PHILADELPHIA — Meek Mill, Kevin Hart and Michael Rubin will donate $7 million to Philadelphia-area educational causes, the trio announced Monday, with most of the funds supporting scholarships for low-income students at private schools in the 2023-24 school year.
In addition to the scholarships at 60 "private and parochial schools in need," given to children from low-to-moderate incomes, the donation will also fund laptops, tablets, and WiFi connections, as well as other classroom resources, according to a statement.
Rapper Mill and actor and comedian Hart are from Philadelphia; both attended city public schools. Rubin, the billionaire Fanatics CEO and former Philadelphia 76ers owner, grew up in Lafayette Hill and lives in Bryn Mawr.
Arianne Antonio, a spokesperson for the men, did not disclose the schools receiving the funds, but said the recipients will be concentrated in South and North Philadelphia, where Hart and Mill grew up.
The money will be administered by Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS), Pennsylvania's largest scholarship organization.
To apply, families must provide proof of income and demographics to show they are eligible to receive funding through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program. Applications are handled by a third-party vendor; details were not immediately available.
The funds are not the first given to Philadelphia causes by Mill and Rubin. In December, the duo treated more than two dozen children whose families have been "negatively impacted by the criminal justice system and unjust probations" to a daylong VIP experience with the Philadelphia Eagles and Sixers.
Mill also recently paid the bail of 20 incarcerated women, allowing them to spend Christmas with their families.
In total, Mill and Rubin have donated $17 million to local communities over the past several years, they said.
But their educational donations have not been without controversy.
When the two made a similar, $15 million scholarship donation last year, critics said giving funds to private schools harms already under-resourced public schools, diverting resources and top students away from the district.
Antonio said Mill, Hart, and Rubin were motivated by a desire to give parents a choice in where they send their children to school.
Tax credit programs open up private schools to children "regardless of their race, religion but most importantly, their inability to afford a choice in education," Antonio said in a statement. "Private schools rely on tax credit programs and other types of donations to support students who may not otherwise have an opportunity."
Hart, a graduate of George Washington High, this fall made an appearance at Robert Morris Elementary in North Philadelphia and announced a $150,000 donation to get more books into Philadelphia School District students' hands.
Mill donated 6,000 backpacks to Philadelphia students, including children at Blaine Elementary, his alma mater, in 2018.
