While he may be one of the most powerful moguls in the film and business community, writer-director-actor-producer Tyler Perry has never forgotten where he comes from and who helped him build his empire.

The New Orleans native recently donated $150,000 to two Atlanta hunger-relief organizations: the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) and Hosea Feed the Hungry (HFTH). Each donation included a $50,000 food donation and $25,000 toward daily operating costs. In these times of economic downturn, more and more Americans are going hungry. Perry's hope is that his donation will encourage others to give back.

Following his lead, the cast and crew of the two television productions shooting at Tyler Perry Studios, 'Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns' and 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne,' separately donated more than 150 pounds of food to local area food banks.

Not stopping there, Perry also gave $1 million to the NAACP, marking the largest gift ever given by an individual entertainer.

Perry bought several NAACP-commissioned Jacob Lawrence lithographs and additional lithographs by celebrated artists Jonathan Green, Elizabeth Catlett and Sam Gilliam. The contribution, which will be distributed over the next four years, was made to commemorate the organization's centennial anniversary.

It's no secret that the powerful playwright-filmmaker struggled growing up with abuse and poverty before finding success. He now focuses his philanthropic efforts toward charities benefiting those who are homeless and hungry, including Feeding America, Covenant House and Perry Place, a 20-home community he built for displaced survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

With his empire continuing to grow, Perry created Tyler Perry Studios, a 200,000-square-foot studio created from a former Delta Air Lines facility in Atlanta, where his films and television shows are filmed.

His next film, 'Why Did I Get Married Too?,' will be released in April, while his latest collaboration with Oprah Winfrey, 'Precious,' in which he served as an executive producer, is rising up the box office charts after being released in more theaters last weekend.