Stormzy donates £500,000 to fund higher education for disadvantaged students

Stormzy has donated £500,000 to fund further or higher education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The rapper’s donation to the Black Heart Foundation is the first chunk of funding since he announced plans in June to give away £10m over a decade to benefit organisations that are taking major steps in fighting racial inequality across the UK.

The donation, which was made through his Merky Foundation, will cover the cost of cash grants for roughly 50 students who need financial support for any educational activity, not exclusively limited to universities.

According to The Guardian, previous applicants have used the funds to train to be an airline pilot, and to focus on academic studies at university without worrying about a part-time job.

The Black Heart Foundation was founded by Ric Lewis, the head of the property investment fund Tristan Capital Partners.

A spokesperson for the #Merky Foundation explained: “The Black Heart Foundation is an incredible charity and we are proud to make them the first beneficiary to receive funding from our £10 million pledge, announced earlier this year.

“Their Each Day. Every Day campaign is a brilliant initiative and we are elated that our £500,000 donation has played a key part in helping them achieve their target. We encourage others to donate whatever they can to help change a young person’s life.”

Ric Lewis added: “We are grateful to #Merky Foundation and invigorated by their generosity. Their contribution is an amazing testament to their vision and commitment to higher and further education for ambitious, hard-working young people from the most under-resourced and under-represented communities in our society.

“With their support we will reach another 50 young people, taking the total number of scholars we can help to 250. I want to thank everyone that has donated money so far. The response we have had has been incredible.”

Stormzy’s original pledge was announced in June after the death of George Floyd sparked Black Lives Matter protests around the world.

“The uncomfortable truth that our country continuously fails to recognise and admit is that Black people in the UK have been at a constant disadvantage in every aspect of life – simply due to the colour of our skin,” Stormzy wrote at the time.

In February, the MC hit out at the British government, saying every iteration of it had “let Black people down”. “Since when I’ve been young, whether it’s been a Labour government or a Tory government, not much has changed for the people who need it the most,” he said.