30 Top Celebrity Donations of 2011

We’ve done our share of looking back at 2011 beginning with our top Meatless Monday recipes, nonprofit fundraising, CSR business, professional fundraising and other blog posts, the top online searches and the top 20 celebrities who did good throughout the year. Today we continue with the fifth annual Giving Back Fund (GBF) list of the top 30 celebrity donations in 2011. GBF is a “nonprofit organization that provides philanthropic management and consulting to the sports and entertainment industries.”

• 30. Victoria Principal. The actress and business woman donated the hefty sum of $342,665 to the Victoria Principal Foundation which helps support and unite environmental groups.
• 29. Davis Love. The golf star donated $424,379 to his Davis Love III Foundation which focuses on supporting national and community programs that help children and their families.
• 28. Jasper Johns. The American painter, sculptor, and printmaker gave $500,000 to the Low Road Foundation.
• 27. Daniel and Cara Whitney. Most know Daniel Whitney by his alter-ego Larry the Cable Guy. The Whitney’s gave $550,020 to their Git-R-Done Foundation which supports charities who help children and veterans.
• 26. Taylor Swift. The singer/song writer donated $625,000, which included 500,000 to Nashville’s flood relief.
  

  The great Mariano Rivera

• 25. Mariano Rivera. The Yankee’s all-star closer donated $627,500 to his Mariano Rivera Foundation which focuses on community-based youth oriented programs.
• 24. Writers Faye Kellerman and Jonathan Kellerman. The best selling novelists donated $627,700 to the Jonathan and Faye Kellerman Foundation.
• 23. Lance Armstrong. The seven-time winner of the Tour de France and cancer survivor donated $700,648 to his LiveStrong Foundation, most known for its iconic yellow bracelets to help those with cancer.
• 22. Carmelo Anthony. The New York Knicks basketball star reportedly gave $837,200 to his Carmelo Anthony Foundation which aims to “positively impact the lives of those living in underserved communities through 3 key focus areas – education, recreation & community outreach.”
• 21. Hugh Hefner. The founder of the Playboy empire donated $900,000 to a public land trust to preserve the Hollywood sign.
• 20. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith donated $900,000 to the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation which focuses on education and inner-city welfare.
• 19. Eli Manning and his wife Abby. They donated $1,000,000 to University of Mississippi’s Ole Miss Opportunity Scholarship.
• 18. Sandra Bullock. The Oscar winner donated $1,000,000 to Doctors Without Borders for Haiti relief.
• 17. Alec Baldwin. The 30Rock star and Words with Friends enthusiast donated $1,005,131 to the Alec Baldwin Foundation.
• 16. Isabel Allende. The writer donated $1,017,247 to the Isabel Allende Foundation to support charities that empower and protect women.
• 15. Gisele Bundchen. The super model donated $1,500,000 to the Red Cross for Haiti relief.
• 14. Gerda and Dean Koontz. The writers donated $1,500,000 to the Dean and Gerda Koontz Foundation.
• 13. Matthew McConaughey. The movie star donated $1,537,292 to his Just Keep Livin’ Foundation which helps teenagers lead healthy and active lives.
  

  Barbra Streisand

• 12. Barbra Streisand. The legendary singer and actress donated $1,555,500 to her Barbra Streisand Foundation that supports a number of charities including those dealing with women’s heath, human rights and environmental causes plus others.
• 11. Jerry Seinfeld. The comedian and actor gave $1,766,000 to the Seinfeld Family Foundation that supports education, children’s health and Jewish organizations.
• 10. Sam Simon. The Simpson’s co-creator gave $1,800,000 to the Simon Foundation to “save the lives of dogs to enrich the lives of people.”
• 9. Marcy Carsey and her husband John Carsey. The television producer gave $1,870,000 to the Carsey Family Foundation they established.
• 8. Meryl Streep and her husband Donald Gummer. The Oscar winning actress and star of The Iron Lady and her husband donated $2,000,000 to their Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts. Grants given out have gone to Oxfam and Vasser college.
• 7. Lance Berkman and his wife Cara. The St. Louis Cardinals’ star and his wife donated $2,412,245 to The Lord’s Fund, a charity they established which supports Christian charities.
• 6. Ndamukong Suh. The Detroit Lions’ star gave $2,600,000 to the University of Nebraska. $2,000,000 of the donation went to the athletics department and 600,000 went to the college of engineering.
• 5. Nora Roberts. The writer gave $3,000,000 to her Nora Roberts Foundation that focuses on literacy.
• 4. George Lucas. The writer/producer/director best known for the Star Wars saga gave $4,250,000 to the Lucas Film Foundation, which supports other charities that inspire people to live their dream and be responsible citizens.
• 3. Mel Gibson. The embattled star gave $6,853,020 to “A.P. Reilly Foundation, which he started to support Holy Family Church.”
• 2. Herb Alpert. The musician gave $9,104,829 to his Herb Alpert Foundation, which focuses on the arts.
• 1. Jami Gertz and her husband Antony Ressler. The actress and her husband gave $10,569,002 to Ressler Gertz Foundation. The foundation gives grants to the likes of the LA County Museum of Art and Cedar Sinai Medical Center.

Worth noting is that this list does not include in-kind donations or donations made as a redirect of their services or performances. The point of the list is to showcase the impact that those in the spotlight can have and to spur others in the entertainment, art, literary and sports world to give back. In this economy, many charities are struggling to increase its awareness to compete for limited nonprofit fundraising dollars and having a celebrity association can help elevate its status in some cases.
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