Manchester Terror Attack Victims' Families to Receive $324,000 Each

Ariana Grande helped raised money during a star-studded benefit concert in June

By Zach Johnson Aug 15, 2017 4:00 PMTags

The families of the 22 people killed May 22 in a terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester will receive $324,000 each via the We Love Manchester Fund, councilor Sue Murphy announced Tuesday. So far, the campaign has received over $23 million in donations.

"The city and the world responded with such extreme kindness, generosity and solidarity in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack," Murphy told The Guardian, adding that the trustees recognized "that we had to get some of swiftly this to those with immediate needs."

"We will now spend some time looking at how we will distribute the rest of the funds," Murphy said. "This will be a complex and sensitive process as we will need to assess the long-term impacts of the attack." The money will be given to just one family member—the one named as next of kin—but exceptions will be made in special cases, such as divorced parents of kids who were killed in the attack. "The money is given as a gift, so it's up to them what they do with it."

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One Love Manchester Benefit Concert
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for One Love Manchester

In June, Grande organized a star-studded concert to aid the victims and the deceased victims' families, raising over $13 million; she was later named the first honorary citizen of Manchester.

Survivors who were injured during the blast have already received money from the fund. Fifty-seven people who spent seven or more nights in the hospital have been given approximately $77,150 each so far, and 96 people who spent between one night and seven days in hospital have been given $4,500 each. According to a press release, some survivors could receive more money if they happened to recover quickly but had to return to hospital for further operations.

Grande previously shared her sympathies via a statement released in May. "My heart, prayers and deepest condolences are with the victims of the Manchester attack and their loved ones. There is nothing I or anyone can do to take away the pain you are feeling or to make this better. However, I extend my hand and heart and everything I possibly can give to you and yours, should you want or need my help in any way. The only thing we can do now is choose how we let this affect us and how we live our lives from here on out," the pop princess said. "...I am sorry for the pain and fear that you must be feeling and for the trauma that you, too, must be experiencing. We will never be able to understand why events like this take place because it is not in our nature, which is why we shouldn't recoil. We will not quit or operate in fear. We won't let this divide us. We won't let hate win. I don't want to go the rest of the year without being able to see and hold and uplift my fans, the same way they continue to uplift me."

"Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before," Grande said. "...When you look into the audience at my shows, you see a beautiful, diverse, pure, happy crowd. Thousands of people, incredibly different, all there for the same reason, music. Music is something that everyone on Earth can share. Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy. So, that is what it will continue to do for us. We will continue in honor of the ones we lost, their loved ones, my fans and all affected by this tragedy. They will be on my mind and in my heart every day and I will think of them with everything I do for the rest of my life."