The Giving Back Fund (GBF) is a national public charity with offices in Boston and Los Angeles. GBF works to encourage and support new philanthropy by offering professional, strategic and cost-effective foundation management. Our mission is to help cultivate a new group of philanthropists within the entertainment and sports industries, with a particular emphasis on groups often underrepresented in traditional philanthropy such as people of color, women, and youth. We focus on helping to establish new philanthropic role-models who will inspire others to give back to their communities and create a high-profile, mutually supportive charitable community that works together, when appropriate, in support of a diverse range of missions and goals.
GBF was founded in 1997 by Holocaust scholar Marc Pollick who had previously created a foundation for Noble Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel. Through his work with Wiesel, Pollick witnessed the potential for leveraging wealth and celebrity on behalf of philanthropy and was determined to duplicate this model with other high-profile individuals.
To date, we have worked with more than 50 top personalities from the fields of sports, entertainment, science, and business to help encourage them to become more involved with charitable causes and to increase the impact of their charitable donations. Donors with whom we have worked include Doug Flutie, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Jorge Posada, Jalen Rose, Elton Brand, Coach John Thompson, Arvydas Sabonis, Nancy Kerrigan, Donyell Marshall, Magic Johnson, Scott Mellanby, Sam Madison, Darren and Jamie Sharper, La’Roi Glover and Jon Seda. GBF has overseen the direct distribution of nearly $10 millions in grants around the world and facilitated the raising of hundreds of millions more by leveraging the power of celebrities to raise awareness about critical health and social issues.