SOURCE OF WEALTH: Singer
FUNDING AREAS: Women & Girls, Global Poverty, Education & Youth, Racial Justice, TBD
OVERVIEW: Beyoncé cofounded Chime for Change with actress Salma Hayek and the Italian fashion brand Gucci. Chime for Change describes itself as “a global campaign to raise funds and awareness for girls and women around the world.” Beyoncé has also launched a philanthropic initiative called #BeyGOOD, to help the homeless, sick children and the unemployed. In recent years, Beyoncé and her her husband, Jay Z, are reported to have made several private donations to a range of timely causes including Black Lives Matter and COVID-19 -related mental health and housing initiatives.
BACKGROUND: Born in 1981 in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé Knowles started singing at an early age, competing in local talent shows and winning many of these events by impressing audiences with her natural singing and dancing abilities. Teaming up with her cousin Kelly Rowland and two classmates, Beyoncé formed an all-female singing group, Destiny’s Child, which became one of the most popular R&B acts of its time with the release of their first album. Beyoncé eventually branched off as a solo artist, releasing her first album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003. It sold millions of copies and won five Grammy Awards. Beyoncé has also starred in several films, including Dreamgirls, and married hip-hop mogul Jay-Z in 2008.
ISSUES:
WOMEN & GIRLS: Beyoncé cofounded Chime for Change with actress Salma Hayek and the Italian fashion label Gucci. Chime for Change describes itself as “a global campaign to raise funds and awareness for girls and women around the world.” Beyoncé personally donated $500,000 to Chime for Change, with the money going to health and education programs for women and girls in developing countries; mentoring, counseling and job training for girls in New York; and support for victims of sex trafficking in Los Angeles. Knowles has also provided support for Embrace Innovations. Co-founded by Jane Chen, a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur, Embrace Innovations distributes infant incubators to mothers of at-risk infants in developing countries around the world. Beyoncé’s support of Embrace Innovations will allow Chen to extend its pilot program to additional countries including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. The money will also bring Embrace’s products into seven more countries.
Through her personal website, Beyoncé has also launched a philanthropic initiative called #BeyGOOD, which focuses on homelessness, children’s health, work and opportunity, racial justice and climate change. The effort has supported at least six European charities to help homeless and sick children. Additionally, the effort helped Saint Damien Pediatric Hospital in Haiti raise money for pediatric oncology intakes.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Beyoncé created the Formation Scholars awards to support young women pursing studies in creative arts, music, literature or black studies at Berklee College of Music, Spelman College, Howard University and Parsons School of Design. She also established the Homecoming Scholar Awards Program to support young women and men attending several HBCUs. The funds come through her BeyGOOD initiative, establishing the Homecoming Scholars Award Program for the 2018-2019 academic year at Xavier, Wilberforce, Tuskegee and Bethune-Cookman, all historically-black institutions. She pledged $2 million to students and Black-owned small businesses during her 2023 Renaissance Tour.
OTHER: In 2005, Beyoncé co-founded the Survivor Foundation, an organization she established with her mother Tina, Solange Knowles, and Kelly Rowland to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Beyoncé has also focused some of her philanthropy on Texas and Houston, with support going to Houston Food Bank. Also, Tina helped launch Knowles-Temenos Place in Houston, whose mission is to “provide affordable housing opportunities, supportive services and employment resources to low-income persons on their journey to self-sufficiency.” In May 2020, Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD pledged $6 million toward mental-wellness services related to the COVID-19 pandemic for communities of color in Houston, New York, New Orleans and Detroit, and in December she donated $500,000 to support people impacted by the eviction crisis.
LOOKING FORWARD: In her early 40s, Beyoncé is still actively engaged in her recording and performing career. She has yet to establish a philanthropic foundation and so far conducts her philanthropy mainly through private donations and affiliations with organizations like Chime for Change and Embrace Innovations. She is likely to continue in the direction of supporting women’s education and opportunity both in the U.S. and abroad. Updates to her personal website have also suggested a burgeoning interest in racial justice and climate change.
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