Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation has committed $15 million to organizations fighting for climate justice in the United States and the Caribbean. The charitable offering was made on Tuesday (Jan. 25) in partnership with Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey’s #StartSmall initiative.
According to a press statement, the grants will benefit groups that “are focused on and led by women, youth, Black, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+ and people of color to accelerate climate justice for those at greatest risk.”
“At the Clara Lionel Foundation, much of the work is rooted in the understanding that 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 the announcement. “This is why CLF prioritizes both climate resilience and climate justice work across the U.S. and Caribbean.”
Justine Lucas, executive director of the foundation, also said, “CLF believes strongly that funders must build partnerships with organizations and acknowledge their deep understanding of what is necessary to achieve climate justice in their own communities.”
Some of the organizations that have already been approved for the grants include the Black Feminist Fund, Black Visions Collective, Caribbean Youth Environment Network, Center for Popular Democracy, Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, Climate Justice Alliance, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, GirlsCARE, Helen’s Daughters, HEY Campaign (The Ashley Lashley Foundation), Hive Fund for Gender and Climate Justice, Indigenous Environmental Network, Integrated Health Outreach, Movement for Black Lives, Native Movement, NDN Collective, The Caribbean Climate Justice Project and The Solutions Project.
Rihanna, a native of Barbados, was named a National Hero of the Caribbean island last November. At the time, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley applauded the pop star’s service to her home country, “pioneering leadership” and “extraordinary achievement.”
Also on Tuesday, the ANTI singer celebrated the opening of her first brick-and-mortar Savage X Fenty store in Las Vegas.
“We wanted to be able to connect with our customers in real life and give them something they have never seen before,” Rih said about the lingerie store in a statement. “Creating the space took a lot of imagination, married with things I’ve always wanted to change about my own experiences as a customer, from mannequins to the Fit Xperience, to customer service. We are so happy with the outcome and now I can’t wait for people to see it.”