The Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation will be shuttering its doors after the organization has seen a decline in funding.
The foundation focused on issues that mattered to the couple including health and wellness, arts, and sustainability.
Yet, after the 2022 Oscar slap incident with Chris Rock, the funding hit an all time low. As of late, Variety reports that the tax filings after the incident show that the high-profile contributors that had given to the group in the past slowed down or merely stopped. After some time, the foundation shuttered its operations.
According to tax records from the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation reviewed by Variety (via ProPublica), the foundation’s revenue dropped from $1,760,000 in 2020 and $2,138,660 in 2021 to $365,870 in 2022. The year-over-year drop of 83% included the departure of contributors such as American Airlines, which donated $76,160 in 2021, and CAA, which contributed $100,000 in 2021.
A source also told Variety that the couple was winding down the foundation that the two started in 1996.
Looking at 2022 charitable giving, the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation gave to prominent organizations, including $100,000 to the American Film Institute and $2,500 to Big Brothers Big Sisters. The foundation also donated money to two significantly smaller organizations: Rebecoming and World Rebirth Foundation.
According to its website, Rebecoming is “dedicated to understanding and unlocking the healing potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness through clinical research into the mechanism-of-action behind trauma release.”
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The site has not been updated since 2020.
Rebecoming Inc. has filed tax paperwork through 2022, but attempts to contact the organization by phone or via the listed addresses were unsuccessful.
World Rebirth Foundation Inc. is an Oxnard, Calif.-based organization that is connected to a Beverly Hills P.O. Box. While the organization’s official website is not currently live, there is an official Facebook page that was last updated in July 2023.
A phone number listed on the World Rebirth Foundation page went to a voicemail of an organization called Platinum City Entertainment & Films. The last tax paperwork posted on the official IRS website from the organization is from 2021. The Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation gave $10,000 to World Rebirth Foundation in 2022.
The spending from 2022 for the foundation includes office expenses such as computers and equipment. Upon further look, there is also a $3,304 “bank overdrawn” fee.
A source close to the organization cited a decline in staffing when it came to the family moving away from the organization.
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As of 2021, the company lowered payments when it came to two of their staff members, and in 2022 there were no paid staff at the organization.
Per the organization’s website, The Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation “has invested millions of dollars and invaluable resources to accelerate the growth of initiatives that focus on deepening individual and collective empowerment.”
The Instagram account has not been updated since 2022. In addition, Facebook was last updated in 2023 with the website copyright showing it is out of date.
Per a Variety report last year, Smith is making his $25 million quote on both the upcoming sequel “Bad Boys 4” and Netflix’s “Fast and Loose.”
