September 29, 2008
Paul Newman's Gifts to Philanthropy
Much has been written in the past few days about the philanthropy of Paul Newman, the actor who died on Friday at age 83. Michael Seltzer, a consultant to charities and foundations, writing on the PhilanTopic blog, says Mr. Newman should be remembered as the pioneer of a specific kind of giving: “consumer philanthropy.”
Newman’s Own, the company Mr. Newman and his neighbor, A.E. Hotchner ,started 28 years ago, helped “prove that the generosity of Americans does not stop when they go shopping,” says Mr. Seltzer.
The two men created the company just before Christmas of 1980, when they stocked the shelves of a local store with Mr. Newman’s homemade salad dressing. By the end of the 1990s, Mr. Newman’s dressing had annual retail sales of $33.5-million, making it the eighth-biggest seller in the salad-dressing market. By 2008, the Newman’s Own Foundation had given more than $250-million for charities.
Mr. Seltzer writes that Mr. Newman was initially wary of promoting the products with his face and name.
When someone first suggested Mr. Newman put his face on salad-dressing bottles, he said he was bothered by what he called “noisy philanthropy.” It was only after a former food executive joined the company that its packaging included more-prominent mentions that all the proceeds were donated to charities.
Mr. Newman also sought to raise the level of giving among Fortune 500 companies, creating in the mid-1990s the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.
What do you see as Mr. Newman’s contributions to philanthropy?
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Newman’s contributions weren’t so much in the area of “noisy philanthropy” – after all, many donors were and are ready to get the maximum publicity for their giving. (And anyway, who doesn’t want to give the guy that played Cool Hand Luke a pass?) But I think that he truly did help start the notion that we can make change through our buying choices – buy this salad dressing and help this cause…buy this fair trade coffee and help these farmers in Columbia…the ONE campaign…etc. There were always stores that were ready to do a 10% for charity-type event, but Newman really helped make it more than just a one-offer. Instead he made a product that would always benefit a cause, whenever you buy it. My only concern is that the idea of socially conscious consumerism can crowd out traditional philanthropy – “I’ve bought the salad dressing, so I don’t have to do anything else.”
— Bif Sep 29, 12:13 PM #
The charitable aspect of buying Newman’s Own products is a nice perk, but the real reason I keep buying the brand is because the quality of everything I’ve tried has been top-notch. I hope that doesn’t change, because mint Newman O’s are the best!
— Katie Sep 30, 04:56 PM #
This is what Paul Newman did for Kenyon College, his alma mater:
From: alumniparents-request@kenyon.edu
[mailto:alumniparents-request@kenyon.edu] On Behalf Of kenyon-digest
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2008 1:39 PM
To: alumniparents@kenyon.edu
Subject: KENYON ANNOUNCEMENT: Paul Newman ’49 Dies
Actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, one of Kenyon’s most famous
alumni—and most generous benefactors—has died. Newman, who had been
suffering from leukemia, passed away on September 26, in Connecticut.
He was 83.
“The world has lost a man legendary both for his talents as an actor
and for his generosity as a philanthropist,” said President S. Georgia
Nugent. “And Kenyon has lost a dear friend, a loyal alumnus, and a
role model for how our students might use their education and their
talents as a force for good.”
A 1949 graduate of the College, Newman earned fame as a movie star but
also embraced a wider public role as a political activist and an
entrepreneur-philanthropist, who devoted all of the profits from the
Newman’s Own food company to educational and charitable causes. His
legacy to Kenyon includes a long history of generous, usually
unpublicized donations, culminating in a recent $10 million gift for
scholarships.
The College has posted a tribute to Newman on its Web site,
www.kenyon.edu. In addition to an appreciation chronicling his campus
career and his continuing involvement with his alma mater, the site
includes photos from the Kenyon archives and a memory board where
members of the College family can post comments on the man and his
life. College officials are discussing ways to honor Newman with
events on campus in the months to come.
Newman, who entered Kenyon in 1946 as a Navy veteran and majored in
“speech” (the field that covered drama), starred in a number of campus
theatrical productions. He also earned a reputation for charm,
mischief, and good-natured rowdiness. He was a well known figure in
the T-Barracks, a complex of nineteen buildings (now long gone) that
housed servicemen attending the College under the G.I. Bill.
Newman went on to study in the Yale University School of Drama and the
prestigious Actors Studio in New York. Fame came relatively quickly.
By the time Kenyon awarded him an honorary degree in 1961, he had
starred on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning “The Desperate Hours”
(1955) and earned an Oscar nomination for his role in the film version
of Tennessee Williams’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958). Ahead lay a
string of memorable performances, in films such as “Hud,” “Cool Hand
Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and “The Color of Money,”
for which he won the 1986 Oscar for best actor in a leading role.
Five Kenyon presidents spanning nearly half a century came to know
Newman as a quiet but steady supporter of the College. He helped fund
the James E. Michael Professorship in Playwriting, created Kenyon’s
most prestigious acting awards (the Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
trophies, the latter named for his wife), and lent his prestige to the
summertime Kenyon Festival Theater. In 1978, he returned to campus to
direct the first production in the new Bolton Theater. He and Woodward
served as honorary co-chairs of Kenyon’s “Claiming Our Place” campaign
from 1998 to 2001, and he contributed $2 million to that effort.
Newman and Kenyon made international news in June 2007, when the
College announced Newman’s $10 million gift to the current “We Are
Kenyon” campaign. The gift, made through the Newman’s Own Foundation,
created an endowed scholarship fund to aid first-generation college
students as well as students from minority and other underrepresented
groups. Admitted as Newman’s Own Foundation Scholars, the students
will have the opportunity to pursue a Kenyon education with financial
aid free of the burden of loans.
— Bill Huddleston Sep 30, 11:04 PM #