> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.hypebot.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Pennies Earned: The Midwest Princess and the Shadow of Influence - URL: https://www.hypebot.com/pennies-earned-the-midwest-princess-and-the-shadow-of-influence/ - Published: 2026-10-30T13:06:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T13:05:59.000Z - Description: Pennies Earned is a monthly column deconstructing music PR case studies that maximize positioning, partnerships, and strategy, in actionable ways. - Author: Arielle Aslanyan - Tags: Pennies Earned, charity, nonprofit, Nonprofit organization, non-profits, midwest princess project, Features, Columns, Donation, #trending, queerness *Welcome to* [***Pennies Earned***](https://www.hypebot.com/tag/pennies-earned/)*, a column by *Arielle Aslanyan* of* [*Pretty Penny PR*](https://www.instagram.com/p/DbLdEjKxH-q/?ref=hypebot.com) *on the subtle shifts that can make or break any publicity campaign, and how not to overlook opportunities hidden in plain sight.* Artists cast shadows wherever they go. Long after the show is over and the tour has moved on, something of them stays behind in the places they visited, an imprint of impact that exists beyond their physical presence. For most artists that shadow is faint and fades within a few weeks, but for [**Chappell Roan**](https://www.bandsintown.com/a/14727853-chappell-roan?utm%5Fsource=hypebot&came%5Ffrom=900) it is becoming one of the most meaningful things about her. On October 21 and 22 she took the stage at **the Shrine Auditorium** in **Los Angeles** for two nights of [**The Super Graphic Spectacular,** ](https://www.iamchappellroan.com/midwestprincessproject/?ref=hypebot.com)with all net proceeds going to her nonprofit, the [**Midwest Princess Project**](https://www.midwestprincessproject.org/?ref=hypebot.com) raising $2M. The shows were the project's flagship fundraiser and marked its first anniversary, but the shadow behind them started forming long before that, in a small town in Missouri. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3a/95/3a957c06-c825-4057-9939-0a274cc16d23/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-28-at-4.25.16---PM.png) Before she was a pop star, Chappell Roan was a girl from that town, the kind of place where being different makes you stand out and being queer can make you feel like you don't belong at all. Once she started [touring](https://www.hypebot.com/tag/touring/), she built her shows to be the opposite of that feeling. Every night had a theme, local drag queens opened in each city, and her princesses, many of whom don't feel comfortable at most concerts, could show up in costume, be loud and be completely themselves. On her 2023 *Naked in North America* tour, the Springfield stop near where she grew up had a homecoming queen theme. She found a room full of queer fans in gowns, sashes and crowns that she hadn't known were there, and she called it her favorite show of the tour. In 2024, she gave nearly $28,000 from her shows to [**Springfield's GLO Center**](https://www.glocenter.org/?ref=hypebot.com)**,** more than a year before the Midwest Princess Project had a name. The project itself didn't start with a press tour. It started with a [charitable pledge](https://www.hypebot.com/tag/charity/). In the summer of 2025, she announced a short run of pop-up shows in New York, Kansas City and at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. For every ticket sold, **she pledged a dollar to local organizations in each city serving LGBTQIA+ communities, especially trans youth.** By the time the last show wrapped, that dollar had added up to more than $400,000 across those cities. Only then, on October 23, 2025, did she give the effort a name, announcing the Midwest Princess Project in an [Instagram post](https://www.instagram.com/p/DQKF3yNDtGY/?ref=hypebot.com) along with the first six organizations to receive funding, two in each city including The GLO Center. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DQKF3yNDtGY/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by ･ﾟ: \*✧ Chappell Roan ✧\*:･ﾟ (@chappellroan)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DQKF3yNDtGY/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) Apart from the fees for its donation page and a small amount to pay the team that manages it, every possible dollar goes to its partners, and they receive funding on a recurring basis rather than as a one-time check. One year after its launch, the impact is hard to ignore. **The project has raised more than $800,000 and supported over 60 organizations across the country and beyond.** What stands out to me from a [PR point of view](https://www.hypebot.com/tag/pr/) is how deliberately she has kept it grassroots. With her following, a polished campaign could easily raise millions per show, yet the whole effort still feels DIY, hands-on and personal. Even the Shrine shows were built around drag, dance and surprise guests rather than the formality of a corporate gala, and she has never used the project to lecture anyone. She simply does the work show by show and city by city, and she lets the results speak for themselves. That restraint is part of why the shadow lasts. When the attention stays on the local organizations instead of on her, they are the ones people remember and come back to. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3a/95/3a957c06-c825-4057-9939-0a274cc16d23/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-28-at-4.27.23---PM.png) That approach makes sense once you look at what fame did to her. It hit hard and fast, she was open about how overwhelming it was, and she drew firm boundaries to protect herself instead of letting it reshape who she is. Staying grounded in that way is where real fan loyalty grows, and a hands-on project fits her brand far better than any big campaign could. Fame gave her a platform, and she has chosen to use it **on her own terms.** This is what makes her shadow of influence so strong. She arrives in a city, gives her princesses a safe space for the night, and then sends the money to local organizations that were already doing the work. When she leaves, those organizations pick up the torch and keep going, so the young fan who felt safe at her show has a community center or a youth group to turn to long after the stage has been packed up. In some cases, the shadow reaches even further than she does. The GLO Center set out to use its funding to start queer youth groups in small towns around Springfield, places like West Plains, Branson and Joplin that her tour never came near. Her influence keeps working in those communities when she is no longer in them, and in parts of the country where so many people still don't feel accepted, that quiet, steady work is making a real difference. ### **For the artist:** Your values don't need a big campaign to matter. If a cause is personal to you, let it show up in how you run your shows and in who you choose to support, because fans can tell when it is real. ### **For the manager:** Not every good idea needs to be scaled up. Sometimes protecting the artist and the authenticity of the work is worth more than the extra money a bigger push could bring in, and the trust it builds with fans lasts much longer. Chappell Roan didn't need fame to tell her who she was, because she already knew. What fame gave her was the means to build something lasting for the people who need it most, and she has built it her way, one city and one dollar at a time. --- ## [**Chappell Roan Tour Dates**](https://www.bandsintown.com/a/14727853-chappell-roan?utm%5Fsource=hypebot&came%5Ffrom=900)