George Michael’s family donates royalties from ‘Last Christmas’ to 20 charities ‘close to George’s heart’

If you’re looking to stream holiday songs, keep in mind that if you choose WHAM!‘s “Last Christmas,” you’ll be helping people in need.

In a Christmas message to fans, George Michael‘s sister, father and former manager write that they have “donated a substantial amount from George’s Last Christmas record royalties to some 20 organizations raising money for causes close to George’s heart.” 

The donations will be made through the newly established George Michael Fund, which continues the singer’s history of philanthropy.

George, who died on Christmas Day 2016, wrote “Last Christmas” and played all the instruments on it. He initially donated the royalties from the song to the Band Aid Trust, after participating in the recording of the charity record “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” You can learn more about that by watching the new Netflix documentary Last Christmas Unwrapped.

In George’s native U.K., “Last Christmas” just became the first song ever to spend two consecutive years as the country’s Christmas #1. In the U.S., it’s #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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