Giving Compass' Take:

• Chance The Rapper donated a large sum of money to Chicago Public Schools and was honored with both Best New Artist and Humanitarian Award for his charitable acts. 

• Does celebrity charity help to advance certain initiatives faster than others? 

• Read about other celebrities using their platforms to help make progress in philanthropy. 

At this year’s BET Awards, 24-year-old Chicago native Chance the Rapper won both Best New Artist and the Humanitarian Award for his efforts to improve Chicago Public Schools Foundation “for arts and enrichment programming.” His work includes donating $1 million to Chicago Public Schools (CPS), inspiring others, including fellow artists, to give, meeting with the governor, and interacting closely with CPS kids and fans.

Chance’s donation comes in part as a response to the lack of funding given to CPS and Chicago Governor Rauner’s veto of a bill that would have delegated $215 million in funding to CPS. The results of the veto could include laying off several teachers and even cutting the school year short. As Chance explains, “This means over 380,000 kids will not have adult-supervised activities in June and could possibly be put in harm’s way.”

Michelle Obama, fellow Chicago native, praised Chance for his efforts in a video played at the award show. She stated proudly, “Chance has been taking that big bright spotlight that follows him around and he’s shining it on young people in our hometown of Chicago. Time and time again he has been doing the work. Chance is showing our young people that they matter, that they have something inside of them that is worthy of being expressed.” According to Obama, Chance is a “role model and an inspiration.”

Read the full article about Chance the Rapper by Kassidy McIntosh at New York Minute Mag.