Gaga charity spending under the microscope

Latest figures from Lady Gaga's Born This Way foundation show that only $5,000 (£3,000) of the charity's $2.1 million (£1.2m) have gone to good causes. The Born this Way foundation was set up in 2011 with the aim to "foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated." However, the Foundation spent over $400,000 on legal fees, with $808,8661 on  "other" expense. The foundation, which is run by Lady Gaga's mother Cynthia Germanotta, who is president, revealed expenses in 2012 of $300,000 on "strategic consulting (web, digital), $62,836 on "Stage Productions (Harvard, LA, UN)", $50,000 on "social media" and a further $50,000 on "event coordination", according to Showbiz 411. Around $72,000 was spent on salaries and Lady Gaga herself had to step in to loan the charity $10,000 for expenses. Writing on the Huffington Post, Cynthia Germanotta pointed out a "misinterpretation" of the purpose of the Foundation, as the charity was never meant to hand out money directlym but was designed to help "empower youth" through their events and services saying "Every dollar spent across these categories, including the legal fees towards the safe and effective implementation of each initiative, directly serves Born This Way Foundation's core mission of empowering youth" and "Each of these initiatives was funded via monies detailed on the 2012 Form 990. And a true examination of this form, not to mention a clear understanding of the differences between a grant-making organization and one that carries out its work directly would have made this a non-story."