Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future Teams With Luxury Brand Started by a Gucci Family Member to Support Children

First Lady Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future has linked with the luxury handbag label AGCF to sell limited edition items that will benefit the initiative.

As an offshoot of FLOTUS’ “Be Best” program, Fostering the Future “secures” educational opportunities and scholarships for children in the foster care community, according to its site. Fifty percent of foster children finish high school and only 3 percent of foster children earn a college degree, according to the National Foster Institute.

Last month, AGCF’s founder Alexandra Gucci Zarini visited the White House for the signing of the executive order for Fostering the Future. On Thursday, she posted an official White House photo from the occasion with Trump on her Instagram page. AGCF’s $2,800 Unity bag is being sold for a limited time on its site and in its Beverly Hills store with 20 percent of the proceeds earmarked for Fostering the Future. The purpose-driven brand gives 20 percent of all profits to organizations that support the well-being and protection of children. AGCF is inspired by Gucci Zarini’s grandfather, Aldo Gucci, the former chairman of his family’s namesake Italian luxury house, who died in 1990. 

In an interview Thursday, Gucci Zarini and her husband Josef Zarini, who serves as chief executive officer of AGCF, spoke about their commitment to supporting and protecting children and the vulnerability of foster children. They declined to comment on projected sales or how the connection with Trump and Be Best was made. Gucci Zarini, said, “I just focus mainly on the protection of children. That’s where we have that common [interest]. I support any organization that is for the protection of children,” she said. “We’re both mothers and we’re both for supporting Fostering the Future.”

With a background in advocacy and nonprofits, Gucci Zarini said that she has never worked at Gucci. Each Unity bag has a hand-stitched gold oval plaque that is engraved with its edition number. The alliance is expected to continue next year with more limited edition runs, the Zarinis said. 

Based in Beverly Hills, AGCF debuted in April 2024 and is organized as a public benefit corporation. Josef noted the company’s founding mission is to support organizations and initiatives that protect children. Gucci Zarini was recently honored as Child Protection Advocate of the Year at the World Childhood Foundation’s annual gala, which was overseen by HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden. Her mother, Queen Silvia of Sweden, started the organization. 

Asked about the legality of a first lady-led nonprofit benefiting from the sale of a commercial product, Gucci Zarini and her husband deferred comment to Fostering the Future. A representative at Fostering the Future could not be reached Thursday.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics’ policies do not apply to the first lady, since she is not a federal employee, according to an OGE spokesperson. The OGE defines an employee as any officer or employee of an agency, including a special government employee. It includes officers but not enlisted members of the uniformed services, as well as employees of a state or local government or other organization, who are serving on detail to an agency. It does not include the president or vice president.

LIke all corporations, public benefit corporations are governed by their articles of incorporation and bylaws, according to Susan Scafidi, founder of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University. What distinguishes a public benefit corporation is that “its purpose goes beyond maximizing profit to also making a positive societal contribution,” she said. “If a particular corporate mission includes support for a legitimate charity — ideally one that is formally recognized by the IRS — sale of merchandise to support the charity should be fine. Unless, of course, the donation involves some sort of subterfuge such as anticipated personal benefit, advantageous treatment or diversion to fund a campaign,” Scafidi said.

“It’s of course important to avoid not only corruption but also the appearance of corruption, which could trigger public backlash or even an investigation. But a genuine charitable gift is a blessing and not a curse.”

Alexandra Gucci Zarini

Photo Courtesy

Last year, Trump raised eyebrows after mentioning two websites on her platform that were said to help foster children, during a Fox News interview about her memoir. It was later noted that selling products were the focus, not charity work. And in 2022, after Trump started a scholarship program called “Fostering the Future,” the New York Times reported that no charity by that name or “Be Best” existed in New York or Florida.

In September, Gucci Zarini won a $115 million civil lawsuit against her stepfather for the sexual abuse and emotional distress she sustained starting as a child. The jury’s decision order against Joseph Ruffalo was $85 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. Ruffalo is a movie producer whose credits include the 1984 film “Purple Rain” starring musician Prince. Gucci Zarini’s mother, Patricia Gucci, was named in the 2020 lawsuit but the charges against her were dropped this fall. At the time of the jury’s decision, Gucci Zarini’s attorney Gary Dordick of Dordick Law, said she planned to spend the funds for the cause of “fighting for children and keeping them safe, and protecting them from abuse and exploitation.”