Can a lottery winner run an effective foundation? Meet Roy Cockrum

abcnews.go.com:

In the early 1980s, soon after graduating from college, Roy Cockrum was trying to make it as an actor in New York

In the early 1980s, soon after graduating from college, Roy Cockrum was trying to make it as an actor in New York. He was hanging on by his fingernails, getting paid $40 a show for two supporting roles in the off-Broadway comedy “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.”

To cover his rent, Cockrum would pick up extra cash doing financial-document proofreading at 2 a.m. Risk factors, operating margins — the terms washed over him endlessly. “I was both without money — and around money a lot,” he recalls.

Then, in 2014, at age 58, Cockrum’s luck abruptly changed.

After decades of character-actor obscurity, Cockrum won America’s Powerball lottery, collecting a lump-sum check for $153 million. Instead of spending it all on himself, he decided to take half his after-tax winnings, about $60 million, and set up a foundation focused on helping U.S. nonprofit theaters rediscover their boldness.

Over the past quarter-century, 95 people have won lump-sum payouts of at least $100 million by playing the Powerball lottery. More than 10% have formed foundations, according to a Chronicle analysis of ProPublica records. These foundations support everything from medical research to college scholarships for low-income students.

In this rarified group, the Roy Cockrum Foundation stands out. It has given away about $25 million, funding 47 theatrical productions across the United States. This spring, a Cockrum-financed play, “Prayer for the French Republic,” was a finalist in the Tony Awards’ best-play category.

What makes Roy Cockrum unique among these accidental philanthropists? Lynne Meadow, artistic director of the Manhattan Theatre Club,