Brian McCollum

Detroit Free Press Pop Music Critic

Beyoncé is set to reveal the fruits of her Flint fund-raising effort — and unveil plans for a charitable Detroit initiative.

The singer’s team will hold a Monday media event in Detroit to announce the total raised for crisis-stricken Flint during her Formation World Tour, which will wrap up its first U.S. leg with a Ford Field show on Tuesday.

Ticket buyers on the 23-city run were directed to the fund-raising site CrowdRise.com, where they could make donations and enter into a random drawing for seat upgrades. Contributions benefit the United Way of Genesee County and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, earmarked to help residents affected by the city's water crisis.

“Beyoncé is a woman who is always touched with compassion to not only help people, but to use her platform to engage others to help as well,” said Ivy McGregor, who runs the BeyGood Foundation as part of the singer’s Parkwood Entertainment.

Monday's announcement follows through on a promise to aid Flint, made when Beyoncé's tour was announced during February's Super Bowl.

“Flint residents represent us all,” McGregor said. “They represent the tour family, Parkwood, all of us. They’re everyday people that faced issues and circumstances that could happen in our backyards.”

While McGregor declined to provide details about Monday’s announcement, she did say the contribution to Flint will be a “large amount.” The foundation will also announce a new effort benefiting Detroit.

“It would be remiss of us to be in Detroit and not do something for the city,” she said.

As with other dates on the Formation tour, concert-goers at Ford Field can keep an eye out for volunteers in BeyGood T-shirts roaming the stadium ahead of the show. They’ll be out to talk with fans about Flint and Beyoncé’s charitable causes — with some fans handpicked for upgrades to “the best seats in the house,” McGregor said.

“We like to have the conversations with them,” she said. “We use the old adage that charity begins at home, and spreads from there.”

The Formation tour will head off to Europe after the Detroit show, then resume in the U.S. in September. Beyoncé’s partnership with the United Way and CrowdRise will be ongoing, McGregor said.

Contact Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.

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