lennox: The singer, political activist and UN ambassador also supports charities like: 21st Century Leaders, 46664, Aberlour Child Care Trust, Amnesty International, Bottletop, Charity Projects Entertainment Fund, Children in Need, Clothes Off Our Back, Comic Relief, Education Africa, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Feeding America, Fund4Darfur, Global Fund, Grace House, Greenpeace, Healthlink Worldwide, Hear The World, INSP, Life College, Make Trade Fair, Nordoff Robbins, Oxfam, Peace One Day, Prince’s Trust, RADD, Red Cross, Save the Children, Soil Association, Sport Relief, Treatment Action Campaign, UNICEF, Whatever It Takes, Witness, Women for Women International and Women’s Fund for Scotland.
2. Elton John: Even though the Oscar winner founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) in 1992, Sir Elton also supports organizations such as: Aids Life, American Foundation for AIDS Research, American Foundation for Equal Rights, Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, Andy Roddick Foundation, Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Bridge School, Caudwell Children, Children’s Tumor Foundation, Cinema For Peace, Exploring The Arts, Food Bank For New York City, Gus Dudgeon Foundation, HELP USA, Hillsides, Joey Dipaolo AIDS Foundation, Kids, Love Our Children USA, mothers2mothers, Move For AIDS, MusiCares, National Youth Theatre, Oxfam, PDSA, Project Angel Food, RADD, Rainforest Foundation Fund, Riders For Health, Scope, Soles4Souls, Sporting Chance Clinic, Starkey Hearing Foundation, St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelters, STOMP Out Bullying, Terrence Higgins Trust, The Lunchbox Fund, The Rainforest Foundation, The Trevor Project, True Colors Fund, Volunteering England, War Child, Women’s Sports Foundation and World AIDS Day.
3. Sting: The Grammy winning artist co-founded The Rainforest Foundation Fund with his wife, Trudie Styler, to help save rainforests in South America. Sting also participated in NBC’s Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together Benefit and also supports: Aid Still Required, Amazon Watch, Amnesty International, Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Breast Cancer Care, Children’s Health Fund, Children’s Tumor Foundation, Comic Relief, Creative Coalition, David Foster Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Environmental Investigation Agency, Every Mother Counts, Hope is a Game-Changer Project, International Campaign for Tibet, Live 8, Live Earth, Love Our Children USA, Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, MusiCares, Musicians on Call, Oceana, One World Futbol, Reverb, Robin Hood, Society of Singers, Starkey Hearing Foundation, St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelters, Sunnybrook Foundation, The Art of Elysium, Walden Woods Project and Worldwide Orphans Foundation.
4. Bono: The U2 front man and political activist has drawn much attention for founding organizations like ONE Campaign, DATA and (RED) which work to eliminate global poverty. Though they may be seen as his main causes, Bono has lent his support to other charities like: 46664, ALAFA, Amnesty International, Charity Projects Entertainment Fund, Chernobyl Children’s Project International,Every Mother Counts, Food Bank For New York City, Global Fund, Greenpeace, Keep A Child Alive, Live 8, Make Poverty History, Mencap, Millennium Promise, Millennium Villages, Mulago Positive Women’s Network, MusiCares, Not On Our Watch,  Oxfam, Red Cross, Simon Community, The Lunchbox Fund, UNICEF, UN Millennium Project, War Child, Wildlife Conservation Society, Witness and Zero Hunger.
   

