Beyoncé Announces $2 Million Commitment To Small-Business Owners
BeyGOOD, the initiative founded by global cultural icon, Beyoncé, in 2013, to support people and programs around the world, is now BeyGOOD Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity.
The entertainer, who made history recently as the artist with the most Grammy wins, founded the former initiative to make a difference in communities along the 2013/2014 Mrs. Carter World Tour. Ten years later, BeyGOOD has focused on a wide range of issues including education, disaster relief, food, water and housing scarcity, mental health, and career development in the United States, Africa, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.
With the global public health crisis in 2020, the uncertainty of many small businesses and the growing need for economic support in communities, Beyoncé established the Black Parade Route to highlight and support Black-owned small businesses in the US and abroad. More than 900 small businesses were provided with grants and/or highlighted on socials.
“I am hugely proud of the work we have done over a decade at BeyGOOD, here in the US and around the world,” said BeyGOOD founder, Beyoncé. “From scholarships to the water crisis in Burundi, to helping families during Hurricane Harvey in my hometown, Houston, it has been beyond fulfilling to be of service. Now as a foundation, we will continue the work of engaging partners through innovative programs to impact even more people.”
BeyGOOD Foundation focuses on economic equity and education by supporting organizations that serve marginalized and under-resourced communities. The highly celebrated Black Parade Route continues with luncheons in various cities along Beyoncé’s RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR. The Foundation will host luncheons the day before the tour stops to give entrepreneurs a 5-star, inspirational afternoon, with networking opportunities and the potential to be a grant recipient from $100k funds allocated to each luncheon. One thousand small businesses will be supported financially by a commitment totaling one million dollars.
BeyGOOD will also support students through the RENAISSANCE Scholarship Fund that will be given to colleges and universities in ten different cities along the tour. Each school will be given one hundred thousand dollars and will select the student recipients. BeyGOOD’s total scholarship commitment during RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR is an additional and separate one million dollars.
“We believe that everyone has the right to economic equity. And we are keenly aware of the barriers to access, opportunity, and resources that disproportionately impact BIPOC communities,” said Ivy McGregor, BeyGOOD Foundation’s Executive Director. “Our work is rooted in the belief that education, pathways for employment and support of entrepreneurship are vehicles that help drive sustainable outcomes. As we celebrate a decade of good, it continues to be my great honor to lead the philanthropic vision of Mrs. Carter and to be hands and feet of hope and help for those in need globally,”
Black Parade Route Small Business luncheon cities include London, Chicago, New York, Charlotte, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and New Orleans. The RENAISSANCE Scholars College cities include Paris, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington, D.C. Additionally, BeyGOOD will continue its history of visiting local non-profit organizations along the RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR and delivering surprises to celebrate them for their commitment of service to humanity. This begins in Stockholm, continues in Barcelona, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Toronto, Nashville, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Las Vegas, and Dallas. Local charities in every tour market will also be gifted with tickets to attend the show.
Applications for the Black Parade Route Small Business relief grants are available on www.BeyGOOD.org, starting today. Applicants can apply immediately through April 27.
This news first appeared on prnewswire.com.