Obamas pledge $1 million for Obama Foundation (1 of 2)

Ex-President Barack Obama is raising hundreds of millions of dollars to build the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park and to bankroll domestic and international programs.

WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle, whose various post presidency activities have proved lucrative, pledged to donate at least $1 million to their Obama Foundation, according to contribution disclosures posted on Wednesday. This marks the first time the Obamas have donated to their Chicago-based foundation. Since leaving the White House the former first couple has landed a development deal with Netflix and their new production company, Higher Ground Productions, though the value of that deal is not known. They both signed hefty book contracts, with several news reports estimating Penguin Random House gave them a $65 million advance for their memoirs. Michelle Obama’s memoir, “Becoming,” became an international best seller.

The foundation released an updated list of names of contributors — literally only the names, no other identifiers — and only the general range of contributions pledged or already delivered. NBA basketball legend Charles Barkley pledged a donation between $10,000 and $100,000. As the Obama Foundation matures, some donors, such as Nike, are giving restricted gifts. On Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Nike’s $5 million gift earmarked for the construction of the combined athletic and event center that is planed for the complex on 19.3 acres in Jackson Park. Other contributors may want to underwrite programs around the globe but not pay for the Obama complex in Chicago. There is no date for groundbreaking. The city won a federal lawsuit seeking to block building the center in Jackson Park; that decision is on appeal. Before groundbreaking, a long-running federal review must also be completed. A draft of a revised assessment of the Obama Center’s impact will be released by the city on Thursday.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2020/1/15/21067384/barack-michelle-obama-pledge-1-million-obama-foundation

>>7826920

Nike Donates $5 Million To Create Athletic Facility At Obama Presidential Center

The first presidential library to feature an athletic component comes as Nike donates $5 million to the Obama Foundation for the creation of a public space to promote physical activity at the planned Obama Presidential Center on the south side of Chicago. “(Barack) Obama has said it wouldn’t be his presidential center if there wasn’t a place to play some hoops,” says Jorge Casimiro, Nike chief social and community impact officer and president of the Nike Foundation. “We wanted to make sure it had a building in the center focused on recreation, play and athletics.” The $5 million donation, then, does just that while providing opportunity and access to the “powerful transformative abilities of sport, something that the Nike Foundation and Obama Foundation really believe in,” Casimiro says.

The first presidential center with an athletic facility on its campus —tentatively dubbed the program, athletic and activity center — may have more Nike influence than just the financial backing. While Casimiro says the discussion about programming or Nike’s involvement in the space beyond this initial announcement hasn’t happened, already the New York based architectural firm designing the Obama Presidential Center, Tod Williams Billie Tsien, has traveled to Nike headquarters outside of Portland, Oregon, for discussions with Nike officials and architects. “We have a number of different buildings with athletic space and programming space,” Casimiro says. “The Coach Krzyzewski building has great athletic facilities and great spaces for team building, conferences, events, hosting students. We brought them here to talk with our architects and our designers so they could get a sense of creating a building that is accessible and has programming space.” While plans aren’t yet finalized for the Obama building, which will be one of four main buildings as part of the proposed 19.3-acre campus within the 550-acre Jackson Park in Chicago not far from the University of Chicago, ideas already call for a building that has more than just a gymnasium for basketball. “It is about the transformative power of sport,” Casimiro says. “It is about coming together, about having a space to run around in and have fun and play, but also a space to have meetings. Both foundations believe people, especially young people, can change the world, particularly through sport.” Thinking in a broader sense than just an athletic facility may give the Obama building a unique perspective. “At the end of the day,” Casimiro says, “it is going to be a symbol to the world and visitors about why this is important.” The athletic facility, like much of the Obama Presidential Center, will be open to both visitors and local residents.

