“When I read the email initially, I thought this can’t be real,” said Manuel Hernandez, Executive Director of ALMA and lifelong “Arianator,” or Ariana Grande fan. Founded nearly 40 years ago, ALMA fights for the rights of the Latino LGBTQ+ community.
It was chosen by the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation, founded by Grande to uplift and fund smaller organizations, for a partnership on the Chicago leg of Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Tour.
Hernandez said ALMA’s work aligns with what the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation values and supports, making the partnership a perfect one for Grande’s Chicago visit.
“They make it very clear that they support small organizations, community-based organizations that are providing vital services to vulnerable communities with a specific lens on trans-identifying young folk and mental health services, and that’s what ALMA does,” he said.
As part of the partnership, ALMA’s logo and branding are featured on the United Center big screens before Grande’s shows.
ALMA Chicago is featured on Ariana Grande’s Brighter Days Ahead Foundation Instagram account.
Brighter Days Ahead Foundation
Hernandez said the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation is also donating a portion of proceeds from Grande’s concert to the organization, something he said is crucial as Latino and LGBTQ+ based organizations, including ALMA, have faced funding cuts.
“That really helps in connecting families,” he said. “Over the last three years, we have connected more than 650 families to vital services in the city, and so these funds will help us to be able to expand that … Receiving these funds from the foundation will allow us to keep our doors open.”
He said along with the funds, the partnership allows ALMA to share its message and work with thousands of fans who are attending Grande’s sold-out shows this week.
“This visibility allows us to broaden the reach,” he said. “Folks fly in to see concerts, and so there’s a percentage of individuals that would be at the concert that are not from Chicago or not from the state that will see the organization, and so that visibility will broaden beyond Chicago, beyond our region.”
He said he appreciates that Grande is connecting with local organizations and using her platform to support and uplift causes that are important to her.
“It’s just exciting to really see her really putting, and we say this a lot about celebrities to use their platform, putting their money where their mouths are if they support a cause,” he said. “We’ve seen this with her that she has donated funds through her foundation for the causes that she genuinely believes in.”
Grande performs Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at the United Center.
