May 6, 2002
Celebrity endorsements aid charities
___By Marcia Davis
___Religion News Service
___NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS)--Taking a leaf from the notebook of secular celebrities from singer Barbra Streisand and actor Martin Sheen to rock star Bono, prominent Christian celebrities are learning to plug into and publicize their own favorite ministries and charities.
___And when they cast the light of their fame on a charity or cause, the cause's own beacon shines that much brighter, say experts on Christian philanthropy.
___Take "painter of light" Thomas Kinkade. When he put brush to palette to benefit the Salvation Army International and World Vision, he ended up helping hurting people across the world, said officials of those charities.
___Kinkade's "The Light of Freedom" limited edition charity prints--inspired by the events of Sept. 11--gleaned more than $2 million for the Salvation Army, all directed to the disaster relief work in New York City and northern Virginia. The 20,000 prints were sold to collectors or given to Salvation Army donors of $100 or more, said Maj. George Hood, national public affairs director for the Salvation Army.
___"It was a natural marriage of art and skill with practical service," Hood said. "He's such a respected artist. The spiritual values he lives out align with the essence of the Salvation Army's culture of service out of a spiritual calling."
___Hood said celebrity motivation is crucial for him in screening celebrity requests for the Salvation Army. He said he steers clear of celebrities who appear more concerned with driving their own profits than in helping the causes and programs of the Salvation Army.
___Kinkade and World Vision launched a partnership in 1999 that has proved to be one of the most successful corporate partnerships in the charity's history, said World Vision President Rich Stearns. World Vision reported Kinkade's "Bridge of Faith" prints drew sponsors for more than 52,000 needy children.
___"The influence of celebrity volunteers' and donors' religious faith has allowed the grass-roots house-building ministry Habitat for Humanity to become one of the world's most successful and far-reaching charities," wrote Jerome Baggett in his new book, "Habitat for Humanity: Building Private Homes, Building Public Religion."
___Habitat for Humanity President and Founder Millard Fuller said Habitat's most famous long-term celebrity volunteers have been President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.
___"Celebrity can attract people to contribute, but if ministry is not sound, the donor-charity relationship will be a fleeting thing," Fuller said in an interview.
___He cited the singing group Third Day as a recent example of a beneficial relationship.
___Named the Dove Awards' "Group of the Year" in 2001, the contemporary Christian band is donating one dollar from every concert ticket sold during its "Come Together" tour, which concludes in early May. The partnership will fund three Habitat homes in the United States and five homes in other countries to the tune of about $250,000, band member Mark Lee told Religion News Service.
___Lee said the band members are taking hammer to nail to participate in the building process alongside other volunteers and sometimes with the home's future tenants.
___"For us, it's giving up a couple of hours of our time on a Saturday," he said. "But for them, well, it's totally changing someone's life."
___The group broke ground for a house in Nashville, Tenn., April 20.
___"Third Day's greatest contribution is not the money. What makes them authentic and legitimate is that they really believe in what they are doing," Fuller said. "That they inspire many individuals, younger people and churches to become involved is their greatest contribution."
___Bethany Christian Services, an adoption and family services agency based in Grand Rapids, Mich., recently launched its first foray into any kind of celebrity affiliation in its 57-year history. It is helping sponsor multiple Grammy and Dove Award winner Steven Curtis Chapman's 2002 "Live Out Loud" tour, said Dawn Dean, Bethany's public relations director.
___"It's public relations, not fund raising," Dean said. "Bethany receives no money from the sale of concert tickets or any of the promotional concert items, but we have the opportunity to put our name in front of a group of Christians who may not have heard of us before, and we are offering people the opportunity to sponsor an international child at the concerts."
___Dean said each concert venue features Bethany's traveling exhibit, and so far the partnership, which began in February, is showing results.
___"We are getting recognition," she said. "We have had more hits on our website since the concert series started and our local offices have handed out more materials and are answering more questions than before."
___According to Dean, the relationship with Chapman was "happenstance" for the agency, but she said Chapman was the driving force behind the partnership.
___"He adopted his youngest daughter through Bethany International Services," she said, "and he's really promoting adoption more than our particular agency. His enthusiasm for Bethany and for adoption is tremendous and contagious."
___Celebrity-charity partnerships are not all bright lights and happy endings, however, warn organizations that serve as charity watchdogs.
___Paul Nelson, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a non-profit agency that monitors Christian charities, cites charity credibility as a critical consideration for the donor public.
___"Celebrity is supposed to bring credibility," Nelson said, "but actually there are more important things donors should look at when considering giving to a charity--if records are open to the public, if the charitable organization is not dominated by a single personality and if the funds are raised and used with integrity."
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