Steven Spielberg is a film industry legend with his iconic films. However, Spielberg has supported more than 15 notable causes and worked alongside 16 charities. His philanthropic work focuses on human rights, social justice and international crisis relief alongside his wife, Kate Capshaw. Spielberg uses his fame and fortune not only to be a founder of essential organizations but to donate money for humanitarian relief. Here are some of Spielberg’s philanthropic efforts.

USC Shoah Foundation

In 1994, Steven Spielberg founded the Shoah Visual History Foundation (now USC Shoah Foundation) to record and preserve interviews with Holocaust survivors. This foundation strives to create a better future through its work with more than 60,000 testimonies of those who survived or witnessed the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide and other genocidal crimes. For about 30 years, the foundation has worked to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, support survivors and create initiatives that can have a global impact regarding such atrocities.

Examples of these initiatives include its Visual History Archive, which contains around 60,000 video testimonies of witnesses or survivors of the Holocaust, Armenian Genocide and other mass atrocities. Educational initiatives such as the partnership with the Anti-Defamation League train educators to properly integrate survivor testimonies into their curriculum. The IWitness and IWalk platforms incorporate testimonies into classrooms and walking tours where such events occurred. Through collections, research and education, part of the beginning of Spielberg’s philanthropic efforts was sparked with the USC Shoah Foundation.

Starlight Children’s Foundation

Spielberg is the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Starlight Children’s Foundation. This foundation has sent children they work with to Disneyland and created interactive environments not just for the children but for their families too. They have also provided entertainment access to hospitalized children (Starlight Gaming), created arts and crafts delivery programs, and more. The medical program supports impoverished families by providing medical assistance to vulnerable communities who normally cannot afford such services. Starlight provides free medical resources to more than 800 children’s hospitals and health care facilities. Overall, Steven Spielberg’s philanthropic efforts extend to children regarding education and health, as the Starlight Children’s Foundation works to bring happiness to the children who need it most and their families.

Righteous Persons Foundation

The Righteous Persons Foundation was founded shortly after Spielberg released “Schindler’s List,” as his experience creating and directing the film impacted him deeply. Spielberg used the profits of the film to create this foundation. To this day, Spielberg and his wife donate proceeds from their fame and films (for example, “Munich”) to the foundation. This has led to more than $160 million in grants that assist the foundation and its projects, even helping Holocaust survivors with basic necessities. Since its founding in 1995, the foundation has recorded Holocaust survivor testimonies, invested in Jewish films and storytelling, helped rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, assisted Holocaust survivors in accessing reparations, made Yiddish literature accessible through digitization, worked during the COVID-19 pandemic, remained committed to remembering the Holocaust and more. The Righteous Persons Foundation embodies Spielberg’s philanthropic efforts, as it combines media with an important cause.

Looking Ahead

“Jaws,” “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jurassic Park” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” are just some of the films that may come to mind when thinking of Spielberg. Although he will leave his mark in Hollywood as a director, his work will go beyond the film industry. Not only is Spielberg a co-founder of the above foundations, he also funded them along with the Heartland Foundation, with his earnings from “Schindler’s List.” He has also donated $1 million for humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the L.A. education fund and donated his winnings from the Genesis Prize to U.S. nonprofits such as the Native American Rights Fund. Organizations that received funding from the Genesis Prize grants include Avodah, Black Voters Matter, Collaborative for Jewish Organizing and Dayenu. Spielberg’s philanthropic efforts know no bounds, with his donations and successful foundations assisting those who need it.

– Veronica Cham

Veronica is based in Dearborn, MI, USA and focuses on Celebs for The Borgen Project.

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