In 2009, he made the largest-ever individual contribution—$1 million dollars—to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The gift was made to commemorate the organization's centennial anniversary. The NAACP is the country's oldest and largest civil rights organization. The star also purchased several NAACP commissioned Jacob Lawrence lithographs and additional lithographs by celebrated artists Jonathan Green, Elizabeth Catlett and Sam Gilliam.
In June of 2020, Perry volunteered to cover funeral expenses for Rayshard Brooks, a Black man killed in police custody. Perry will also cover the college education of Brooks' four children.
Perry has been on the front lines offering his support to people whose lives have been turned upside down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Perry paid for all the groceries belonging to elderly shoppers at 44 Kroger stores in Atlanta and 29 Winn Dixie stores in his native New Orleans in April 2020.
In December 2018, the movie mogul covered $434,000 worth of layaways for an estimated 1,500 people at two Walmarts in Atlanta ahead of the holidays. While he tried to keep the gift a secret, he ultimately shared the news in a personal video on his Instagram and wished everyone a happy holiday.
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Perry took it upon himself to use his foundation to help rebuild. He pledged $1 million via his foundation. In 2017, he also offered financial support to those affected by 2017's Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, as well as Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
Perry's friend LaShun Pace, a premier Gospel singer, was in poor health and Perry purchased a $350,000 home not far from Atlanta for his mom, where many members of the Pace family grew up. This wasn't the first time he bought a home for someone in need. In 2009, when 88-year-old Atlanta resident Rosa Lee Ransby and her 4-year-old great-granddaughter escaped alive from a fire that destroyed the home she owned for 40+ years Perry heard about it from a local news channel and visited Ransby's home and offered to rent a house for her on the same street, with utilities and furniture provided.
When Perry learned that a group of 65 children from a daycare of mostly minorities were not allowed to return to a suburban Philadelphia swim club due to racism, he gifted the entire group a trip to Walt Disney World with all expenses paid.
Once again, amid the coronavirus pandemic that swept much of the country, Perry found a way to provide a helping hand. He shocked one staff at an Atlanta restaurant in April 2020 by leaving a $21,000 tip, which equals out to $500 for each of the restaurants 42 out-of-work members of the staff.