Prince’s Philanthropy Was By The Book

Photo by: Yves Lorson from Kapellen, Belgium

The world lost a musical genius and icon in April…the Purple One himself…Prince.

My husband was a fan from day one.

I didn’t come to appreciate his art until later in life.

What we’re all discovering post his death is the magnitude of his giving. He not only left a musical legend but a philanthropic one as well.

The most well known religions and philosophies: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism all have a doctrine of giving to those in need. In Christianity, that giving is to be done in secret. Matthew 6:2-4 says:

So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

What we’re all discovering in story after story about Prince is that this is exactly how he lived and gave. No cameras following him. No write ups in blogs or magazines. Just him not letting his left hand know what the right one was doing.

The stories of his generosity continue to flood my timeline and I’m pretty sure we still don’t know the half of it.

A few of my favorite are:

• Prince’s frantic call to friend Van Jones about the welfare of Lauryn Hill’s children after she was jailed. Prince took care of her children financially.
• His financial contribution to the family of Trayvon Martin.
• The benefit concerts in places like Baltimore that were a cover for him to go in and talk to political and social leaders and to write checks.
• His financial contribution to a small ballet school in Harlem. Misty Copeland said because of him that school remains open.

Prince did it by the book and his philanthropic legacy lives on. So more than his autopsy results, I’m waiting on the next story of his generosity and how someone’s life was forever changed because of the Purple One.

#ThisWomanKnows

RIP Prince…you showed us how to give.

Feature Image By penner 

Lisa N. Alexander

Lisa N. Alexander is the author and founder of This Woman Knows and What Million-Dollar Brands Know. She is an award-winning filmmaker, director, producer, and writer and is the owner of PrettyWork Creative.

www.lisanalexander.com