Pop star Ariana Grande has been giving away money for years, but now her scattered acts of charity have a formal structure. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The Brighter Days Ahead Foundation, launched in May, focuses on causes Grande has long supported, including LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive health, immigrant rights, and mental health. According to Shauna Nep, Grande's philanthropic adviser, the foundation comes at a time when support for these issues is declining.
"We're seeing the support for the kinds of issues she cares about going down drastically and the attacks going up aggressively," Nep said.
This summer, Grande is using her Eternal Sunshine Tour to fund and promote the foundation, highlighting local nonprofits at each tour stop. Fans who donate can enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to her final tour date in London.
All announced grants so far have come entirely from Grande's personal giving, a foundation spokesperson said. Tour funds have not yet been distributed.
Grande follows in the footsteps of earlier generations of entertainers who created foundations to support controversial causes. Genevieve Shaker, who teaches at Indiana University's Lilly School of Philanthropy, noted that today's celebrities have greater influence through social media.
"In the past, celebrities were more dependent on traditional media. Now they have their own media empire," Shaker said.
One of the nonprofits Grande has supported is Trans Lifeline, which runs a crisis hotline for transgender people. The group received $125,000 total — $75,000 in emergency funding and $50,000 when the foundation launched.
According to executive director Dante Alviar Horton, the money helped relaunch a microgrants program that distributed $100,000 directly to trans people across the country.
"I was grateful that there were people in the celebrity sphere that cared enough to be like, 'This matters,'" Alviar Horton said.
Grande's foundation focuses on issues facing declining support, marking a new era in celebrity philanthropy.