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Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
Backed by a Sobrato Heir, This Funder Is Working at the Intersection of Film and Social Change
Media and storytelling have always been powerful ways to inform, persuade and generate empathy — key ingredients in bringing about social change. Not too long ago, I wrote about Pop Culture Collaborative, which focuses on harnessing viral videos, … [Read more...] about Backed by a Sobrato Heir, This Funder Is Working at the Intersection of Film and Social Change
IP Briefing: What’s Going on with the Philanthropy of Celebrities, Athletes, and Moguls?
In a sentence: Celebrities and athletes don’t tend to have the enormous philanthropic capacity that finance or tech billionaires do, but they are a more diverse bunch with huge potential to mobilize support for the causes they care about. What’s … [Read more...] about IP Briefing: What’s Going on with the Philanthropy of Celebrities, Athletes, and Moguls?
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Actor/ProducerFUNDING AREAS: Education & Arts, Racial Equity & Black Causes, Health, Religious, EnvironmentOVERVIEW: Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith have conducted their philanthropy through the Will and Jada Smith Family … [Read more...] about Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
An Untapped Well: In Search of the Black Environmental Donor
As a Black kid who went to camp every summer, I’ve always felt that the idea that the rich open spaces of upstate New York—never mind the great West—are only for white people is false. Though we are stereotyped as an urban people today, Black … [Read more...] about An Untapped Well: In Search of the Black Environmental Donor
For Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Philanthropy is a Family Affair
Hollywood fortunes are growing. “Spartacus” actor Kirk Douglas was worth around $80 million by some estimates before he passed away, having smartly established a production company in the 1950s to make movies outside the studio system. In 2020, the … [Read more...] about For Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Philanthropy is a Family Affair
Looking Back on the Legacy of a Small but Influential Funder of Independent Film
This is the story of one small, specialized foundation that has made significant social impact across a range of issues and themes. In July of 1995, the thermometer in Chicago hit 106 degrees. The city recorded 739 heat-related deaths. In early 2020, … [Read more...] about Looking Back on the Legacy of a Small but Influential Funder of Independent Film
Geek Chic: How a Funder Uses Film to Get the Public Jazzed About Science
In 2003, before funders began giving millions for STEM education or calling on Americans to view scientists the way they value athletes, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Sundance Institute began a collaboration focused on highlighting “the … [Read more...] about Geek Chic: How a Funder Uses Film to Get the Public Jazzed About Science
Intervention Points: Behind a Fellowship to Support Diverse Documentary Filmmakers
News out of Harlem suggests that niche funders aren't sitting around waiting for Hollywood to do more to support underrepresented filmmakers. They're perfectly capable of doing it themselves.Firelight Media, the production company co-founded 18 years … [Read more...] about Intervention Points: Behind a Fellowship to Support Diverse Documentary Filmmakers
Mind the Gap: Can Hollywood Do More to Support Underrepresented Filmmakers?
The saga of the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' FilmCraft and FilmWatch grant programs provides an instructive look into how funders are working to boost diversity in a film space—and how much work still needs … [Read more...] about Mind the Gap: Can Hollywood Do More to Support Underrepresented Filmmakers?
Exposure and Support: A Foundation Looks to Diversity the Ranks of Visual Storytellers
Last month's news that the MacArthur Foundation's Journalism and Media program announced $5.7 million in grants to seven organizations to support nonfiction media makers from diverse backgrounds is important for two reasons. First, it suggests that … [Read more...] about Exposure and Support: A Foundation Looks to Diversity the Ranks of Visual Storytellers
Meet the Top 20 Philanthropists of Color
The nation's ethnic landscape is changing, and by 2050, America will be majority non-white. These demographic shifts have implications for a wide variety of sectors, including philanthropy. Individual contributions constitute the single largest … [Read more...] about Meet the Top 20 Philanthropists of Color
Meet the Renegade Positioning the Southwest as a Magnet for Filmmakers
Roughly three years ago, in a post looking at George R. R. Martin's donation to start a screenwriting award at the New Mexico Film Foundation, I referenced a 2011 New Yorker article describing how his fans send him scathing letters for taking too … [Read more...] about Meet the Renegade Positioning the Southwest as a Magnet for Filmmakers
May the Force Be Less White: A Movie Mogul’s Commitment to Diversity in Film
George Lucas' recent philanthropy increasingly resembles his filmmaking. Some gifts look to the future, while others evoke the past. Recent news points to an example of the former.In October of 2015, he made a $10 million endowment from the George … [Read more...] about May the Force Be Less White: A Movie Mogul’s Commitment to Diversity in Film
What Giving Lies Ahead For This African-American Private Equity Billionaire?
Billionaire Robert F. Smith is chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on investing in software and technology-enabled businesses. Vista has over $14 billion in cumulative capital commitments. The son of … [Read more...] about What Giving Lies Ahead For This African-American Private Equity Billionaire?
How Do the New Funders Think? Here’s a Good Example
James Lee Sorenson has made it big in the tech scene, founding companies such as Sorenson Media, whose "Sorenson Squeeze" was instrumental in bringing Internet video to Quicktime. Sorenson also cofounded Sorenson Capital, a private equity firm. The … [Read more...] about How Do the New Funders Think? Here’s a Good Example
