Ariana Grande on Friday announced the launch of the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation, a new nonprofit that directly funds grassroots organizations serving LGBTQ+ communities, mental health access, arts education, and crisis response — formalizing what she described as years of private charitable giving into a structured philanthropic platform.
The foundation operates through four core funds: Protect & Defend, which channels money toward groups fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, civil rights, and reproductive justice; Heal & Dream, which expands access to mental health care; Seen & Celebrated, which amplifies LGBTQ+ voices and stories; and Emergency Support, which mobilizes resources during acute crises.
Grantees span more than 20 organizations, including Lambda Legal, Transgender Law Center, Trans Youth Emergency Project, Trans Lifeline, the National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network, Humanity Crew, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, and Troop 6000.
“I am beyond excited to finally announce the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation,” Grande said in a statement. “Through four different funds, we will be supporting handfuls of incredible organizations that provide the safe space and care that is desperately needed by so many right now.” She added that she was grateful to “expand that reach and amplify the life-saving work that these organizations do.”
The foundation’s name draws from Grande’s Brighter Days Ahead short film, which accompanied the expanded edition of her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine and centered on themes of healing, resilience, and hope.
The announcement arrived one day after a separate and pointed confrontation with the White House. On June 9, the administration posted a TikTok showing ICE arrests set to Grande’s song “Bye,” captioning the video “Bye-bye 👋 President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history.” Grande flooded the comments with the same message repeated multiple times: “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. fuck ICE.” Her song was subsequently removed from the video.
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Grande is among several artists — including Sabrina Carpenter, SZA, and Olivia Rodrigo — who have publicly objected to their music being used in government immigration content. A White House spokesperson responded that what was truly barbaric were criminal illegal immigrants who had harmed American citizens.
Grande wore an “ICE OUT” pin at the 2026 Golden Globes and, last September, posted an open message to Trump voters asking whether their lives had improved amid what she described as the violent separation of immigrant families and escalating threats to trans people and free speech.
The foundation’s launch coincides with an active professional stretch for Grande, who is currently on the Eternal Sunshine Tour and recently released “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” the lead single from her upcoming album Petal, due July 31 via Republic Records.
