The Hollywood Foreign Press Association was founded more than 70years ago by a group of Los Angeles-based journalists working for overseas publications. Its annual Golden Globe awards have enabled the non-profit organization to donate more than $5.5 million in the past eleven years to entertainment-related charities, as well as funding scholarships and other programs for future film and television professionals. This year the donation was more than one million dollars and the group also gave an additional $250,000 to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
Each year HFPA members interview more than 250 actors, directors, writers and producers, as well as reporting from film sets and seeing more than 300 films. Members also attend film festivals in other countries in order to seek out interesting and innovative foreign language films and establish cultural bonds with directors, actors, jurors and fellow journalists around the world. Membership meetings are held monthly and the officers and directors are elected annually.
The mission of the HFPA is:
1. To establish favorable relations and cultural ties between foreign countries and the United States of America by the dissemination of information concerning the American culture and traditions as depicted in motion pictures and television through news media in various foreign countries;
2. To recognize outstanding achievements by conferring annual Awards of Merit, (Golden Globe® Awards), serving as a constant incentive within the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television;
3. To contribute to other nonprofit organizations connected with the entertainment industry and involved in educational, cultural, and humanitarian activities;
4. To promote interest in the study of the arts, including the development of talent in the entertainment field through scholarships given to major learning institutions.