UMG announced the donation of a $2 million grant to the R&B Foundation, establishing the Motown/Universal Music Group Fund. But you already knew that from the headline, didn't you?

The purpose of the Fund is to provide grants of financial assistance to R&B recording artists who were affiliated with UMG or any of its wholly owned labels. Imprints include A&M Records, ABC Dot, ABC Paramount, Argo, Blue Thumb, Cadet, Casablanca, Checker, Chess, Commodore, Coral, Decca, Def Jam, Def Soul, Duke, Dunhill, Geffen, Gordy, GRP Records, Interscope, Island, MCA, Mercury, Motown, Peacock, Polydor, Rare Earth, RSO, Soul, Tamla, Uni, Universal Records and Verve, among others.

The monetary grants will be used for health, welfare and medical purposes for artists or surviving spouses. A specific committee will be created by the R&B Foundation to determine and dispense the grants. The $2 million from UMG is the "corpus" and will generate monies for the grants in perpetuity. You don't do much charity work, do you?

Said UMG President/COO Zach Horowitz: "The goal of the Motown/Universal Music Group Fund is to ensure that we can assist artists in need who were at any time associated with Universal's family of labels. This will help raise the quality of their lives in recognition of their many contributions to our company and the world of music Motown was a beacon of hope for artists whose groundbreaking music found a way to break down barriers and prejudices. To us, the name Motown/Universal Music Group Fund' captures the spirit of this new program and will serve as a continuing beacon of hope for artists in need."

R&B Foundation Chairman Jerry "The Iceman" Butler said: "This extraordinary endowment gift will enable the Foundation to continue for a long time its funding of financial assistance programs for needy R&B and Motown artists of the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s. These artists, who are now part of Universal's family of labels, will, I'm sure, deeply appreciate the generosity of Universal Music Group for making this donation to the R&B Foundation on their behalf, and for their benefit."

And don't forget Motown founder Berry Gordy, who said: "I am pleased that the Universal Music Group has stepped up with this very generous donation for the welfare of its great artists. Now, more than ever, it is evident that music has the power to heal and bring people together. I commend Universal for recognizing the importance of the R&B Foundation's great work toward the benefit of artists.