Dolly Parton, who recently died after a brief battle with cancer, is remembered for her decades-long country music career and long history of philanthropic giving. Among her most consequential contributions came in April 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when most of the United States was under lockdown.“My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure,” Parton wrote on social media at the time. “I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.” She added, “Keep the faith.”
Vanderbilt research connected Parton’s donation to Moderna vaccine
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, located in Parton’s home state of Tennessee, was working in partnership with pharmaceutical company Moderna, which later developed one of the vaccines widely used during the pandemic.Parton said she had not been aware of that connection when she donated, and was later surprised to find herself associated with vaccine confidence efforts among sceptical members of the public.“It was a big shock,” she told People at the time. “Everybody was calling congratulating me, and I was saying, ‘Well, for what?’ And then of course my fans took it and ran with it: ‘I’m getting the Dolly vaccine! I’m getting the Dolly juice!’ I guess they thought if Dolly got it, it might be pretty safe.”More than 250 million people globally received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, and COVID vaccinations overall are estimated to have saved at least 14 million lives during the first year of their rollout. Parton maintained that her financial contribution to the research was limited in scope. “I got more credit than I deserved,” she said. “I was just trying to put my money where my heart is.”Parton’s net worth was estimated at $450 million at the time of her passing, built through ventures spanning music, beauty, apparel, kitchenware, and her East Tennessee theme park, Dollywood. Fortune reached out to Moderna for comment.
Parton’s philanthropy traced back to her upbringing
Parton’s approach to giving is tied to her upbringing. She grew up with 11 siblings in a small cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains without running water, electricity, or indoor plumbing. Her mother, Avie Lee, sewed clothing for the family from fabric scraps.Her father, Robert Lee Parton, did not learn to read or write, an experience that later informed Dolly’s education-focused giving. In 1995, she launched the Imagination Library, mailing free books to children in her home county. The program has since expanded internationally, delivering more than 3 million books a month across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia, with more than 300 million books shipped in total.“Just remember the lessons my family taught me,” Parton said in a video produced for the Imagination Library. “Dream big dreams, and learn everything you can. And care for those who care for you—you do all of these things and you can be anyone you want to be.”
Dolly Parton’s giving extended to disaster relief and medical research
Parton also contributed to disaster relief efforts over the years, including raising $700,000 for flood victims near her home in 2021 and contributing $1 million toward Hurricane Helene recovery in East Tennessee in 2024, along with another $1 million from her businesses and the Dollywood Foundation.Beyond her 2020 donation for COVID-19 vaccine research, Parton gave an additional $1 million to the Vanderbilt medical system in 2022 to support pediatric infectious-disease research. Vanderbilt was also the hospital system where Parton died this week following a brief battle with cancer.“I’m kind of addicted to the feeling of giving,” Parton told People in 2021. “Knowing that I’m doing something good for someone else.”
