Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen have pledged $30 million each to the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s (MPTF) capital campaign to help entertainment-industry members “in their time of need”
The three are co-founders of DreamWorks SKG, the studio behind Gladiator and Saving Private Ryan.
MPTF Board member and co-chair of the Campaign, Mr George Clooney himself has stated: “Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen are each legendary for their philanthropy and individually have made immeasurable impact on charities and organizations ranging from arts and culture, health care, education, film preservation and social services in our Hollywood community and around the nation. And now for them to make this unified commitment to MPTF only adds to that incredible record of generosity.”
The $90 million donation with make a nice dent in MPTF’s fundraising goal of $350 million, which the nonprofit organization will use to build its endowment and support its work providing services and financial assistance to entertainment-industry members in need.
“It becomes very personal when someone you know or have worked with is cared for at ‘the MPTF Home’ or a crew member is helped financially by MPTF,” Spielberg said in a statement. “The MPTF mission ‘we take care of our own’ is suddenly very real and tangible, and so this new donation is an extension of what we have been doing for a number of years to support that mission.”
The fundraising drive comes after a tumultuous period in the MPTF’s history. A controversial decision to close the MPTF’s long-term-care facility and hospital in 2009 led to nearly three years of protests. In the end, a grassroots campaign led by patients and their families persuaded the MPTF’s leadership to drop its original plan and keep those facilities open.
Well, let’s not think about how many third world countries that $90 million could help…..
