Lady Gaga’s charitable foundation gave out millions in 2012 — to lawyers, accountants and publicity teams, tax records show.
The pop superstar’s fledgling Born This Way Foundation spent $429,682 on outreach with its wildly popular “Born to Be Brave” 23-event US bus tour, but the effort dimmed in comparison with what Gaga’s coterie of consultants pulled down, according to the charity’s 2012 filing.
The nonprofit — which took in $2.65 million in revenue — paid out a staggering $406,552 for legal fees, $300,000 for “strategic development” and $150,000 for “philanthropic consulting,” the latest filings show.
Fees added to the hefty expenses. They included $348,000 for the bus-tour production; $77,923 for travel; $62,836 for stage production; $60,000 for research; $58,678 for publicity; $50,000 for social-media development; and $47,825 for meeting and event coordination.
Total expenses came to $1.85 million.
Among all that, the foundation paid out a single $5,000 grant.
In terms of do-gooding, the foundation — for which Gaga’s mom, Cynthia Germanotta, serves as unpaid president — claims it had nearly 19,288 young participants learning about civic engagement during last year’s summer bus tour. It also claimed 24 kids participated in a youth advisory board summit to help guide the charity’s future programs.
The forms do not spell out the source of the charity’s contributions and income, but Gaga announced in 2011 when she launched Born This Way that she would be funding the bulk of it.
The singer is known for her charity give-backs.
In 2012, she and fellow chart-topper Taylor Swift topped the list of DoSomething.org’s “Top 20 Celebs Gone Good” list.
According to the list, Gaga launched the Born This Way fund with a personal $1.2 million donation and also gave another $1 million to victims of Hurricane Sandy.
Gaga’s foundation said that all its expenses are well worth it.
“Every dollar spent across these categories, including the legal fees towards the safe and effective implementation of each initiative, directly serves the Born This Way Foundation’s core mission of empowering youth,” a statement read.
Gaga, meanwhile, is scheduled to give the keynote address at the South by Southwest music festival and conference in Austin, Texas.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, she promised to give festival fans an experience they will never forget.
“I want the audience in Austin to see me live in a way I never have before,” Gaga said.