The Giving Back Fund’s Marc Pollick

A Small-Town Guy Stuck in the Big City

Marc Pollick is the president and founder of The Giving Back Fund, which manages foundations for a number of celebrities. Before participating in a panel on whether celebrities help Haiti, he talked in the Zócalo green room about what, for him, fundraising and firing people has in common.

Q:

Do you correct people when they misspell your name?


A:

I write back and press a capital C—MarC. Often people do it right when they see my signature under my email, and I wonder whether they’re seeing it if they misspell it.


Q:

If you could only take one more journey, where would you go?


A:

To the smallest town in the world. Small towns fascinate me, having grown up in big cities. I miss the culture of a small town, the closeness of a small town, the intimacy of a small town where people really know each other, life slows down, and there’s no traffic like there was getting here tonight.


Q:

What’s your favorite thing about living in L.A.?


A:

You’re assuming there is one. Being from Boston, I’m like an expatriate, literally. By far the weather. You have one of the greatest weathers in the world here.


Q:

Are you a Red Sox fan?


A:

No, because I’m from Cleveland originally. I’m an Indians fan, although the former Red Sox manager who just got fired is on my board. I feel very badly for him.


Q:

What is your biggest weakness?


A:

I have so many! Fundraising. I’m terrible at it. And firing people. I’m terrible at that.


Q:

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given someone else?


A:

Love.


Q:

What was it like working with Elie Wiesel, with whom you studied and helped set up a foundation?


A:

Obviously it was very inspiring. I’ve worked with him and known him now for 35 years, a long time. And when you work with somebody that great and that famous for that long, you see them in a little bit different light than the public might see them. Their human frailties and foibles come out like every human would have, but that the public might not know about.


Q:

What is your favorite ice cream sundae topping?


A:

Cherries.


Q:

How do you procrastinate?


A:

By trying to do too many things at once, and it takes more time than I think, and it pushes things back and back and back.


Q:

What’s the most satisfying part of a typical day for you?


A:

Dinner. Because I don’t cook, I eat almost every meal out, and it’s interesting to see all the different menus.


Q:

What’s the ugliest tie you own?


A:

I probably own a few ugly ties. It is too many colors at once, and they don’t really go together.