10 Most Charitable Celebrities May 2014

We here at Miratel take our CSR business values very seriously but we also like to shine a light on other like-minded businesses and celebrities because we figure it all contributes to the greater good. Celebrities doing “good” doesn’t get near the same press as when they are doing bad but I’ve liked to feature their positive influence 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, the 10 Celebrities Doing Interesting Things to Change the World, the 10 Celebrities Doing Good for Women and Girls, the 10 highest paid actresses and their causes, the 10 highest paid actors and their charities, the TIFF 2013 Celebrities and the Causes They Support (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3), the 10 people from Vanity Fair’s The New Establishment 2013, the 10 Celebrities Using their Fame to Benefit Charitable Causes and most recently how Olivia Wilde Embodies CSR: Celebrity Social Responsibility. Today I am delving into the 10 most charitable celebrities according to The Ten Most Known.

1. Elton John: In 1992 the Oscar winner founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF). His foundation has raised over $125 million to date, which helps support AIDS programs around the world.
2. Angelina Jolie: Even though she is one of highest paid actresses in Hollywood Jolie is also one of the most philanthropic. She’s best known for being an United Nations ambassador and for creating the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation with partner Brad Pitt. Not long ago she launched the jewelry line, Style of Jolie, where 100% of the profits go to charity and it has already funded an all-girls school in Afghanistan.
3. Bono: The U2 front man auctioned off a U2 fan experience and memorabilia package, which raised some $212,000, to benefit J/P Haitian Relief Organization, Happy Hearts Fund and Artists for Peace and Justice. Most notably the political activist founded the ONE Campaign, DATA and (RED) which work to eliminate global poverty.
4. Oprah Winfrey: The former talk show host who now runs her own television network OWN is well known for giving back. She founded The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa to help better the lives of girls who wouldn’t otherwise be educated. Additionally, she founded the Oprah Angel Network and went on to create the Katrina registry, which has “raised more than $11 million for relief efforts to rebuilt Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”
5. Ellen DeGeneres: The talk show and Oscar host took the most famous and retweeted selfie of all time and in the end Samsung donated $1 for every retweet on Twitter. The celebrity laden picture raised $3 million for two of DeGeneres’ favourite charities St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and The Humane Society of the United States. She has also supported International Day of Pink, which works to celebrate diversity and social inclusion.
6. Brad Pitt: The actor/ producer committed to helping rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina by founding the Make It Right Foundation which has created over 100 homes in New Orleans, and 200 nationwide. The organization’s yearly star-studded gala has been known to raise over $5 million for the foundation. He is also one of the founders of Not On Our Watch and the Jolie-Pitt Foundation along with Angelina Jolie. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7YHTOsGw48[/youtube]
7. Michael J. Fox: In 2000 the actor founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease, which he suffers from. This is the largest non-profit working on Parkinson’s research and has raised approximately $350 million to date.
8. Susan Sarandon: The actress has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and has worked for many humanitarian causes. She has championed the Somaly Mam Foundation and she was named one of The Condé Nast Traveler 12 Remarkable Global Citizens.

Image courtesy of canada.com

• George Clooney: The recently engaged actor/director gives to many causes, but he is best known for his work in the Sudan. In fact, he personally helps fund and spread awareness of the Satellite Sentinel Project, a satellite over the Sudan to help document the human rights abuses in the region. Wanting to spread the word and raise funds he ran a “Win a Date with George Clooney” raffle. The raffle tickets were $10.00 and the “date” included attending a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman and the ‘Monument’s Men’ Premier. This fundraising effort reportedly raised $1.2 million through Omaze, which will keep the satellite running for 3 months. In support of GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) he auctioned off a lunch date with himself and Dave Karger at the exclusive Soho House West Hollywood, which raised $58,000. He also co-founded Not On Our Watch.
• Paul McCartney: Sir Paul McCartney is nearly as famous for his philanthropy as he is his legendary music career. Though PETA is one of his favourite charities, he donated signed guitars to the 12-12-12 Concert to benefit the Robin Hood Fund for Sandy Relief. Also, on behalf of City of Hope, an “innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution, dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases” he donated a fan experience package for two which raised $57,500. He also supports Everyone Matters, which works to spread self-acceptance and stop discrimination.

These people epitomize the very best of Hollywood and should serve as an inspiration to others to get involved, give back and do their part to make the world a better place.

___________________________________________________________________________________

For nonprofit, nonprofit fundraising, CSR business and other news, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including PCI compliant inbound telephone fundraising, outbound telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery fundraising services, donation processing and receipting and direct mail fundraising services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all our business decisions  and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.