Philanthropy
Principal told The Huffington Post in 2012, "My deepest concern is for the planet and every living thing on it. Without a healthy planet, education won't matter, hunger won't matter, and science won't matter because we will not survive. Unless we rectify the damage we have done to our land and our oceans, then I truly believe, the planet will reclaim itself.
In 2006, Principal formed a charitable organization, the Victoria Principal Foundation For Thoughtful Existence, to help subsidize the environmental movement, of which she had been an active participant since 1978. The impetus of the foundation is to help financially support the planet and life upon it. Principal is particularly involved with ecology, oceans, banning toxic substances, helping children, and rescuing and rehabilitating animals. She provided aid those in need after the 2008 California wildfires. On June 2, 2010, she donated $200,000 to the cleanup effort in the Gulf Coast region. Her donations brought together two huge environmental nonprofits, Oceana and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), to work together on the cleanup.
Principal appeared with other celebrities on June 21, 2010, in a CNN Larry King–sponsored telethon to support the Gulf Coast region following the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Principal was on a panel with King, answered phones, and spoke to donors for the entire two hours. The telethon raised over $1.8 million.
Principal is a former co-chairman of Victory Over Violence, the LA County Domestic Violence Council Community Advisory Board. The board is a coalition of representatives from the entertainment industry, business, government, and community who have come together with the dual purposes of increasing public awareness of issues surrounding domestic violence and increasing shelter and victim resources.
On December 13, 2011, Principal donated a substantial sum to the nonprofit marine conservation organization Oceana, and to NRDC to stop the expansion of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean, fearing such activity could lead to another disastrous oil spill. On December 20, 2011, the Giving Back Fund named Principal as one of the Top 30 Celebrity Charity Donors for 2011.
In 2012, Principal funded and participated in an online campaign with the NRDC in an effort to stop sonic blasting along the California coastline and prevent the deaths of hundreds of marine mammals and marine life. In 2012, she funded, through Tree People, the creation of a mobile emergency fire warning system for the Los Angeles area. In 2013, this system was completed and implemented, the first of its kind in California.
In 2013, Principal funded an ad bringing awareness to the plight of sea lion pups washing up along the California coastline and provided funds to Wildlife Org. for their rescue and rehabilitation.
In 2013, after the deadly Moore, Oklahoma, EF5 tornado, Principal funded the American Humane Association's famous Red Star Rescue Team to help search, rescue, and shelter injured and missing animals with the ultimate goal of reuniting them with their families. In August 2013, she funded in collaboration with Tree People a new mobile system that allows citizens to participate in critical wildfire prevention by texting.
In July 2014, Principal made a substantial contribution to NRDC's campaign for Save the Bees. She stated, "As of yesterday, I've now made a substantial donation and joined in support of the NRDC's campaign for Save the Bees. Without bees, our fruit- and vegetable-bearing plants and trees will cease to be productive." In August 2014, she fully funded, with the help of Mission K9 rescue, the return of military working dog Maxi from Japan to the United States to be reunited with her former Marine handler. Two months later, she donated $100,000 to support Malibu ballot initiative Measure R, which sought to limit the environmental impact of development in Malibu by requiring a vote on any new developments over 20,000 square feet. In November, the initiative was passed by voters.
In May 2015, Principal fully funded the Red Star Rescue Team of the American Humane Association for the rescue and rehabilitation of 150 dogs that had been injured and displaced by tornadoes and floods in Oklahoma and Texas. The following year, she created the Moki fund to help rescue animals and provide medical care so that they can be adopted into permanent homes. In August 2016, Principal worked with the American Red Cross to provide shelter and food for the victims of the 2016 Louisiana floods, as well as the American Humane Association to help rescue and shelter animals that were displaced in Louisiana and attempt to reunite them with their owners.
In April 2018, Principal announced that she will double the impact of individual gifts by matching donations to Oceana, up to $50,000 to help protect U.S. coasts from the dangers of offshore oil and gas. Explaining her commitment, Principal has stated, "Oceana successfully protected much of the Atlantic and Arctic from new drilling in the past, but now those protections are at risk. Oceana knows how to win victories for our oceans, and I am making this commitment to encourage people across the country to join me in the fight to protect our coasts."
In September 2018, Principal donated a fleet of rescue boats to help American Humane with animal disaster relief efforts in the Carolinas after Hurricane Florence.
