Estate of Music Publisher Gives $13-Million to SOS Children’s Villages–USA

How much: $13-million

Who got it: SOS Children’s Villages–USA, in Washington, a nonprofit organization supporting orphaned and abandoned children

Who gave it: The Trust of Harry and Carol Goodman. Mr. Goodman was a musician, founder of Regent Music Corporation, and the brother of the jazz and swing legend Benny Goodman. Harry Goodman died in 1997 and his wife in 2012.

Also part of the gift: In addition to the money, SOS Children’s Villages–USA will receive partial stock ownership in three music-publishing entities: Regent Music Corporation, Jewel Music Publishing, and Sunflower Music. Popular songs in those catalogs, which the charity now co-owns, include holiday favorites such as “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” “Run Rudolph Run,” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

Where the money will go: The gift is unrestricted and the charity’s leadership is evaluating SOS program investments in Africa and India, as well as directing support toward SOS programs in the United States.

Why the donor gave: SOS Children’s Villages says it has no record of a previous gift from the Goodmans. However, the couple visited many of the charity’s facilities and developed an affinity for the group’s mission during extensive travels in India and Africa. SOS Children’s Villages was one of four nonprofits the trust document named as potential beneficiaries for the couple’s fortune. Ultimately, three of those charities—including the social-services group Of Home, Family and Future and the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital—received contributions from the trust, with SOS Children’s Villages–USA receiving the majority of the money.