A charitable foundation is a tax shelter. You know what it gives money to? He promotes his films, programs and books with it. Of course, he's a liberal so you can figure he doesn't actually give much of any real charity. Let's face it, Moore is a hypocritical creep and you're a fool for lionizing him.
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Moore also misrepresents the work his foundation does. In his Booknotes interview, he said, "We have a foundation that we've set up, where we help out a lot of first-time filmmakers. We also fund a lot of things in the Flint area and a lot of social-action groups and things like that." He also told The New Yorker that his foundation funds "first-time filmmakers, battered women's shelters, and soup kitchens, among other things."
Once again, his filings with the IRS tell a different story. Yes, there were a few modest grants to programs helping the poor--but nothing on the scale he suggests. In fact, Moore usually donates just enough to maintain his foundation's charitable status. A 2002 estimate put Moore's net worth in the eight figures, yet his foundation gave away a meager $36,000 that year. In 2000, he gave away only $22,000.
Moore also has a knack for giving money to friends who do favors for him. In 2000, $4,500 went to that most proletarian of organizations, the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York, and another $1,000 went to the Ann Arbor Film Festival--both of which later held lavish events promoting Bowling for Columbine. The next year he gave $2,500 to Pamela Yates, who was a producer for his program TV Nation; he also made a grant to his friend Jeff Gibbs, who provided the music for Bowling for Columbine and helped Moore write some of his books. Moore has given money to the New York Video Festival, which held events promoting TV Nation. And in 2002, $25,000 went to the American Library, whose members Moore credits with getting HarperCollins to reconsider its decision to cancel his anti-Bush screed.
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