Dolly Broke the Mold
By: Kaky McGinness Grant, Founder and Principal
Dolly Parton broke the mold. In everything she did, she brought her own flair and humor to it.
Singer, song writer, actor, philanthropist, feminist, proud East Tennessean. Of all of her roles she played in her 80 years, Dolly’s role as a philanthropist is arguably the most profound.
Her generosity bridged divides, brought attention to poverty in rural Appalachia, united people behind solutions, and inspired others to give from the heart. Staying out of politics in her philanthropic work was a decided choice and one that led to widespread public trust. She united diverse groups of donors, governments, and volunteers to support her initiatives, whether through funding vaccine research or backing local disaster relief. She did it with a twinkle in her eye and a dazzling smile. Her philanthropic legacy is a tremendous one on which to reflect.
What Made Dolly’s Philanthropy Different?
Dolly never forgot where she came from
Much of Dolly’s generosity focused on East Tennessee where the needs are seemingly never ending. As one of 12 children, she grew up in a small cabin without running water or electricity. This grounding never left her. She shined a light on issues of poverty that plagued not just her home of Sevier County, but other rural areas of Appalachia too.
She focused her giving on issues she believed were holding back her community. She motivated youth to reach long term goals with scholarship dollars and cash incentives, and she gave cash to Tennesseans in times of crisis.
Following the devastating 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, Dolly set up a fund that provided $1,000 per month in unconditional cash to approximately 1,000 displaced families in Sevier County. Due to overwhelming public donations, the final checks were increased to $5,000, distributing nearly $9 million directly to fire victims, followed by $3 million in long-term recovery support.
After Hurricane Helene in 2024, Dolly gave $1 million to East Tennessee’s emergency relief and her businesses in the area matched her personal gift. She helped to secure an additional $16 million from Walmart in affected areas.
Dolly established annual $15,000 college scholarships for graduating seniors at high schools across her home county, alongside dedicated funds for students affected by local disasters.
Dolly donated $1 million to construct the LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville, Tennessee, which led to the creation of the 30,000-square-foot Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services.
She helped the impoverished people of rural Appalachia believe in themselves; that they’re worthy of opportunity; and they can and should follow their dreams.
Dolly’s giving was responsive and yet strategic.
Dolly humbly claimed, “I just give from my heart. I never know what I am going to do or why I am gonna do it. I just see a need, and if I can fill it, then I will.” Yes, she gave from her heart and yet, I see there was a real strategy behind her work. She saw that a lack of access to quality education, mentors and healthcare held back her community. Her giving was shaped by these elements and responded to needs in a systematic way.
She started the Imagination Library because her dad never learned to read or write. What started as an idea of distributing books to children in rural mountain communities in Sevier County, Tennessee, has scaled to be a global initiative. The Imagination Library now distributes 3 million books a month. Her aim of putting books in children’s hands was simple and has had profound ripple effects.
In 1988, Dolly tackled the 35% high school dropout rate in Sevier County by promising every 7th and 8th grader $500 if they graduated. The initiative brought the dropout rate down to 6%.
In April 2020, Dolly personally donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in honor of her friend Dr. Naji Abumrad. The gift funded early testing for the Moderna vaccine. While many institutions were racing to develop a vaccine, her investment catalyzed the vaccine innovation at Vanderbilt’s labs. She publicly received the vaccine to demonstrate its safety. She returned to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2022 to make another personal $1 million gift specifically targeted toward pediatric infectious disease research. She also donated $1 million to the Nashville children’s hospital after her niece received successful leukemia treatment there.
Dolly lived her values
Dolly lived her values that were instilled in her early years. Her parents modeled humility, hard work, compassion, faith, resilience, gratitude, and community. Her mom sewed her coat of rags memorialized in her song, “A Coat of Many Colors”. In spite of ridicule from her classmates, she was proud of her new coat that her mother lovingly made for her.
She quietly gave out-of-pocket for many things in her own backyard, including high school marching band uniforms across various schools in Tennessee over the years.
She rewarded young people through gifts of delayed gratification. Her message was simple: stay in school and I’ll reward you with scholarships, mentorship and cash.
Whether it was a wildfire, a flood or a pandemic, she showed up in a crisis with her voice, advocacy and cash. She made sure the people of East Tennessee were not left behind once the news cycle ended.
Dolly believed in humanity’s ability to help one another and overcome adversity in times of strife.
Her humor shined through in her generosity.
Dolly’s quick wit and self deprecating humor will be deeply missed. Dolly used humor to bring joy to often heartbreaking circumstances. Her quips were a hallmark of her generous spirit. Here are some standout quotations:
“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap! But it takes even more money to do the kind of good I want to do in the world.”
“Now I usually try not to give advice. Information, yes, advice, no… But take for instance what has worked for me: wigs, tight clothes, push-up bras! But if you really want to give something to people, just give ’em a smile.”
“My boobs are fake, my hair’s fake, my nails are fake, but what is real is my voice and my heart. I hope people realize there’s a brain underneath the hair and a heart underneath the boobs.”
Authentic Leadership + Heart
“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” – Dolly Parton
Dolly, your legacy demonstrates how to practice philanthropy with authenticity, compassion, confidence, and humor. You didn’t follow someone else’s playbook. Your smart brain and warm heart broke the mold. Rest easy, my friend.
About Grant Philanthropic Advisors:
We’re an independent firm helping clients to focus and maximize their philanthropy—in turn, strengthening the fabric of our communities. Founded in 2019, we help donors move from responsive patterns of giving by assisting clients to identify values and become more strategic in their philanthropy. Our goal is to help donors to become more effective as change-makers. We work with foundations (large and small staff teams), donor advised fund holders, multi generational families, individuals, philanthropy supporting organizations and corporations to design philanthropic strategies.