Robyn Rihanna Fenty, better known as Rihanna, is the Barbadian singer, actress, fashion designer, and businesswoman that has taken the world by storm. An additional foothold among her global stardom is her 2007 chart-topping album, Good Girl Gone Bad, and the mega-hit single Umbrella. Currently, Rihanna is the world’s wealthiest female musician at a net worth of $1.7 billion, according to Forbes, and this global phenom is not shy about giving back to the people through charity.
Her charity, The Clara Lionel Foundation, founded in 2012, is Rihanna’s non-profit organization. The foundation helps fund groundbreaking education, emergency preparedness, and response programs worldwide. In 2020, they donated $5 million towards covid-19 response efforts, and now, they have announced yet another pledge. This pledge, of $15 million, will go to climate justice organizations including the, Climate Justice Alliance, Indigenous Environmental Network, and the Movement for Black Lives. This call to action stems from her strong belief in climate change being a social justice issue.
“Climate disasters, which are growing in frequency and intensity, do not impact all communities equally, with communities of color and island nations facing the brunt of climate change,” Rihanna said in a statement. She notes this disparity as the reason for her foundation prioritizing both climate resilience and social justice work.
The grants are made in partnership with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and his #startsmall philanthropic initiative. The contributions are primarily focused on historically marginalized community groups, including the LGBT, women, and black indigenous leaders because their communities are at the most significant risk. These communities, often are disproportionately affected by a lack of assurance for receiving equal protection from the worst effects of climate change. “Funders must build partnerships with grassroots organizations, acknowledging their deep understanding of what is necessary to achieve climate justice in their own communities,” Justine Lucas, Clara Lionel Foundation’s executive director, adds in a statement.