SOURCE OF WEALTH: Actor
FUNDING AREAS: Disaster Relief
OVERVIEW: Sean Penn founded Community Organized Relief Effort CORE which works on the ground to not only rebuild communities in the face of emergency, but to also create programs that focus on preparedness and resilience.
BACKGROUND: Sean Penn was born in Santa Monica in 1960. His breakout role came in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). Penn's more recent acting credits include I Am Sam, Milk and Tree of Life. He has won several honors as an actor and filmmaker, including two Academy Awards for best actor.
ISSUES:
CORE: Sean Penn established his organization, Community Organized Relief Effort, or CORE, to “serve communities across the nation during this uncertain and unprecedented time.” Funding centers on emergency relief, disaster preparedness, environmental resilience, and community building.
CORE responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by partnering with the Los Angeles Mayor’s office and the Los Angeles Fire Department to provide free drive-through COVID-19 testing to anyone experiencing symptoms. CORE has worked in Haiti for years, leading post-disaster response to Hurricane Matthew and the earthquake in 2018. CORE has also worked in Puerto Rico, Florida, and other regions to provide emergency relief. One of the nonprofit’s disaster preparedness efforts is the Youth Disaster Preparedness Training Program, which empowers youth in the Gulf Coast region.
CORE also invests in the environment through its Environmental Resilience work, which includes Haiti Takes Root (HTR), a program in partnership with the World Bank, the governments of Haiti and France, and the Parker Foundation, which focuses on addressing Haiti’s environmental crisis that targets the broader impact of climate change.
In Community Building, CORE is laser-focused on work in Haiti.
Grants tend to range in the tens of thousands and prioritize Los Angeles; however, giving stretches across the United States and some targeted international spaces, such as Haiti.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect Sean Penn to continue to focus on his established interest areas through CORE. Penn may have other more direct avenues of giving and some philanthropy may be missing from this rundown.
CONTACT:
info@coreresponse.org
323-934-4400