26 Jan Why I Chose Planned Giving

Nikoletta Skarlatos, acclaimed makeup artist known for projects including The Hunger Games series and Pirates of the Caribbean speaks about her decision to include ETAF in her will.

“From a young age, in the 80s, I began to lose many friends – young friends – to AIDS. I remember how vocal Elizabeth Taylor was about the need for our government to take action against the fast spreading disease. Because of her advocacy and my own personal losses, I became very aware that HIV and AIDS was pandemic affecting people all around the world. As a result of the deaths of people I had held so close to me, I became a firm advocate for the movements that started to support people living with HIV—people who were so unfairly being treated like pariahs by the mainstream.

I have so much deep respect for Elizabeth Taylor—a woman who had the courage to stand up for something unpopular, for people being demonized, for an epidemic that affected people of all walks and races, and to humanize and show compassion in a practical way that has helped countless people. Because of this, I decided to make a planned gift to The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

I decided that I wanted my will to be explicit and to be certain that the money that I’ve earned in my lifetime was given to the right groups of people. I’m aware of the track record of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and the incredible impact they’ve made, and also how responsible they are with donor funds in particular.

Elizabeth Taylor’s Trust is set up in a way that proceeds from her businesses provide overhead funding to her foundation. I believe deeply in ETAF and I know that the foundation will be responsible with my donation. This means a lot to me to be able to support an organization that has touched so many lives. ETAF puts its money where its mouth is. If anyone wants to support ETAF or amfAR or Oceana or any other charitable organization, then it would behoove that person to do their due diligence and to RESEARCH how it works, how to get involved, and how one can use their position of compassion and humanity to better the planet. Whatever your ability, public or private, or social strata, or financial background, everyone can be a platform to do good. A symbiotic relationship between self and fund and humanity.

This is the motto that I try to live by and espouse and I am proud to be associated with the ETAF.”

Best,
Nikoletta Skarlatos