New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez gave away only 1 per cent of proceeds raised in the first year of his non-profit charity, the A-Rod Family Foundation, the Boston Globe reports. According to the report, Rodriguez raised $403,862 in 2006, but donated only $5,090 to its charitable causes.
The published report says that the foundation operated by Rodriguez donated $5,000 to the Jay-Z’s Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund and $90 to a Little League baseball club in Miami.
A year later, in 2007, the Internal Revenue Service stripped the A-Rod Family Foundation of its tax-exempt status after it failed to submit the proper paperwork, according to the report.
Boston reporter Callum Borchers noted in the story that non-profit experts recommend that foundations devote 65 to 75 per cent of every dollar directly to the stated mission. The Rodriguez information came to light as part of a Globe review of more than 150 IRS filings by 50 non-profit operated by professional athletes.
The report found that many highly paid athletes fail to meet the threshold of donating up to 75 per cent of every dollar directly to its mission. The Globe found that among the 50 non-profit examined, nearly half spent less than 65 per cent of revenues on charitable programs and donations.
Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, who now plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers, also fell short, according to the author. At first glance, his generosity through his Josh Beckett Foundation seems outstanding. His annual Beckett Bowl celebrity bowling tournament typically generated about $100,000 for Boston Children’s Hospital, the Boston Globe reported.
However, a closer inspection reveals that just 37 cents of every dollar raised by his foundation went toward the foundation’s mission of improving the health and well-being of children.
“Athletes’ charities are subject to many pitfalls because most of them are not trained in how to raise and distribute money, and it’s difficult,” Greg Johnson, executive director of the Sports Philanthropy Project in Boston, told the Boston Globe.
“A lot of them get into expensive golf tournaments and that kind of crap. They can be self-serving as hell.”
