(The Hill) — As Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter gears up for her Renaissance World Tour, she has announced she will be donating $2 million of the tour’s proceeds to students and entrepreneurs through her BeyGOOD Foundation.
The tour, which kicks off in May and runs through September, will disperse $100,000 to 10 colleges and universities along its route through the Renaissance Scholarship Fund.
The tour will also lead into the foundation’s next phase of the Black Parade Route, a program “to celebrate people, communities, and small businesses impacted by economic inequities worldwide” with $1 million. Through luncheons scheduled around the tour, entrepreneurs will have a chance to win small business grants.
“The goal is to celebrate small business owners with relief grant opportunities and valued business support services offered by global partners to aid in business sustainability,” the BeyGOOD website reads.
One hundred entrepreneurs will be selected in cities along the tour’s route — including London, Chicago, New York City and Beyoncé’s hometown of Houston — to attend the Black Parade Route Luncheons.
“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,” Beyoncé said in a news release. “Now as a foundation, we will continue the work of engaging partners through innovative programs to impact even more people.”
The BeyGOOD initiative, founded in 2013, has provided aid to communities affected by natural disasters, invested in education and supported programs to address housing scarcity and mental health. It supports organizations serving marginalized communities, with a focus on economic equity and education.
“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,” Ivy McGregor, BeyGOOD Foundation’s executive director, said in the press release.
“Our work is rooted in the belief that education, pathways for employment and support of entrepreneurship are vehicles that help drive sustainable outcomes.”
Since the coronavirus pandemic, the foundation has also begun providing grants to small, Black-owned businesses.
McGregor told “CBS Mornings” that Beyoncé believes small businesses are “essential.”
“It’s more than just a check that people will receive because we have heard from them, we have listened, we have stayed in contact to understand what are your needs. And we know that small businesses support and are a backbone of their economy,” McGregor said.
Additionally, the BeyGOOD Foundation is working in conjunction with Citi and Verizon to provide 100 tickets in each market across the U.S. for distribution to local community initiatives.
The last time Beyoncé toured was in 2018, co-headlining the “On the Run II” tour with her husband, 23-time Grammy-award-winning rapper Jay-Z. Together, the two grossed more than $253 million, according to Billboard.
Beyoncé’s last solo concert tour was “The Formation World Tour” in 2016 for her album “Lemonade.” “Formation” sold more than 2.2 million tickets and grossed $256 million.
This year, Beyoncé made Grammy history when “RENAISSANCE” won the artist her 32nd award, giving her with the most Grammy wins in history.
