By Michael Marley
"'If I’m making it rain, I’m throwing it to American citizens. In a recession!'"
Those are the words of philanthropist Floyd Mayweather Jr., who claims that charity does indeed begin at home.
Home means the United States. Home means Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada.
But does Mayweather's largesse amount to mere chump change. Is it a lot of noise and hype over Mayweather kicking loose some pocket change?
Hey, don't take it from me. I don't want to be branded as kicking "Money" for doing good in any hood.
The source claiming that Mayweather's charitable efforts are a sham is a website that has expertise on such matters.
Quoting from an article by Rick Cohen on "The Root," Nonprofit Quarterly reports:
"The Root wondered about Mayweather's charitable generosity too, and looked into the finances of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. Foundation (FMJF), which has programs on education, youth boxing, girls, women, and community outreach.
"The Root's conclusion after examining the foundation's 990s (no one at the foundation would respond to the Root's questions): "What's revealed there makes one ask if Mayweather is punching below his weight philanthropically or just not shining a light on all his charitable activities.
"In 2009, the foundation distributed all of $3,564 in donations.
"The foundation's 2008 990 showed expenditures of "$573,790, or 62.5 percent, [that] went to undisclosed 'professional fees and other payments to independent contractors'; $284,653...to other expenses; $55,650 to pay three employees; and the rest to smaller expenses. The 'other expenses' included $100,000 for...[a] two-day, Mayweather-sponsored Superfest fundraiser; $58,494 for the FMJF dinner; and $10,000 for Thanksgiving turkeys."
"Mayweather has made other individual charitable donations, apparently. For example, $160,000 for the National Golden Gloves Championship that was held in Mayweather's hometown of Grand Rapids, so the foundation's tiny charitable distributions might be of little consequence. But then why have a foundation with independent contractors and employees if the philanthropic results are so penny-ante?"
Looks like Mayweather has some explaining to do as to why his good works end up contributing so little money. Mayweather probably spend more than $3,564 annually for parking valent fees and tips in Vegas for his collection of Maybachs and other fancy "whips" as he refers to his snazzy automobiles.
Let's be generous and say it's $3,564 plus a real cost of $10,000 for holiday turkeys, is that a reasonable amount for "Money" to actually deliver to the needy?
Or are the charitable efforts just so much smoke and mirrors?
It is possible that Mayweather doesn't even know how little of his money actually goes to the needy and not the greedy.
Let's give this Rainmaker the benefit of the doubt.
