Alex Rodriguez has no problem doling out dough for fancy toys and stripper gal pals – but when it comes to his two nonprofits for needy kids, he forked over little more than a measly $50,000 for the last complete year of giving, tax records reveal.
The overall track records for A-Rod‘s namesake nonprofits aren’t much to brag about, either.
The AROD Family Foundation and AROD Foundation have distributed an anemic total of $146,746 to charitable causes since their launch 10 years ago and up through 2006, the most recent year for which figures are available, a review of IRS filings shows.
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The $28-million-a-year Yankee star regularly spends oodles of money on personal pleasures – including a private plane, a yacht, a waterfront Florida mansion and dozens of other real-estate holdings, as well as scores of lap dances at strip joints.
The money distributed by his nonprofits, however, pales compared to those of other star athletes.
For example, A-Rod‘s teammate Derek Jeter handed out $1.3 million through his charity in 2006 after taking in $2.3 million in contributions.
Since its foundation in 1998, the same year as A-Rod‘s, the star shortstop’s Turn 2 Foundation has paid out $6 million of the $11.6 million it raised.
Meanwhile, A-Rod‘s foundations have raised a total $658,766 since being set up, records show.
The bulk of that money was raised in one year alone: 2006, when the AROD Family Foundation pulled in $403,862. Most of it, $368,862, came from a fund-raiser, while Rodriguez kicked in the balance. Another $46,825 was raised by the AROD Foundation.
In the AROD Family Foundation’s case, only $5,090 of that year’s total was earmarked for charity. There were two payouts: $90 to buy local Little League uniforms and the rest for a scholarship, records show.
The AROD Foundation went in the red to distribute $50,000 – though $35,000 of that was actually put in the coffers of the AROD Family Foundation. Another $10,000 was given to a Miami dance studio and the balance to a scholarship.
A-Rod does make sizeable personal charitable contributions outside his nonprofits.
The AROD charities are funded primarily from his own wallet, also.
Since 1998, the bulk of the AROD foundation giveaways has gone to three groups: the Miami Boys & Girls Club, Bronx-based Sports Plus Academy and Brooklyn’s Bergen Beach Youth Organization.
A-Rod‘s spokesman, Richard Rubenstein, yesterday gave The Post this statement:
“Mr. Rodriguez will be closing down the AROD Foundation and the AROD Family Foundation in 2008 and distributing the funds to a number of noteworthy institutions, including the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center and the Boys and Girls Club of Miami, where he started a learning center. Funds will also be donated to a select number of charities in the Dominican Republic that are dedicated to children.
“He has led by example with a number of significant and consistent personal contributions and will continue to do so in the future.”