# Who's giving away £1 million, and when?

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/01/18/who039s-giving-away-1-million-and-when/
- Published: 2008-01-18T11:12:44+00:00
- Author: Finbar Cullen

**There has been some discussion recently on the [prospect research email group](http://groups.yahoo.com/group/prospect-research-uk/)
on Johnny Depp and his millions.**

Johnny Depp was [reported to have donated £1 million to Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/01/16/disney-donates-1-million-great-ormond-street-hospital/).
However, it seems “Mr Johnny Depp is neither visiting the hospital nor making a 
donation this week.” It could be the newspapers, etc., got the story wrong, or perhaps
the donation will be made later. It’s one to watch, and it raises the question on
how reliable reports like this are.

It’s always best to check stories like this with the charity. Of course, it might
not be possible to confirm the amount that way.

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Charities use different ways to acknowledge donations, and some donations are made
anonymously.

Some charities state the amount donated (marvellous!). More commonly, perhaps, a
number of organisations list “major supporters”, “platinum patrons”, etc., and elsewhere
in the website, annual report, etc., tell you what that level of support means.

However, when I pointed this out to a fundraiser some years ago, she said that the
information provided in different sections of the website was not true, and that
some of the donors I mentioned had not donated at the stated level! She had worked
there, in the past.

What is a researcher to do? Check, double check, and be careful how you phrase things.