Nike, which has worked with Barack and Michelle Obama since a 2013 announcement that supported Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Active Schools initiative with a $50 million investment over five years, believes that with sports a transformative vessel in terms of health and educational outcomes for youth, means having the opportunity to partner with the Obama Foundation on the facility amplifies the importance the Oregon-based brand’s effort to promote physical activity. “A lot of our work is work to inspire others and set an example of what it can look like,” Casimiro says. “We have engineered physical activity and movement out of society and by reengineering it back in in places like the Obama Presidential Center it can really go a long way, not only for adults, but also as an example for our kids. It goes a long way to inspiring others.”

Along with the athletic facility, the entire campus features — just as the Obamas have for years — the importance of physical activity, from a children’s playground to open spaces and walking paths. “It is all a fabulous compliment to the building itself,” Casimiro says. “Our work in social impact is really about inspiring kids to move and we do that with partners all over the world. Opportunities like this one really speak to the value society is placing on sports and physical activity and is important because it will transform lives and communities. We are excited about this partnership and where it is going to go.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/timnewcomb/2020/01/14/nike-donates-5-million-to-create-athletic-facility-at-obama-presidential-center/#392250212e1c

>>7827035

That's at least what they admitting too…

>>7827038

Concur…which is exactly why it needs to be abolished.

Barack Obama Twitter

Glad to see American Factory’s Oscar nod for Best Documentary. It’s the kind of story we don’t see often enough and it’s exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve with Higher Ground. Congrats to the incredible filmmakers and entire team!

https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1216725015695183872

Not sure what if any, but this documentary name makes me think of Comey's book A Higher Loyalty Looked to Comey's twitter nothing posted there since 12/30/19. Last Instagram..12/3/19..with an interesting title: 92nd Street Y

Comey Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5nZoiRhlIF/

Could be something could be nothing, just thought I would put it out there.

>>7827205

Oscars: Obama-Backed Doc 'American Factory' Earns Nod

The first film released by Barack and Michelle Obama's production company earned Netflix a best documentary nomination Monday.

With its first film out of the gate, the Obamas' production company can now add "Oscar nominee" to its bio. Netflix's Obama-backed American Factory earned a best documentary nomination for the 2020 Academy Awards on Monday. The nomination goes to the film's producers Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert — a team that Michelle Obama quickly congratulated Monday.

"So thrilled that Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, and all of the incredible people behind #AmericanFactory are nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar! We’re so proud of them and amazed by their talent for storytelling. See for yourself now on @Netflix," she wrote on Twitter.

"Glad to see American Factory’s Oscar nod for Best Documentary," the former president added in response. "It’s the kind of story we don’t see often enough and it’s exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve with Higher Ground. Congrats to the incredible filmmakers and entire team!"

American Factory is the first release from Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground production company. The film, about a Chinese entrepreneur billionaire coming to blue-collar America and offering jobs at a reopened Ohio automotive plant, serves as an examination of power. American Factory was produced with Participant Media and has received critical acclaim and awards recognition since its August 2019 release. American Factory was among Barack Obama's list of favorite films of 2019, along the likes of other Oscar-nominated titles The Irishman, Parasite, Ford v Ferrari, Little Women and Marriage Story. "Of course, there’s also American Factory, a film from our own production company, Higher Ground, that was recently shortlisted for an Oscar," he noted in his announcement ahead of the new year.

Marking their first big move after exiting the White House in 2017, the Obamas announced an unprecedented multiyear pact with Netflix to produce a diverse mix of content, including the potential for scripted series, unscripted series, docuseries, documentaries and features under their Higher Ground Productions banner. American Factory was their first release. Higher Ground had set an initial slate of seven projects that are in various stages of development, including three features and four TV series.

"We created Higher Ground to harness the power of storytelling. That’s why we couldn’t be more excited about these projects,” said Barack Obama earlier this year about their mission statement. "Touching on issues of race and class, democracy and civil rights, and much more, we believe each of these productions won’t just entertain, but will educate, connect and inspire us all."

The 92nd Academy Awards, set to be a hostless ceremony for the second consecutive year, will take place at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 9.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/obamas-netflix-doc-american-factory-nominated-oscar-1268944

>>7827361

Thinking that is a possibility..but I also believe there might be some signaling going on here, between them and Comey.