For years, pop star Ariana Grande gave away money, mostly quietly and without much structure. There were annual gifts to England’s Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Sometimes a night’s performance proceeds were handed to nonprofit groups. She anonymously funded a holiday gift drive for transgender young people in addition to launching a $3 million fundraising event for transgender youths in 2022.Now those scattered acts of giving have a name and a public face: the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation. Launched in May, it will focus on causes Grande has advocated for in the past, including LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive health, immigrant rights, and mental health. Grande is doing this at a moment when philanthropic support for these causes is eroding, said Shauna Nep, Grande’s philanthropic adviser.“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 national and local nonprofits at each tour stop. Names of her grantee organizations are shown on screens in the center of the arena during the pre-show countdown. And fans who donate to the nonprofit can enter a sweepstake for a chance to win a trip to see her final tour date in London.“The fan experience is still completely intact,” Nep said. “We’re meeting them where they are instead of taking them away from anything.”
