The lofty sum is intended to help fund congenital heart defect research.
In this week’s good news, American Idol judge Luke Bryan continues to use his platform to advocate for the matters that mean most to him.
On Tuesday, April 8, the “Most People Are Good” country singer stepped off stage and into the drive-through of Raising Cane’s to raise awareness and support for congenital heart defects via The Brett Boyer Foundation—a nonprofit organization he created with his wife, Caroline, and her brother and sister-in-law, Ellen and Bo.
As a refresher, Luke and his family started The Brett Boyer Foundation in 2017 in honor of Sadie Brett Boyer, Ellen and Bo’s first child, who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome and passed away from a congenital heart defect at just seven months old. Luke and his family’s mission in creating The Boyer Foundation was to raise funding for CHD research and to support the Down Syndrome community.
Fast forward to this week and Luke has hit a major milestone in that funding. The 48-year-old singer teamed up with Raising Cane’s owner and founder Todd Graves to revel in an impressive $1,000,000 donation from the cult-favorite fast food chain.
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“The Brett Boyer Foundation is a family charity and I’ve watched this Foundation grow over the years from the support of people like Todd,” Luke said in a release. “CHD doesn’t get talked about enough and the fact that Brett’s name lives on and is doing so much good for kids who need it helps us make sure no kid ever receives a diagnosis like Brett’s again. We know 36 kids who are alive today because of The Brett Boyer Foundation and we want to see that number grow to thousands in the future. We’re so thankful to Todd and Raising Cane’s for such a generous donation.”
The Raising Cane’s donation will be paid out as $250,000 a year for four years. As impressive as that number might seem, though, it’s merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Todd’s charitable contributions to local communities. According to the partnership’s release—and at the time of publishing—Raising Cane’s has donated more than $140 million to local communities, with another $30 million planned for the rest of 2025.
“Luke and I became friends when I would go out to his farm and meet his friends and family,” Todd said in the release. “It’s amazing to see what he and his family have done with The Brett Boyer Foundation by taking something so tragic and turning it into something so beautiful, having already saved 36 lives and many more to come. I want Cane’s to organically be involved in every community we’re in and I asked Luke, ‘How can I support you?’ and The Brett Boyer Foundation was one of those things. I believe God made me good at chicken fingers to help people and we’re using our resources, exposure, and a collab with Luke to collectively get the word out about this foundation, raise awareness for CHD, and celebrate the Down Syndrome community.”
