CNN’s Van Jones: Prince never talked about the money he raised for worthy causes

“[Prince] did not want it to be known publicly, but I’m going to say it because the world needs to know that it wasn’t just the music,” said CNN political commentator and close friend Van Jones in an interview with Don Lemon. “The music was one way he tried to help the world. But he was helping every day of his life.”

Jones added, “There are people who have solar panels on their houses right now in Oakland, California, that they don’t know Prince paid for them.”

Some of Prince’s other hidden efforts included helping create programs like #YesWeCode to help give urban youth access to tech, and using Jones as the public face for his work with Green For All to make green living accessible for all.

According to Jones, Prince also used benefit concerts in Chicago and Baltimore as covers to work with the city’s community organizations in need.

Indeed, the full extent of Prince’s charity may never be known, in part, Jones said, because Prince was a Jehovah’s Witness and was not allowed to speak about his work.

But one thing is clear: Prince gave the world many gifts, and his records were only a few of them.