Our Signature Events
The Helping Hands Concert & Auction
The Metallica Family of fans is a passionate group and the core of our supporter base. They donate across platforms at an average of $66 per gift, contributing on our website, Facebook, Instagram, auction page, Metallica's YouTube Channel, and beyond. But nothing gets fans more engaged than a benefit concert!
Whether taking the stage at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco - a more intimate venue than the band is typically known to play - or streaming live from HQ straight into living rooms around the globe, a unique Metallica concert makes for one hell of a fundraiser!
2018 was our inaugural benefit concert, and wow, what a night! Between tickets sales from the packed house and competitive bids in the accompanying auction, we raised over $1.3 million. The night would not have been possible without the generous contributions from our sponsors, the support of Cage the Elephant - who opened the show with their own acoustic set, or our dedicated AWMH donors and Metallica fans.
We intended to host another in-person benefit in 2020, but COVID-19 had other plans. Rather than shut down the production, we pivoted to create an event unlike anything Metallica had attempted before. Not only was this the band's first-ever worldwide, pay-per-view livestream, but our sponsors enabled us to take advantage of cutting-edge technology that brought fans into the room with the band! The appearance of fans on the walls surrounding the performance wasn't just for show; James, Lars, Kirk, and Robert were able to call out fans and have conversations with them in real-time! In addition to this being a connection we'd been craving throughout the pandemic, Helping Hands again raised $1.3 million.
Once we could gather in person again, we did so in fantastic fashion at Los Angeles' Microsoft Theatre in December 2022! The third Helping Hands Concert & Auction celebrated other non-profit organizations doing vital work and brought in some serious star power to amplify our message. The evening featured host Jimmy Kimmel and special guests Robert Downey Jr., Greta Van Fleet, St. Vincent, and Tony Hawk. Thanks to the support of fans and sponsors, the evening raised a record $3,000,000!
Day of Service
When we launched AWMH, we envisioned a future where Metallica fans would activate in droves to give back. After only a year and a half, we saw our dreams come to fruition.
In May of 2018, we hosted our first Day of Service with help from our partners at Feeding America. All four band members spent time at a local food bank in their communities, and their efforts were amplified by over 1,000 dedicated fans doing the same! But we weren't done yet...
Just one year later, in May of 2019, our volunteer count tripled to over 3,000 participants across the country! We are continually inspired by the selfless, important work food banks around the world do day in and day out, and we can't wait to safely reinstate our Day of Service as our trademark annual volunteering event.
Month of Giving
COVID-19 necessitated a change in our Day of Service plans. With health and safety as a priority, we knew we needed to get creative to continue our tradition of a large-scale fundraising event during the month of May. From that need, the Month of Giving was born. In 2020, we focused our efforts on organizations helping people on the front lines of the pandemic, highlighting a new recipient every week.
The event culminated in $200,000 raised to further our support of Feeding America, Direct Relief, Live Nation's Crew Nation initiative, and the USBG Charity Foundation's Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.
Reviving Month of Giving for 2021, we focused on two of our primary partners: Feeding America, combatting food insecurity on a national level, and Direct Relief, improving quality of life for people confronting enormous hardship while recovering from disasters worldwide.
Our second Month of Giving featured limited-edition merch, a special auction for an AWMH ESP guitar signed by Metallica, and our favorite, a friendly fundraising competition between Metallica fan club chapters worldwide!
Once again, Metallica fans and AWMH donors helped us raise $200,000, furthering our work in the fight against hunger and supporting critical local services.
Month of Giving 2022 brought a laser-like focus to World Central Kitchen's #ChefsForUkraine initiative. The war on Ukraine had just begun, and we set a goal of raising $500,000, which AWMH and its board would match in order to donate $1M to WCK.
Once again, we invited the fan clubs to participate in a little friendly fundraising competition, and we expanded the campaign to two months. With fan participation we achieved success.
Now firmly established as an annual event, Month of Giving 2023 saw a new beneficiary, The Farmlink Project. On a mission to end food waste, The Farmlink Project connects farmers to food banks, delivering millions of pounds of surplus farm-fresh produce to feed families in need.
Once again, Metallica fans helped us raise over $200,000 during our Month of Giving campaign. Through limited edition items in the Metallica Store, the Local Chapter Fundraising Competition, and support from partners and friends, we were able to lend significant support to a young organization working to eradicate hunger.
Metallica Mondays
At the very beginning of the COVID-mandated shelter in place, we found ourselves missing live music and wanting to create something to bring a little joy to our community. That desire birthed a 23-week concert streaming series entitled #MetallicaMondays, featuring shows that had been performed in 13 different countries.
The series amassed 18 million views from Metallica fans around the world. And while the shows were free to watch, the band included an optional fundraiser with each video to benefit AWMH. And aren't we glad they did?! The #MetallicaMondays series raised over $100,000 for the Foundation, enabling us to continue our COVID relief donations.
