'Historic' Donation from Dwayne Johnson to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Relief Fund, according to President Courtney B. Vance

On July 13, as SAG-AFTRA leadership declared the union was going on strike, SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance and executive director Cyd Wilson drafted a letter to 2,700 of the union’s highest-earning actors outlining the financial need that many would face in the work stoppage.

“Having been through this during COVID and having such a great response from our own membership to take care of their own, when the strike was decided, Courtney and I sat down with our team and said, ‘Here we go again,” Wilson tells Variety.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation a non-profit organization associated with the union, but not part of it worked to provide financial relief to many of the union’s 160,000 members via the foundation’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program, which will again be used to help actors during the strike.

“We rely on donations and grants to provide services — we have been very fortunate that we raised enough money to be able to cover all of our programs,” Wilson explains. “But when we hit a crisis like this and we’re going to spend millions and millions of dollars in financial assistance, this is when we need our high profile talent who can afford it, who are in a situation to help others.”

Shortly after sending the letter, Dwayne Johnson’s team reached out to say he wanted to help, so he and Vance hopped on a phone call.

“It was a love fest. It’s like, ‘Man, you’re stepping up in a way that is allowing others to know the dire necessity of it,” Vance told Johnson about his contribution to the fund, noting that the exact sum is being kept confidential, but he was heartened by the A-lister’s generosity.

“This is him saying, ‘In such a time as this, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, whatever you need me to do.’ And that sends a huge message to other folks to do the same thing.”

Wilson explains that the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s grants deliver up to 1,500 per individual member, but in extreme conditions where there are health issues or other situations that indicate an actor is in serious jeopardy, a lifetime member can receive up to 6,000 in emergency financial assistance.

Thus, Johnson’s seven-figure donation has the potential to aid thousands of actors. Wilson estimates between 7,000 to 10,000 members will need these services.

“It is a call to arms for all of us to know that we just have to step up however you can,” Vance adds. “If your step up is 10, step up. Because that 10 is going to help somebody. If it’s 10,000, if it’s 10 million, step up, because we have to.

Everyone knows what happens when you go on strike, when you stand for something — as the saying goes, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything — you can’t stand unless you have support underneath you, on the side, up top and up front. So Dwayne is letting everyone know, ‘I’m here. What are you going to do”

In an interview with Variety, Vance and Wilson discuss the financial crisis facing working actors and the impact of Johnson’s sizable donation in helping to support them.