The Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2012 by popular Barbadian singer Robyn Rihanna Fenty, who performs under her middle name. ¹ The CLF mainly offers disaster relief, education, and health services to countries in the Caribbean. ² It claims that efforts to fight climate change intersect with women’s reproductive rights and has therefore worked with left-of-center groups that are ostensibly unrelated to environmentalism and poverty alleviation, like the International Planned Parenthood Federation. ³

During the COVID-19 pandemic, both the CLF and Rihanna awarded grants to various domestic organizations to address mental health problems and domestic violence. ³ These include the City of Chicago’s Youth Service Corps, which enlisted young people as “social distancing ambassadors” and had them complete online courses on pandemic response. ³

Background

The Clara Lionel Foundation was founded in 2012 by musician Robyn Fenty, better known as Rihanna. She named the foundation for her grandparents Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. ⁴ The foundation focuses projects on countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and North America. ⁵

Rihanna began the Clara Lionel Foundation with a gift of $1.75 million to build modern radiotherapy medical equipment for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown, Barbados. The radiotherapy center was later renamed the Clara Braithwaite Center for Oncology and Nuclear Medicine to honor Rihanna’s grandmother. ^{5 6}

CLF has funded primary and secondary education programs in Malawi, Barbados, and Senegal. ⁴ The group also sponsors the Clara Lionel Foundation Global Scholarship Program. ⁴

CLF began hosting the annual Diamond Ball in 2019, an event which has drawn celebrities such as Pharrell, DJ Khaled, Cardi B, Carmelo Anthony, and Seth Meyers to raise money for philanthropic initiatives. ⁶

Philanthropy

In 2020, the Clara Lionel Foundation  donated $5 million to efforts fighting COVID-19 in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. The money primarily went to Feeding America, Direct Relief, Partners in Health, the International Rescue Committee, and the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. ⁷ CLF also partnered with other individuals to “leverage” more than $36 million to support 45 organizations working on COVID-19 response in 14 countries. ⁵ Also in 2020, CLF donated $11 million to left-of-center organizations to push “police and criminal justice reform.” ⁵

CLF has donated millions to medical efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and natural disaster relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy in the United States, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, and Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas ⁵

In 2016, CLF formed a partnership with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and the left-wing nonprofit organization Global Citizen. ⁵

Pairing Climate and Reproductive Health

In 2019, the Clara Lionel Foundation launched the Climate Resilience Initiative, beginning with a pilot program to make reproductive health clinics across the Caribbean more resilient to natural disasters, claiming that women are disproportionately affected by them. ^{5 8}

To support the initiative, CLF partnered with the International Planned Parenthood Federation, a leading abortion provider, and Engineers Without Borders USA. ⁶

Leadership

Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty is the founder of the Clara Lionel Foundation. ⁹ Better known as just Rihanna, the musician has a net worth of $600 million derived from her music career and various affiliated beauty brands. Rihanna was born in Barbados. ⁶

Mai Lassiter is the president of CLF. ⁹ She is the wife of Hollywood producer James Lassiter. ¹⁰

Justine Lucas is the executive director of CLF. ⁹ Lucas is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a former director of global programs at the left-wing Public Citizen. ¹¹

Fiona Korwin-Pawlowski is a director with CLF. ⁹ She is the co-founder of Owl Bridge Media and was the manager of corporate partnerships for UNICEF from 2014 until 2015. ¹²

Financial Giving and Donors

As of 2021, the Clara Lionel Foundation claims to have raised more than $80 million to contribute grants to more than 150 projects since it was founded in 2012. ⁴

In 2020, CLF gave $47 million to 60 grant recipients across 35 countries. It gave $6 million for health and personal protective equipment, $11 million to fight racial inequity, and $6.5 million for mental health initiatives. ¹³

CLF has received funding from a number of major companies, including Amazon, American Express, Live Nation, Pretty Little Thing, Puma North America, Sony, Facebook, and the Universal Music Group. The organization has also received donations from high-profile individuals, including controversial rapper Cardi B and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. ¹⁴

1. “About Us.” Clara Lionel Foundation, March 22, 2021. https://claralionelfoundation.org/about-us/.
2. “Our Work.” Clara Lionel Foundation, December 15, 2020. https://claralionelfoundation.org/our-work/.
3. Adeniji, Ade. “From Climate Resilience to COVID Response, Rihanna Is Becoming a Major Philanthropic Player.” Inside Philanthropy. Inside Philanthropy, December 29, 2020. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2020/8/31/from-climate-resilience-to-covid-response-rihanna-is-becoming-a-major-philanthropic-player. 
4. About Us. Clarion Lionel Foundation. Accessed August 19, 2021. https://claralionelfoundation.org/about-us/
5. Our History. Clara Lionel Foundation. Accessed August 19, 2021. https://claralionelfoundation.org/our-story/
6. Adeniji, Ade. “From Climate Resilience to COVID Response, Rhianna is Becoming a Major Philanthropic Player.” Inside Philanthropy. August 31, 2020. Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2020/8/31/from-climate-resilience-to-covid-response-rihanna-is-becoming-a-major-philanthropic-player
7. Betancourt, Bianca. “Rihanna’s Charity Foundation Donates $5 Million for Global Coronavirus Relief Efforts.” Harper’s Bazaar.  March 23 2020. Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a31897519/rihanna-clara-lionel-foundation-coronavirus-donation/
8. Peters, Adele. “How Rihanna’s Foundation is Rethinking Disaster Response.” Fast Company. September 5, 2019. Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.fastcompany.com/90398816/how-rihannas-foundation-is-rethinking-disaster-response
9. Who We Are. Clara Lionel Foundation. Accessed August 19, 2021. https://claralionelfoundation.org/our-members/
10. Chuba, Kirsten. “Kamala Harris Sets First VP Campaign Event With Support From Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling.” Hollywood Reporter. August 13, 2020. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/kamala-harris-sets-first-vp-campaign-event-support-reese-witherspoon-mindy-kaling-1307147/
11. Justine Lucas. LinkedIn. Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/justine-lucas-4a835515/
12. Fiona Korwin-Pawlowski. LinkedIn. Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionakp/
13. About Us. Clara Lionel Foundation. Accessed August 19, 2021. https://claralionelfoundation.org/reports/
14. 2019 CLF Donors. Clara Lionel Foundation. Accessed August 19, 2021. https://claralionelfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2019_CLF_Donors.pdf