In the light of the charges hurled against him, Bill Cosby's philanthropic acts for decades seemed to lose its radiance as the allegations outweigh his noble intentions.
Donations were made to various institutions and colleges which substantially improved his public image. However, recipients of his generosity acted with caution on the recent news about Cosby. There were reports that High Point University in North Carolina removed Cosby from its National Board of Advisors. An online scholarship at Berklee College of Music which is named after him will be suspended without any explanation or comment from the institution.
Yahoo News reported that philanthropy expert, Michael Chatman seemed to be not judgmental over the recent issue against Cosby, saying that, "I don't want to belittle the implications of the accusations, but nothing has been proven and he has not been charged."
Hence, unless proven guilty, it is safe for the recipients not to act impulsively over their handling of large donations from Cosby. Giving back a donation is unlikely to happen unless a judge decision will finally render him guilty of the crime filed against him. New recipients are expected to be extra cautious considering that donations carry with it the donor's reputation.
On the other hand, Cosby's attorney, Martin Singer would like to stress that allegations were "discredited" and "unsubstantiated" and were just mishandled by the media to the point that his image as a 'loving patriarch' was tarnished. He was popularly known as "America's Dad" based on his character in "The Cosby Show."
Cosby's generosity is seen in ample amounts shared to various institutions and scholarship grants from William and Camille Cosby Foundation amounting to approximately $800,000. Spelman College was a recipient of $20 million aid in 1988, the Morehouse School of Medicine was given $3 million and $1million for the U.S National Slavery Museum, just a few among numerous institutions which have been fortunate enough to share in Cosby's generosity.
