Celebrities Put Star-Power to Good Use
Charities cultivate relationships with stars for their ability to increase the public’s awareness of their charitable endeavors and thus stimulate more donations. Celebrities can be spokespersons, board members or even a founder of a charity. The following video highlights a number of celebrities and the causes to which they’ve pledged their support.
It is wonderful that celebrities have the power to make us aware of causes that need our support. But the onus is still on us to do our homework before making a contribution. A celebrity’s endorsement simply can not serve as a substitute for researching a charity. First of all, even if you are the number one fan of a particular celebrity, you two probably do not have exactly the same philanthropic interests. Second, the celebrity may not have thoroughly vetted the charity’s finances, commitment to accountability and transparency or its programmatic accomplishments --- all steps that savvy donors take before making a donation.
Charity Navigator is pleased to present this list of celebrity-related charities to help you determine which may be worthy of a contribution from you. While this certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, it is an extensive list of celebrity-charity relationships.| Charity Name | Rating |
|---|---|
| American Cinematheque |  |
| Candice Bergen, Francis Coppola, Goldie Hawn, Martin Scorsese | |
| America's Promise Alliance | |
| Colin Powell | |
| Andre Agassi Foundation | |
| Andre Agassi, Emeril Lagasse, Sir Elton John | |
| Baby Buggy | |
| Jessica Seinfeld | |
| The Boomer Esiason Foundation | |
| Boomer Esiason | |
| The Children's Health Fund | |
| Paul Simon | |
| College Summit | |
| Don Cheadle | |
| Dream Foundation | |
| Kim Kardashian, Priscilla Presley | |
| Elton John AIDS Foundation | |
| Elton John | |
| Farm Aid | |
| Dave Mathews, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Willie Nelson | |
| Freedom Alliance | |
| Oliver North | |
| Green Dot Public Schools | |
| Oscar De La Hoya | |
| Greenpeace Fund | |
| Bono | |
| Habitat for Humanity International | |
| Jimmy Carter | |
| The Hole in the Wall Gang Fund | |
| Julia Roberts, Paul Newman | |
| International Tennis Hall of Fame | |
| Jim Courier, Pam Shriver, Patrick McEnroe | |
| Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International | |
| Mary Tyler Moore, Nick Jonas, Sugar Ray Leonard | |
| MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation | |
| MaliVai Washington | |
| Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research | |
| Michael J. Fox | |
| National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. | |
| Amy Grant, Bon Jovi, Donny Osmond, Reba McEntire | |
| National Inclusion Project | |
| Clay Aiken | |
| Natural Resources Defense Council | |
| James Taylor, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Redford | |
| The Nature Conservancy | |
| Michael Douglas | |
| New York Restoration Project | |
| Bette Midler | |
| Oceana | |
| January Jones, Kelsey Grammer, Pierce Brosnan, Ted Danson | |
| Operation USA | |
| Julie Andrews | |
| Positive Coaching Alliance | |
| Barry Zito, Bart Conner, Bill Bradley, Dean Smith, Doc Rivers, Dot Richardson, Herm Edwards, Kerri Strug, Larry Brown, Nadia Comaneci, Phil Jackson, Ronnie Lott, Summer Sanders, Tony Dorsett | |
| Rainforest Foundation US | |
| Sting , Trudie Styler | |
| Shelter Network | |
| Maya Angelou | |
| Starlight Children's Foundation - Headquarters | |
| Bob Saget, Corbin Blue, Jamie Lee Curtis | |
| Tiger Woods Foundation | |
| Tiger Woods | |
| Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation | |
| Tony La Russa | |
| United States Fund for UNICEF | |
| Alyssa Milano, Clay Aiken, India.Arie , Laurence Fishburne, Lucy Liu, Sarah Jessica Parker, Téa Leoni | |
| The V Foundation | |
| Bill Cosby, Dick Vitale, Mike Kryzewski, Peggy Fleming Jenkins | |
| Victory Junction Gang | |
| Adam Petty, Kyle Petty | |
| Vital Voices Global Partnership | |
| Diane von Furstenburg, Sally Field | |
| WITNESS | |
| Peter Gabriel | |
| Women's Sports Foundation | |
| Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Dominique Dawes, Geena Davis, Holly Hunter, Laila Ali, Martina Navratilova, Sheryl Crow | |
| Youth For Tomorrow | |
| Joe Gibbs | |
| Africare |  |
| Nelson Mandela | |
| After-School All-Stars | |
| Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kobe Bryant, Maria Shriver | |
| American Heart Association | |
| Andie McDowell | |
| American Humane Association | |
| Paula Abdul | |
| American Parkinson Disease Association | |
| Muhammad Ali | |
| amfAR | |
| Elizabeth Taylor, Harry Belafonte, Natasha Richardson, Sharon Stone | |
| Amnesty International USA | |
| Bono , Nazanin Boniadi | |
| Better World Fund | |
| Ted Turner | |
| Blue Ridge Broadcasting Corporation | |
| Billy Graham | |
| The Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation | |
| Chi Chi Rodriguez | |
| Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | |
| Jack Hanna | |
| Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation | |
| Gloria Reuben, Neal McDonough | |
