Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Actor
FUNDING AREAS: Arts & Culture, Education & Youth, Human Services, Global Humanitarian Work
OVERVIEW: Hugh Jackman and his wife Deborra-lee Furness do their grantmaking through the Jackman Family Foundation, which has made a couple hundred thousand in grants annually of late. The couple prioritizes children's welfare, and supports adoption. Other funding priorities include the arts and global organizations. Deborra-lee, a humanitarian and adoption advocate, is a strong force behind the couple's grantmaking.
BACKGROUND: Born in Sydney, Australia, Hugh Jackman began his acting career on stage, appearing in several Melbourne musicals, and later won a Tony Award for his role as Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz. In Hollywood, Jackman has gained international fame for his roles in films like Kate & Leopold, Van Helsing, The Prestige, Australia, and X-Men.
ISSUES:
ARTS & CULTURE: Jackman and Deborra-lee have been acting for years and so unsurprisingly arts and culture is one area that the couple funds via their foundation. Grantees include American Museum of the Moving Image, American Theatre Wing, Film Forum, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum, and Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation. It is worth noting that the couple also launched the Jackman Furness Foundation for the Performing Arts in Australia a few years ago.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Deborra-lee is a prominent adoption advocate. In the couple's native Australia, Deborra-lee founded National Adoption Awareness Week and Adopt Change, focusing on adoption programs, procedures and legislation, and more. Via the Jackman Family Foundation, the couple has supported U.S. organizations like Gladney Center for Adoption, Donaldson Adoption Institute, and Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. Other grantees include Baby Buggy, The Windward School, Child Mind Institute, Churchill School and Center, The UCLA Foundation, and School of Practical Philosophy.
HUMAN SERVICES: Jackman and Deborra-lee also support organizations like Covenant House - Los Angeles, Broadway Housing Communities Foundation, Asphalt Green, and SAY Detroit , a "charity aimed at improving the lives of the neediest citizens, through shelter, food, medical care, volunteer efforts."
GLOBAL: The couple also make grants to organizations that work on a global level. Deborra-lee co-founded Hopeland, a platform established to raise awareness around vulnerable and abandoned children. Hopeland seeks to emphasize this issue globally across political and human rights agendas. The foundation further seeks to mobilize and influence leaders across government, business and civil society, to create innovative solutions and policies that will ensure children will belong in a safe loving home. The couple, via their foundation, have also supported Cambodian Children’s Fund, Worldwide Orphans Foundation, and Raincatcher, a nonprofit that provides clean drinking water solutions to impoverished regions around the world, has been another grantee.
LOOKING FORWARD: Jackman is still in his 50s and engaged in Hollywood, but expect the couple's advocacy for children to continue. It is clear that the couple is also interested in grantmaking in Australia.
CONTACT:
The Jackman Family Foundation
501 Silverside Rd., Ste. 123
Wilmington, DE 19809
LINK:
