Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD Foundation Donates $200,000 to Indiana Flood Relief

Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD Foundation is providing an additional $200,000 to help victims of the historic flooding that destroyed infrastructure in Indiana and left more than 1,000 people homeless.

The money will support City Life Center and Angel by Nature, two charitable organizations working with the most affected communities after the derecho storm.

“The fund will immediately support critical relief and recovery efforts in the neediest areas, including the city of Gary,” the foundation said, “providing food, household supplies, and other essential resources to individuals and families impacted by the flooding.”

The foundation announced the grant through a social media post on Monday. While Angel by Nature charity is headquartered in Texas, its main operations center is in Gary.

Houston rapper Trae tha Truth created the organization to uplift people struggling with hardship and poverty, especially children. City Life Center operates out of Gary.

The storm system came from Illinois, moving into northwest and north-central Indiana on the morning of Aug. 11 and was initially considered a derecho storm by the Storm Prediction Center. It produced extremely strong straight-line winds, tornadoes, hail, and flash flooding before moving south and east over central Indiana. The strongest wind gust of 99 mph was recorded at Gary/Chicago International Airport, and surveyors estimated the wind speeds of 100 to 110 mph in northwestern Lake and Porter counties. Up to 6 to 9 inches of rain fell, and it continued over the following days. Several major rivers flooded in the region, causing road closures and evacuations.

At least seven deaths have been reported.

Gary became the most heavily affected community. Mayor Eddie Melton declared a local disaster state due to downed trees and power lines, flooding, property damage, and infrastructure damage.

NIPSCO, the utility company serving northern Indiana, estimated that over 347,500 customers lost power. Most of Gary’s 69,000 residents got their electricity back only on Aug. 26, more than two weeks after the storm.

A major disaster declaration for Indiana was approved by President Donald Trump on Aug. 25 at the request of Governor Mike Braun.

Individuals in 21 affected counties, including Lake County where Gary is located, could file applications for disaster assistance for temporary housing, home repair and uninsured property losses. More than 13,000 applications were submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency shortly after the declaration, and further assessments continued in several additional counties. The current Indiana disaster relief effort follows other disasters BeyGOOD has helped with since Beyoncé initiated the foundation in 2013.

BeyGOOD set up a $2.5 million fund for the LA wildfire relief in January 2025, and Beyoncé pledged her own $1 million donation for earthquake relief in Colombia in early August.

Those interested in assisting the disaster victims can donate via beygood.org.