Born This Way Foundation is most recent celebrity charity under heat
Together pop star Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta co-founded and lead the Born This Way Foundation, a 501(c)(3) whose mission is “to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated.” This week the organization has been scrutinized as its 2012 form 990 surfaced on the internet showing $2.66 million in revenue with $1.85 million of that amount going to operational expenses. Critics question how the Born This Way Foundation can really serve its mission if it has been spending the organization’s money in the following manner:
- $406,552 on legal expenses;
- $348,000 on event productions;
- $150,000 on philanthropic consulting;
- $77,923 on travel; and
- A single $5,000 grant.
In the organization’s defense, Lady Gaga’s mother explained, “First and foremost, we are an organization that conducts our charitable activity directly, and we fund our own work. We are not a grant-maker that funds the work of other charities, and were never intended to be.” Germanotta also explained that Lady Gaga used her own money to cover the organization’s start-up costs, and that Gaga “uses her celebrity to constantly advocate on behalf of tolerance, individualism, and kindness.”
Are Germanotta’s arguments persuasive? What else might you need to know, if anything, about the organization, it’s mission, and it’s spending?
http://nypost.com/2014/03/12/lady-gagas-charity-short-on-actual-charity-tax-records/
http://bornthiswayfoundation.org/pages/our-mission/
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