Update 8/10/2016: The Fader reports that The Weeknd has now also donated $250,000 to the Black Lives Matter Network. Get that story here.

The Weeknd has donated $50,000 to the University of Toronto to help start an Ethiopic Studies program, the Toronto Star reports.

The Scarborough-raised R&B singer (born Abel Tesfaye) made the contribution after the organization Bikila Award reached out. Unsure they would get an answer, board members were surprised when he responded immediately.

“It’s unbelievable,” board member Tam Gebeyehu told the Star. “He grew up in Toronto as an Ethiopian-Canadian, and now he’s giving back to the community.”

The donation is part of a larger fundraising campaign that began last year when U of T history and cultural studies professor Michael Gervers pledged to donate $50,000 of his own money if the school and the Ethiopian community matched the amount.

So far the push has yielded $170,000. The money will be used to fund a course in the ancient Ethiopic language Ge’ez that will be offered within the year. U of T and Bikila hope to launch a full program later on.

“This initiative is a rare opportunity and of historical significance in the discovery of Ethiopia’s ancient civilizations, for the preservation of our rich culture, history and traditions,” said Tessema Mulugeta, president of Bikila Award. “The benefits are enormous not only for the Ethiopian-Canadian community, but also for the wider society as much has to be taught and learned about our ancestors who have made great contributions that have helped shape the very identity of modern civilizations as we know it today.”

In 2014, Bikila Award presented The Weeknd with its Professional Excellence Award not knowing his profile would continue to rise.

Last year, his second studio album Beauty Behind The Madness debuted at number one on the Billboard album chart and singles Can’t Feel My Face and The Hills topped charts in Canada and the U.S.

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