Former Monk Donates Millions to Theaters After Powerball Win

Roy Cockrum, 68, who was once an actor and monk, won the $259 million Powerball jackpot in 2014, and has since donated to $25 million to 39 theatres, according to the New York Times.

“The question I put to artistic directors is, ‘Is there a project you’ve always dreamed of doing that you couldn’t afford? To help artistic directors dream bigger than they would otherwise,” Cockrum told the Times.

Cockrum's foundation has supported The Old Globe in San Diego, the Goodman and Steppenwolf in Chicago, and the Guthrie in Minneapolis. It also helped to finance Prayer for the French Republic, which ran at Manhattan Theatre Club before transferring to Broadway.

“He’s an inspiration to other philanthropists at a time when our field is really struggling and where we need innovative ideas about philanthropy to try to move the field forward,”  Barry Edelstein, The Old Globe’s artistic director, said.

While many theatres around the country are struggling with funding, facing layoffs and offering reduced seasons, large influxes of capital from benefactors like Cockrum can offer fast relief.

“We’re not going to solve the structural financial problems facing the sector through Bernie Sanders-style $27 contributions. It’s going to take really significant infusions at the scale that Roy is doing them," says Edelstein.

Read the full article here.