Born This Way Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Born this Way Foundation is the philanthropic organization of pop star and actress Lady Gaga. It works to promote youth empowerment and mental health.
IP TAKE: Grantseekers will find it incredibly difficult to secure funding here. The foundation tends to run its own projects and only makes grants to groups that are affiliated with those projects. It’s not accessible or transparent, but reach out at the contact below to learn more about how this funder chooses what to fund. It has a modest, approachable and dedicated staff of about 10 or so individuals, but given it’s founder’s high profile and the volume of requests, many calls that don’t closely fit within it’s mission must go unanswered.
Note that this funder is particularly collaborative and likes developing partnerships. If your organization’s work closely aligns with that of Lady Gaga’s foundation and your organization is large, established and has a national reach, don’t hesitate to each out here and pitch them, especially for a partnership. This funder has partnered with a wide array of organizations, from Deloitte to the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. However, only reach out if you’re a close fit here, otherwise your requests will go unanswered. That said, this funder also claims to partner with “hundreds” of community-based partners. The key here is that your work deeply aligns with theirs. Grantmaking here is national and very focused on it’s areas of interest.
PROFILE: Established in 2011, the Born This Way Foundation was created by Lady Gaga and named after her chart-topping album and single. It seeks to support “the mental health of young people and works with them to build a kinder and braver world” and works “to make kindness cool, validate the emotions of young people, and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health.” Lady Gaga is a world-renowned popstar and actress, famous for a series of number one albums and a starring role in A Star is Born and House of Gucci. She has won an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and over a dozen Grammy Awards and counting. She also founded Haus Labs, a cruelty-free brand of cosmetics in 2019. The Born this Way Foundation’s grantmaking focuses on youth empowerment and mental health, particularly anti-bullying and LGBTQ+ young people.
Grants for LGBTQ and Mental Health
The foundation does not make many grants, preferring instead to partner with national organizations to raise the visibility of its anti-bullying and LGBTQ+ mental health campaigns. This funder’s work has three goals in mind: to make kindness cool, to validate the emotions of young people around the world, and to eliminate the stigmas around mental health.
The foundation offers multiple initiatives through which it conducts work relation to youth mental health and the LGBTQ community. Channel Kindness, Be There Certificate, #BeKind21, teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA), BTWF in Las Vegas, and #PleaseStayPledge.
Born this Way Foundation also launched the Kindness in Community Fund, a $1 million commitment to support local organizations and their community-led mental health work in coordination with Lady Gaga’s The Chromatica Ball Summer Stadium Tour. The 22 organizations, which are located in the metro areas of the U.S. tour stops, are focused on youth mental wellness and are informed and/or led by youth, rooted in practices of inclusion, access and equity. Grant amounts range from $25,000 to $50,000.
The foundation also has many partners that help it fulfill it’s mission. Born This Way partnered with Office Depot to create mental health positive back-to-school supplies, including "empowerment gift cards" and "bravery bracelets." It has also worked with Staples to promote everyday acts of kindness in schools. It also collaborated with Starbucks to create the Starbucks Cups of Kindness collection; four beverages only available for a limited time. However, according to the foundation, it partners with many community-based foundations that are more grassroots than the national, established organizations it shares on its site.
The handful of organizations that it funds annually tend to be evenly divided between activism and research into mental health. Past grantees in these areas include almost $300,000 to National Council for Behavioral Health for mental health counseling and $200,000 to DonorsChoose.org to fund mental health research and projects at schools across the U.S.
Important Grant Details:
Grants tend to range from $10,000 to hundreds of thousands. The Born this Way Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding. It does not give out many grants per year, instead focusing on more direct avenues of support.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
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