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The non-profit foundation founded by Kanye West and his late mother Dr. Donda West, “The Kanye West Foundation,” closed recently, for unexplained reasons.

Hip Hop Wired is reporting that; “the news of the organization shutting down broke at the end last month when former executive director, Joseph Collins, sent an e-mail to associates, telling them that he was seeking employment because the charity, ‘The Kanye West Foundation,’ had shut down and its phone had been disconnected.”

Collins would not elaborate on the reasons for the charity shutting down, and when contacted by The New York Times, would only say; “You’d have to get in touch with Mr. West,” which, according to the newspaper, is a fruitless task.

The mission of the foundation was to empower young students, and to;

“help combat the severe dropout problem in schools across the United States by partnering with community organizations to provide under-served youth access to music production programs that will enable them to unleash their creative ability and reach their full potential”

The foundation website makes a claim of being committed to the foundation in the long term, despite the difficulties in achieving the organizations aims, but, as Hip Hop Wired report, tax forms do show a sharp decline in grant money coming into the organization since its lucrative inception. They note that, according to tax documents, the charity raised an average of $492,000 and made total grants averaging $18,080 in each of its first three years in operation, thanks largely to companies dealing with Kanye. However, it is reported that the charity made just $563 in grants in 2009.

Could it be that Kanye wasn’t nearly as interested in the foundation as his mother was, so didn’t put in the time? Surely his name is just as marketable now as it was three years ago, so a dry up of funding can’t be the only explanation?

If the reason for the shut down, is because of a lack of participation or interest on Yeezy’s behalf, then that truly is disappointing and shameful.

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