Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Foundation “was initially focused on reducing school dropout rates in Sevier County, in part by offering $500 gifts to graduates. Cold, hard cash proved a powerful incentive; high school dropout rates plummeted to just 6 percent in the county, from 35 percent.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/business/dolly-parton-philanthropy-books-covid-vaccine.html