A Hollywood Movie Helps Inspire Donors to Support Nonprofit Causes

The Ultimate Gift, a movie released this month that features James Garner, Brian Dennehy, and Abigail Breslin (the star of Little Miss Sunshine), took in an estimated $1.3-million at the box office the first weekend after it opened. But the film’s producers speculate that it has reaped even more money for charities that have plugged into its message of giving and its unusual marketing campaign.

“We have heard from nonprofits, advisers, and donors telling us of gifts inspired by the story,” says Tom Kennedy, president of the Ultimate Gift Experience, the Hingham, Mass., company that helped produce the movie. “We are guessing the numbers of dollars are in the millions and there’s more to come.”

The film tells the story of a spoiled young man whose grandfather has recently died and left him videotaped messages about the meaning of work, selflessness, and gratitude. After completing a year’s worth of tasks — a sort of crash course on life — the man receives a chunk of his grandfather’s fortune, then turns around and gives the money to charity.

To create a buzz about the movie and to give charities a chance to share its message with supporters, the Ultimate Gift Experience sold nonprofit groups and financial advisers the rights to show the movie before its regular theatrical release. Nearly 300 advance screenings — events used to meet, cultivate, and inspire clients and donors — were held.

Many charities also got involved by signing up with the Fox Film Fund, a charitable arm of the movie’s distributor, Twentieth Century Fox, to receive one dollar from every ticket to a regular theater show purchased online by supporters who keyed in the charity’s special code. More than 700 groups participated in the promotion, one of the first the Fox Film Fund has run. Contributions have not yet been tallied.

Creating an Award

Nonprofit groups that sponsored advance screenings say they have already benefited from the events.

A woman who saw The Ultimate Gift at a premiere showing sponsored by the Tulsa Community Foundation gave $100,000 to the foundation to start a donor-advised fund she intends to manage along with her grandchildren.

In Richmond, a couple who attended a screening hosted by three area nonprofit groups suggested that the groups sponsor what they are calling the Ultimate Gift Award, which would recognize local residents who embody the values touted in the film. The couple is providing the prize money for at least the first year — $1,000 for each of four winners to donate to a charity of his or her choosing.

The seed for the movie was planted a few years ago when the book The Ultimate Gift, written by the entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jim Stovall, was gaining popularity among fund raisers and financial advisers. Mr. Stovall and several other people formed the Ultimate Gift Experience to capitalize on the book — selling related materials, such as wealth-coaching workbooks, and developing plans for a movie based on the story.

The first big nonprofit player to help promote the movie was the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, a group that represents 4,000 fund raisers. The organization did not provide any money, but agreed to encourage its members to get involved, and about 50 groups hosted advance screenings. At the end of the movie, the association was given a special credit as a sponsor.

William C. McGinly, the association’s chief executive officer, says he and his colleagues appreciated the movie’s broad message about philanthropy, but they were especially pleased with the $100-million gift that was showcased near the film’s end: The main character uses what would have become part of his inheritance to help pay for a facility near a hospital to house families with children being treated for life-threatening illnesses.

“The movie has special meaning for us,” Mr. McGinly says, “and it easily tugs on everyone’s heartstrings. What our members need to do now is effectively tie it back into what they want to do with major gifts.”

The Ultimate Gift Experience is working on its own follow-up efforts. It continues to sell the book and its related line of products. It also collaborated with another company, called Once Upon a Family, to create an activity kit based on the movie, selling for $99.

In addition, Paul G. Schervish, director of Boston College’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, who was a consultant on the movie project, wrote a film guide, called “Inspiration to Implementation,” meant for financial advisers or charity fund raisers to use with their clients or donors.

He and officials from the Ultimate Gift Experience are also developing a related seminar program. Mr. Schervish will test the program next month at Winchester Hospital, in Massachusetts.