‘Everybody Knows Somebody’

The Chronicle of Philanthropy asked individuals who work on charity-celebrity partnerships to weigh in on what works.

The Talent

Lauren Miller Rogen

Actress and co-creator, with spouse Seth Rogen, of Hilarity for Charity, which has raised $6.5 million for the Alzheimer’s Association since 2010

“We are vocal about this cause because it’s so deeply personal and we are able to approach it in a way that’s authentic to us — through comedy. I’d encourage any charity leader to mobilize a supporter that has an authentic connection to the cause — it has to be organic to be effective for everyone involved. The Alzheimer’s Association has been a fabulous partner to us because they let us operate in such a genuine way. They allow us to have the tools, access, and team to scale our impact without having to sacrifice our original mission, and what makes us unique.”

Bailee Madison

Teenage star of the Hallmark Channel series “Good Witch”; has donated and raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities, including the Starlight Children’s Foundation and the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

“I have always tried in my social media to talk about things that I can 100 percent be proud to put my name on and hit a ‘post’ button on. I’ve never wanted to steer my followers in the wrong direction. I’m fortunate that a majority of people who follow me are following for those kinds of posts and for those tweets. I want to make sure it is circulated and it is not lost in a sea of other tweets. It is a lot of responsibility as an influencer to do the best you can for the charity you are working with.”

The Practitioners

Mathew McHugh

Director of talent relations, Save the Children; previously worked in talent department at “Saturday Night Live”

“I fly out to L.A. on a regular basis, meeting with various representatives, managers, publicists, agency foundations, just to stay in touch, keep Save the Children top of mind, and keep them up to date on all the work that we are doing. We may have some ideas of specific talent that we are interested in reaching out to, based on certain upcoming projects or campaigns, based on what we know of their interests, or, for example, where they are from.”

How Today's Stars Are Raising Charitable Dollars Online

Several for-profit companies are making it easy for nonprofits big and small to connect with celebrities to raise money. But there are pitfalls, and it’s often not clear who benefits the most.

• Stars Align for Small Charities to Raise Big Money Online
• Celebrity Philanthropists: Which Ones Go the Extra Mile
• Facebook Expands Charity Fundraising Tools for Celebrities and Corporations

Joel Arquillos

Executive director, 826LA, which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in entertainment-industry support for student writing programs

“Try to see what your local celebrity community is. Who are the movers and shakers in your community that you can build a relationship with? Obviously in L.A. it is massive. If you are in Michigan or Detroit, it is a little more [difficult]. But there are a lot of actors who grew up in those areas who might be willing to reconnect and give back.”

Brian Gott

Chairman of Steven Spielberg’s Starlight Children’s Foundation, former publisher of Variety magazine

“You want somebody who, on the fly, can just launch into a passionate dissertation on the extraordinary values of the causes they stand behind. It is those people I am really interested in spending time with. And there is a lot of them.”

Todd Hawkins

Consultant with Los Angeles firm Hawkins Mikita, which helps create celebrity-charity partnerships and campaigns

“You can’t shoot for the stars. You’ve got to be realistic, and sometimes that might mean starting with the influencers who are at the bottom of the totem pole as an entry, as a way to open the door. You may be someone in Wyoming and think, I have no connection to anyone in Hollywood. Everybody knows somebody.”