Allegations shadow Cosby philanthropy

By Lynn Elber

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Bill Cosby’s record of big donations to colleges and other institutions has been a key part of his rosy public image. But even his generosity can’t stand apart from the rising tide of allegations made by women accusing him of sexual assault.

A North Carolina school, High Point University, removed the 77-year-old entertainer from its National Board of Advisors.

The Berklee College of Music said it is no longer awarding an online scholarship in Cosby’s name.

More telling would be a decision by an institution to publicly renounce any of the tens of millions of dollars that he and his wife, Camille, have given over the years, or rejection of a new donation. Neither has occurred.

“I don’t want to belittle the implications of the accusations, but nothing has been proven and he has not been charged,” said Michael Chatman, a philanthropy expert. Recipients of Cosby largesse are likely to adopt a wait-and-see attitude because of that, he said.

Cosby’s legacy of giving is decades-old and extensive, topped by a $20 million gift to Spelman College in 1988 and including, among many other donations, $3 million to the Morehouse School of Medicine; $1 million in 2004 to the U.S. National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia; and $2 million from Cosby’s wife, Camille, to St. Frances Academy in Baltimore in 2005.

According to Internal Revenue Service filings, more than $800,000 in scholarship grants were given through the William and Camille Cosby Foundation from July 2000 to June 2013.