| Entertainment Industry Foundation | |
| Charlize Theron, Katie Couric, Pierce Brosnan | |
| Grassroot Soccer | |
| Ethan Zohn | |
| Human Rights First | |
| Sigourney Weaver | |
| Hunter's Hope Foundation | |
| Jim Kelly | |
| International Campaign for Tibet | |
| Richard Gere | |
| John Tracy Clinic | |
| Robert Wagner | |
| KICKSTART | |
| Chuck Norris | |
| Lance Armstrong Foundation | |
| Lance Armstrong | |
| Last Chance for Animals | |
| Chris DeRose | |
| Magic Johnson Foundation | |
| Earvin "Magic" Johnson | |
| Make-A-Wish Foundation of America | |
| Chris Webber, Grant Hill, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Donnalley, Michael Johnson | |
| National Kidney Foundation | |
| Rusty Wallace, Tina Fey | |
| Oprah's Angel Network | |
| Oprah Winfrey | |
| Pajama Program | |
| Ivana Trump | |
| People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals | |
| Alec Baldwin, Alicia Silverstone, Pamela Anderson, Pink , Woody Harrelson | |
| Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network | |
| Christina Ricci | |
| Ronald McDonald House Charities | |
| Al Roker, Billy Bush, Carl Lewis, Cindy Crawford, Hayden Panettiere, Mario Lopez | |
| Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation | |
| George Schultz, Nancy Reagan, Rudolph Giuliani, Rupert Murdoch, Steve Forbes, T. Boone Pickens | |
| Santa Barbara Zoo | |
| John Cleese | |
| Save the Manatee Club | |
| Jimmy Buffett | |
| Southeastern Legal Foundation | |
| Edwin Meese | |
| Special Olympics | |
| Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bart Conner, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Jackie Chan, Maria Shriver, Michael Phelps, Nadia Comaneci, Pierce Brosnan, Scott Hamilton, Timothy Shriver, Vanessa Williams, Yao Ming | |
| Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation | |
| Lee Iacocca | |
| Sundance Institute | |
| Robert Redford | |
| Teammates for Kids Foundation | |
| Garth Brooks | |
| United Nations Foundation | |
| Ted Turner | |
| Water.org | |
| Matt Damon | |
| Waterkeeper Alliance | |
| Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | |
| Women for Women International | |
| Rania Al-Abdullah | |
| Actors and Others for Animals |  |
| Betty White, Doris Day | |
| Alaska Wilderness League | |
| Jimmy Carter | |
| Alonzo Mourning Charities | |
| Alonzo Mourning | |
| Apollo Theater Foundation | |
| Quincy Jones | |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of America | |
| Ashanti , Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Courtney Vance, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Denzel Washington, Edward James Olmos, Gen. Wesley Clark, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Jimmy Rollins, John Mellencamp, John Singleton, Kerry Washington, Mario Lopez, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Queen Latifah, Ruben Studdard, Shaquille O'Neal, Smokey Robinson, Swin Cash, Usher | |
| Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation | |
| Christopher Reeve | |
| CJ Foundation for SIDS | |
| Don Imus | |
| Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation | |
| Gary Sinise | |
| George Bush Presidential Library Foundation | |
| Andrew H. Card, Jr., Jeb Bush | |
| Gilda's Club Worldwide | |
| Gilda Radner | |
| The Goodman Theatre | |
| Brian Dennehy | |
| The Iacocca Foundation | |
| Lee Iacocca | |
| Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation | |
| Joe Torre | |
| The Larry King Cardiac Foundation | |
| Larry King | |
| March of Dimes | |
| Denny Hamlin, Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Clarkson, Nicole Kidman, Sherri Shepherd | |
| Michael Bolton Charities | |
| Michael Bolton | |
| Miracle Flights for Kids | |
| Bruce Jenner, Wayne Newton | |
| Muscular Dystrophy Association | |
| Jerry Lewis | |
| My Stuff Bags Foundation | |
| Michael Reagan | |
| Several Sources Shelters | |
| Stephen Baldwin | |
| SOS Children's Villages-USA | |
| Sarah Ferguson | |
| Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance | |
| Julianne Moore | |
| USA for UNHCR | |
| Angelina Jolie | |
| V-Day | |
| Eve Ensler, Jane Fonda, Kerry Washington, Rosario Dawson, Salma Hayek | |
| Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts | |
| Michelle Obama, Tony Bennett, Trisha Yearwood | |
| American Diabetes Association |  |
| Donovan McNabb, Elliott Yamin, Gladys Knight, Greg LeMond, Joan Allen, Lovie Smith, Tony Dungy | |
| Baltimore Reads | |
| Cal Ripkin, Jr. | |
| The Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation | |
| Darrell Green | |
| Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation For Autism | |
| Doug Flutie | |
| Dove Foundation | |
| Dean Jones, Lisa Whelchel, Michael Medved | |
| The Fresh Air Fund | |
| Mariah Carey, Tiki Barber, Tommy Hilfiger | |
| Helen Woodward Animal Center | |
| Diane Keaton | |
| Leary Firefighters Foundation | |
| Dennis Leary | |
| Marijuana Policy Project Foundation | |
| Adam Carolla, Bill Maher, Jack Black, Jesse Ventura | |
| NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund | |
| Thurgood Marshall | |
| Operation Lookout | |
| Dyan Cannon |
