Madonna’s charitable donations from 2007 are slowly coming to light. Fox news notes that despite donating $2.6 million to Kabbalah through her Ray of Light Foundation, she failed to donate any money to Malawi that year. Madonna’s tax records do not show any donations to her Raising Malawai foundation or to other charities benefiting Malawai. They find this surprising because 2007 is the year that she adopted David Banda from the impoverished nation.
In hard numbers, Madonna really showed her devotion to the group — a total of $2,626,529 to the Kabbalah Center itself and another $4,025 to the group’s offshoot, Spirituality for Kids. The latter likely represents her promised donation from royalties from her children’s books.
More interestingly, Madonna gave no money to her other charity, Raising Malawi, in 2007, even though that was the year she adopted little David Banda from that country. The tax filing wasn’t submitted to the IRS until June 2008, so it could have been amended to show Madonna’s appreciation to the African country for letting her change their adoption laws. She sent zero dollars to any groups currently working in Malawi.
In fact, considering that Madonna made a documentary about Malawi and threw a fundraiser for her cause last February with Gucci and UNICEF, it does seem a shade odd that she didn’t spread her wealth to a region that so needs it. The whereabouts of that $3.7 million that was claimed from that fundraiser still have not been reported. When they file their Form 990s, it will be interesting to see if that’s where Madonna’s Kabbalah money went.
Madonna’s Ray of Light Foundation is a charity she established herself, which she funds herself, to donate to causes she deems important. Some of the money comes from book royalties, but it is not publicly funded by donations. She also owns shares, which she uses returns from to fund various causes. While most of us wouldn’t really consider Kabbalah a charity, if this is how Madonna wants to spend her money it’s her prerogative.
Raising Malawi is funded by donations, and is a separate charity to the Ray of Light Foundation. The tax details for this organization, as Fox news itself points out, may not yet have been filed. This charity was formed by Madonna and Michael Berg in 2006, the tax she is filing is for the 2007 year. The details for these donations may not be available yet.
Madonna also donated $250,000 to AIDS causes from her Ray of Light Charity, so while much of it went into Kabbalah, some of it did filter down to more traditional charities. They include cancer research, Jewish Big Brothers and Sisters, and a group that builds playgrounds in Russia. All in all, worthwhile causes.
Note by Celebitchy: Earlier reports had Raising Malawai accepting donations through Kabbalah and using the same tax identification number and mailing address as the controversial religion. When Madonna was criticized for this, she countered that the application for a separate tax ID for the Raising Malawai charity was in process. It’s possible that in 2007 they were essentially the same organization and that all donations were funneled through Kabbalah. That would explain why Madonna made no obvious donations to Raising Malawai. It also makes her unaccountable for the nearly $4 million from that celebrity attended Gucci fundraiser she held earlier this year unless she had the sense to make sure Raising Malawai is a separate organization for 2008. Maybe it’s much easier for her, and for the Kabbalah bigwigs, if it isn’t.
Madonna is shown out in Brazil on 12/22/08. Credit: WENN
her face…what’s up with her cheekbones?
and her hands!
her hair is so damaged.
she does not look good. she used to look very pretty.
Maybe she’s taking a cue from A Jolie and banning Malawi for not being a better homeland to David.
Could be she’s donating all her subcutaneous fat to Malawi…
LOL Baho, that’s hysterical!!!!!!
She should have held back a couple hundred to get her roots done.
Seriously, Daisy. How can someone as wealthy, surgically enhanced and image-conscious as Madge try to pass of that badly bleached haystack as hair??
My mom is 52 and looks way better than her!
Now about the Raising Malawi charity, we all knew it was just PR, didn´t we?
2 mil to Kabbalah seems like such a waste
@WIF: 😉
Yeah, that fried hair makes me want to take my own locks out for a nice dinner, just so they won’t turn on me like that. And the George Romero-issued hands/arms are just plain gross. Makes me look at my extra chub in a whole new light.
WIF; I got carried away and forgot to complete my 😉 post. I was trying to say that Baho’s comment made me laugh too! Love it.
her hands are scaring me.