   Bill Clinton and Bono

5. William J. Clinton: The former president founded the William J. Clinton Foundation and also supports charities like: 46664, Aid Still Required, ALAS, American Foundation for AIDS Research, American India Foundation, Apne Aap, Artists for Peace and Justice, Avoided Deforestation Partners, Bottletop, Bush Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund, CAMFED, CHOC South Africa, Chris Tucker Foundation, Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Clinton Global Initiative, Conservation International, Cotlands, FC Harlem, Food Bank For New York City, Global Fund, Heifer International, HELP USA, Ithemba Trust, Jewish National Fund, J/P Haitian Relief Organization, K.I.D.S., Kiva, Make-A-Wish Foundation, MASSIVEGOOD, MusiCares, Music Rising, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana, PeacePlayers International, Reach For A Dream Foundation, Red Cross, ROTA, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, Save the Children, STILLERSTRONG, St. Mary’s Hospital, The Lunchbox Fund, The Rainforest Foundation, TJ Martell Foundation, US Doctors for Africa, Usher’s New Look Foundation, Walkabout Foundation, Walter Sisulu Paediatric Cardiac Centre for Africa and Yum-o!.
6. George Clooney: The Oscar winning actor/director/ producer works with many worthy causes. Chief amongst his philanthropic endeavors is his work on behalf of the Sudan and it was at an anti-genocide demonstration at the Sudanese embassy in Washington in 2012 where he was arrested. He also founded “Not On Our Watch with his Ocean’s 11 co-stars Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and producer Jerry Weintraub. The organization’s main goal is to stop the genocide occurring in Sudan.” George has also supported: 21st Century Leaders, American Foundation for AIDS Research, American Foundation for Equal Rights, Ante Up For Africa, Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, CARE, Casey Lee Ball Foundation, Cinema For Peace, Clothes Off Our Back, ENOUGH Project, Entertainment Industry Foundation, Feeding America, International Rescue Committee, Make It Right, Make Poverty History, Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation, ONE Campaign, Onyx and Breezy Foundation, Oxfam, Partners in Health, Realizing the Dream, Red Cross, Rock For Darfur, Satellite Sentinel Project, Save the Children, Stand Up To Cancer, UNICEF, United Way, Whatever It Takes and World Food Programme.
7. Paul McCartney: The former Beatle is as known for his philanthropy as for his musical genius. He is a staunch supporter of vegetarianism and launched the Meatfree Monday movement to encourage others to go meatless. He is also an advocate of PETA and supports other charities like: 21st Century Leaders, Adopt-A-Minefield, Aid Still Required, American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Children With Leukemia, David Lynch Foundation, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Greenpeace, Humane Society International, International Rescue Committee, Keep A Child Alive, Kids Wish Network, Make Poverty History, Natural Resources Defense Council, No More Landmines, Nordoff Robbins, ParalympicsGB, Prince’s Trust, Red Cross, Society for Animal Protective Legislation, St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelters, STOMP Out Bullying, TigerTime, War Child, Watering Seeds Organization, Whatever It Takes and Worldwide Orphans Foundation.

1. Bruce Springsteen: The Boss is synonymous with his home state of New Jersey, and when Hurricane Sandy hit he stepped up in a major way. Springsteen performed on the 12.12.12 Concert for Sandy relief and NBC’s Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together Benefit. He has also been a supporter of charities like: Aid Still Required, Amnesty International, Bob Woodruff Foundation, Every Mother Counts, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Kristen Ann Carr Fund, Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, MusiCares, Musicians on Call, Project Green Leaf, Rainforest Foundation Fund, Robin Hood and WhyHunger.
2. Brad Pitt: Brad is becoming equally known for his charity work as he is for being a hugely famous actor. He has founded a number of charities like the Make It Right Nola Foundation which helps to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, he is one of the founders of Not On Our Watch and the Jolie-Pitt Foundation with Angelina Jolie which is “dedicated to eradicating extreme rural poverty, protecting natural resources and conserving wildlife.” Other charities Pitt has worked with includes: African Children’s Choir, Alliance For The Lost Boys Of Sudan, American Foundation for Equal Rights, Ante Up For Africa, https://www.bgccan.com/en/, Care to Learn, Child Find Ontario, Cure Autism Now, Daniel Pearl Foundation, DATA, Direct Change, Donate Life America, EB Medical Research Foundation, ENOUGH Project, Global Action for Children, Global Green, HALO Trust, Human Rights Watch, Live 8, Make Poverty History, Millennium Promise, Millennium Villages, Mineseeker Foundation, Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation, ONE Campaign, ONEXONE, Project A.L.S., Right To Play, Satellite Sentinel Project, Solar Neighbors Program,  Sophie’s Gift, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN Millennium Project, World Food Programme and Yéle Haiti Foundation.
3. Angelina Jolie: The UN says of Jolie that she “uses her status as a superstar to generate media coverage about the plight of refugees and the conditions under which they live. She has traveled widely to remote refugee camps and receiving centers in countries including Tanzania, Namibia, Cambodia, Pakistan, Thailand and Ecuador. To further raise awareness, she has released her personal journals for select field visits that can be accessed at USA for UNHCR. For her efforts, Angelina has been honored with the Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program Humanitarian Award.”” Angelina also works with: Afghanistan Relief Organization, Direct Change, Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation, Alliance For The Lost Boys Of Sudan, Cancer Schmancer Movement, Care to Learn, Cinema For Peace, Clinton Global Initiative, Daniel Pearl Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, Global Action for Children, HALO Trust, Human Rights Watch, Jolie-Pitt Foundation, Kids in Need of Defense, Millennium Promise, Millennium Villages, Muhammad Ali Center, Not On Our Watch, ONE Campaign, Peace One Day, Project A.L.S., Reporters Without Borders, Sophie’s Gift, SOS Children’s Villages, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN Millennium Project, World Food Programme and Yéle Haiti Foundation.

These ten stars are setting the standard for philanthropy in Hollywood and around the globe. Their good work will prove inspirational to those who look up to them and hopefully will have farther-reaching results.

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