Mark Cuban
/FUNDING AREAS: Education, health, veterans, women, patent law reform, disaster relief
OVERVIEW: Cuban conducts his philanthropy through the Dallas-based Mark Cuban Foundation. In recent years, giving has focused education, but Cuban has several philanthropic interests including veterans, public health, Jewish causes, patent law reform and more.
BACKGROUND: Mark Cuban is best known as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and as an investor on the TV series Shark Tank, but he got his start in the tech industry. Growing up in Pittsburgh and attending the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Cuban had several entrepreneurial ventures during his early years. His first major business success was MicroSolutions, which he sold to CompuServe for $6 million. But he achieved far greater success with a streaming video company he founded with Todd Wagner, Broadcast.com, which was acquired by Yahoo! in 1999 for $5.9 billion in Yahoo! stock. From there, Cuban diversified his portfolio, and now owns the Landmark Theatre Chain and Magnolia Productions, along with investments in many other businesses. Cuban established the Mark Cuban Foundation in 2003 in Dallas. The foundation focuses on education and runs a signature AI Bootcamp program. Other funding interests include higher education, public health, veterans, women’s and girls’ causes, Jewish organizations and more.
ISSUES
EDUCATION: The Mark Cuban Foundation’s signature program is its AI Bootcamp initiative. Launched in 2019, the camps offer introductory instruction in artificial intelligence and prioritize underserved students in urban areas. The program aims to serve more than 1,000 students each year by the end of the 2023. The Cuban Foundation also supports higher education. Recent grants have gone to the University of California at San Francisco, the University of Michigan, the United Negro College Fund and Indiana University, which is Cuban’s alma mater.
PUBLIC HEALTH: The Cuban Foundation does not name specific goals for its public health funding, but has supported several pediatric and general hosptial systems over the years. Grantmaking appears to prioritize organizations operating in Texas. Past grantees include the Southwestern Medical Foundation, the Children’s Cancer Fund of Dallas, the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children and the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.
WOMEN AND GIRLS: Women’s organizations are a newer area of grantmaking for the Cuban Foundation, which has not named specific priorities for its giving in this area. Recent grants have gone to the National Women’s Law Center and the Texas Women’s Foundation.
VETERANS: In 2003, Cuban founded the Fallen Patriot Fund to help families of U.S. military personnel killed or injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Since its inception, the fund has given out more than $5 million in grants. Cuban gave the majority of that money, but the fund also encourages donations from others. When he launched the fund, Cuban announced he would personally match the first $1 million in donations, though the amount donated from third parties is unknown. Since then, Cuban’s giving for veterans’ causes has tapered off, but smaller amounts have recently gone to organizations including the American Legion and Support Our Troops, Inc.
JEWISH CAUSES: Through the Mark Cuban Foundation, Cuban has given to U.S.-based Jewish organizations including the Birthright Israel Foundation, the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, the Jewish Community Center of New Orleans and the Dallas Holocaust Museum.
PATENT LAW REFORM: In December 2012, Cuban donated $250,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization that confronts cutting-edge issues in defending free speech, privacy, innovation and consumer rights, and which champions the public interest in critical battles affecting digital rights. The donation, he said, was to "eliminate stupid patents" and assist with legal efforts to reform the patent system.
DISASTER RELIEF: In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Cuban announced a pledge of $1 million for disaster relief and rebuilding efforts. Prior to this announcement, he had already made $7500 in grants to the Food Bank of NYC to help them through the disaster. In 2016, in response to the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Cuban donated $1 million to the Dallas Police Department to protect the LGBT community.
OTHER ISSUES: Every time the NBA fines Cuban, he matches that fine with a donation. During his 21 years as the Mavericks’ owner, this practice has resulted in $1.9 million in donations. Similarly, Cuban donated $30,000 to the charity CyberSmile, an "anti-cyberbullying nonprofit organization," after dropping the F-bomb twice during a charity fundraiser, and gave $100,000 to the iBelieve Foundation—which raises money for Hunter syndrome—after being fined for confronting game officials on court at the conclusion of a game. Both donations were made as a sanction for using profane language. In 2015, he gave $250,000 to the Special Olympics through his foundation, and another $25,000 to the Austin Street Shelter, a homeless shelter in Dallas. Cuban has also given to the National Association of Black Journalists Covid-19 Relief Fund.
LOOKING FORWARD: Mark Cuban has not signed the Giving Pledge or indicated how much of his fortune he will eventually give to philanthropy. But his entrepreneurial spirit and his love of sports and entertainment point to a number of possible outlets for Cuban’s charity in the future. His brother Brian has been listed in the past as the executive director of the Mark Cuban Foundation, so his decisions may provide hints in the future about Cuban family philanthropy.
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