Rodrigo Festival Raises $20M; Planned Parenthood Among Winners

Rodrigo, 23, told the crowd the artists made the money possible by working for nothing. "The fact that they took the time out of their insanely busy schedules to come and do this festival for free is something I'm so grateful for," she said. "Because of that, and because of all of you who came to hang out today, I can stand on the stage and say we are donating $10 million to 10 incredible charities."

She then introduced French Gates. "I really believe that giving women the tools to decide their own futures and live healthy lives free of violence and discrimination is the most effective tool we have at changing the world for the better," Rodrigo said. "And I don't know many people who represent that idea more than Melinda French Gates."

French Gates called the singer "a force" and praised her for "showing a new generation how much their voices matter."

Speaking Friday, Rodrigo said the festival's performers and activists give her hope despite what she called the "regression of women's rights" today. "That's actually why I fell in love with the name 'Daisy Chain,'" she said. "It served as a reminder of how individual parts can come together to create something strong and unbreakable."

Caren Spruch, Planned Parenthood's national director of arts and entertainment, said concert outreach has long been a way to reach people "where they are," and that the work matters more now, with abortion clinics closing in restrictive states and pro-life groups pushing the courts to limit access to the drugs used in the most common method of abortion. Rodrigo, she said, discusses those topics with "no shame or stigma," and appeared in informational videos on Planned Parenthood's social media.

Nonprofit leaders singled out the form of the money: general operating support, which lets the groups decide how to spend it. Black Mamas Matter Alliance co-founder Angela Doyinsola Aina said that kind of funding "is often the hardest kind of funding to raise and the most useful kind to receive, because it sustains the training, convening, and advocacy that make everything else possible." Uma Iyer, chief external affairs officer at the National Women's Law Center, said the flexibility helps as the group litigates sex discrimination cases and that it lifted staff morale.

National Domestic Workers Alliance President Ai-jen Poo said the festival was a "powerful reminder to women everywhere of all ages that, no matter what, we have each other."