Charleston, SC Based We Are Family Receives Prestigious Grant from Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation

We Are Family, the Charleston-based nonprofit offering life-affirming programs to LGBTQ+ youth in the Lowcountry, is thrilled to announce its selection as a 2024 Kindness in Community Fund grant recipient by Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, supporting youth mental health and wellbeing in our community. The Kindness in Community Fund granted We Are Family $50,000 to support its core Mental Health Assistance Program (MHAP). We Are Family’s MHAP provides free mental health services for LGBTQ+ young people and connects them with LGBTQ+-affirming therapists.

The Born This Way Foundation, co-founded by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, partnered with Australian-born fashion and lifestyle brand Cotton On and its philanthropic arm, the Cotton On Foundation, to support and award $1.5 million to organizations meeting the mental health needs of young adults globally in various countries, including Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at $150K total grants per country. 

“I’m delighted and humbled to share that We Are Family has been awarded $50,000 in support of our Mental Health Assistance Program!” shares We Are Family Executive Director Domenico Ruggerio. “We know we do amazing work and that MHAP is a very special life-saving program, and it’s very affirming that others, especially Lady Gaga’s foundation, also recognize this and are helping to fund our work.”

Young people worldwide led the Kindness in Community Fund from nominations to final selections, choosing recipients committed to youth mental wellness, community inclusion, and free, accessible resources.