- "The Vito Corleone Foundation helps the poor in every country, gives grants to artists, funds medical research, and is particularly dedicated to the resurrection of Sicily."
- ―Mary Corleone[src]
Mary, Michael and Gilday showing the donation for Sicily.
The Vito Corleone Foundation was a foundation started by Michael Corleone some time after 1959 and named in honor of his father Vito Corleone. It was chaired by Michael's daughter Mary Corleone. In actuality, the organization had been financed heavily by the criminal activities of another organization named Corleone. It was also a vehicle for Michael Corleone to launder money in his obsession to go straight; i.e. transition from a mafioso to a legal businessman.
It was a charitable organization which was particularly dedicated to reviving Sicily.[1]
In 1979, the foundation gave archbishop Gilday a check for a 100 million dollars in the name of Vito Corleone, to assist in the economic resurrection of Sicily. It also received a donation from Don Altobello for one million dollars so he could attach his name to the foundation.[1]As a result of the Vito Corleone Foundation's investment in Sicily, Gilday recommended that Michael Corleone be awarded knighthood in the Order of Saint Sebastian, which was approved by Pope Paul VI.
Francesca Corleone, Michael's niece, also helped with the foundation for a time.[2]