@Codzilla — you’re right about that! Having a few extra pounds actually helps with the wrinkles. Just look at Teri Hatcher. Yikes!
Geronimo, I agree. Haystack is right, yikes.
She is a perfectionist, so I thought it was a new kind of fad, not doing your roots or dying them dark so it appears she doesn’t have any gray.
It seems to fit in with her struggle about getting older; the cheek implants and eye lift. At her age, without the blond dye job, she must have the salt & pepper look going on there.
I’m her age and to me she looks lazy, not hip.
@Daisy – lazy, exactly. Neglected even. And just plain odd. And it’s not even just the colour or the dark roots, it’s the texture and condition that’s just astonishing! You’d think all that Kabbalah water and macrobiotic (or whateverthehellitis) diet she follows would at the very least result in shiny, healthy hair!
oh my god – look at her cryptkeeper hands!
may i be the first to say that despite all of this i read, i love madonna. her music has played such a positive role in my growing up. i hope at least some of you can admit to some enjoyment of her entertainment! she’s a great dancer, a marketing genius, and a fashion icon. still in the music game, she is a force to be reckoned with. she was girl power personified before the catchphrase. i have faith that she has given money to charitable causes her whole career, and however it is packaged for tax purposes, she has the best of intentions toward her chosen charities. she is, like all of us, flawed and human, and i adore her for it.
I just noticed something. She can see her reflection in the car. That is why she is smiling in this photo, so she can see how pretty she looks. When you think about how much money she has, no matter who she gives it to, she still comes across as selfish, self-serving and not all that generous. She can’t afford to give away 10 per cent a year?
First off, GOOD GOD! HER HANDS LOOK LIKE SHE’S AGED 40 YEARS IN ADDITION TO HER 50 YEARS OF LIFE. Someone introduce her to laser skin resurfacing, PLEASE!
Madonna, I love you sweety, but let’s face it.. Kabbalah has sucked up your last brain cells. If you truly wanted to help the people of Malawi, you would have given the funds directly to their government. Madonna’s Malawi son, David, is going to remember everything she’s ever done for his home country. As he grows up, he’ll realize that although Madonna is a caring human soul, she really is in it for her own personal gain. I predict Madonna is going back to her Catholic roots in another 5 years.. that is, if Catholicism opens up their arms to gay rights. As we all know, Madonna fancies the little pussy cat that goes “meow” when you pet it just right. Her little stint she’s having with Alex Rodriguez won’t last, such as the case with all her previous relationships. Unfortunately, as savvy a business woman as she is, she’s too self-absorbed to realize her own flaws lie in the reflection she created.
Make sense?
I forgot to add: Madonna, for the love of God.. CUT THE FAKE BRITISH ACCENT! IT SUCKS!
C’mon Monday school day, come on, now …
Madonna is still fukable. I’d do her, as long as you cover up those 100 year old arms/hands of hers. Yikes! I mean, I know Madonna is trying to fight off the reality of growing old, but come on! The cheek implants look horrible and even though people say she’s a control freak, she needs to take control of that plastic surgeon who fuked up her face.
Why don’t u guys just leave her alone, she can do whatever she likes.Everyone tries to do something to keep them looking younger. She eats well, doesn’t smoke, does the gym thing, just like everyone else.She puts on an amazing show, “top grossing concert for a solo female”,of all time…I think she is sexy..love u Madonna
Kabbalah Rabbi Eliahu Azulai has been practicing the Kabbalah for over 30 years. During that time, the Rabbi was able to achieve a full recognition and sense of the upper world, which according to many Kabbalah thinkers is a unique gift that only few people possess. In order to aid those who have not yet achieved such recognition, Rabbi Azulai writes special talisman to help people connect with the world of truth and offer protection from the Evil Eye.
In addition, Rabbi Azulai writes special talismans for different people and different problems. Some of the rabbi’s work includes talismans for finding true love (soul mate), against evil eye, infertility and pregnancy problems, for business success, and more.