American billionaire MacKenzie Scott is donating US$640 million (AUD$973 million) to hundreds of non-profit organisations across the US, expanding her philanthropy by more than twice the amount she’d previously planned for the year.
The organisations receiving funding had applied to Scott’s Yield Giving Open Call — an initiative that aims to provide financial support to community-led, community-focused groups working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the US.
Out of more than 6,000 organisations who applied for the Open Call, 361 small groups were selected to receive funding, including American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alabama, Justice for Migrant Women, the Sacramento LGBT Community Center and Mental Health Advocacy Services — a service that provides free legal support to adults with mental health disabilities based in LA.
Two hundred and seventy-nine groups received US$2 million, while 82 groups were given US$1 million each.
Other organisations receiving donations include 826 Valencia in San Francisco — a group that provides free writing skills training for students in under-resourced communities; GLAD — a LGBTIQI+ advocacy group based in Boston; I AM ALS — a community-led organisation working towards ending ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease); and Gender Justice — a Minnesota-based group working to dismantle the legal, political, and structural barriers to gender equity.
Gender Justice executive director Megan Peterson said in a statement the US$2 million donation her organisation is receiving will help “take our fight for justice and equity to the next level, continuing our work to dismantle the legal, structural, and cultural barriers that contribute to gender inequity.”
“With a conservative legal movement threatening our fundamental rights here in Minnesota, North Dakota, and across the United States, this gift could not come at a more crucial time,” she said.
“Building and sustaining a world free of gender barriers requires community organisation, education, and changing the ways we talk and think about gender.”
826 Valencia Executive Director Bita Nazarian expressed her joy in a statement.
“In a society that has historically devalued the voices of young people of colour, writing empowers them to tell their own stories, succeed in school and career, and write their own futures,” she said.
“Amplifying youth voices is essential to building a more just, equitable, and democratic future.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, Scott, who formally divorced her ex-husband Jeff Bezos in 2019, said that the money had been given to groups “for their outstanding work advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles”.
“Grateful to Lever for Change and everyone on the evaluation and implementation teams for their roles in creating this pathway to support for people working to improve access to foundational resources in their communities. They are vital agents of change.”
According to Lever for Change, a group that connects donors with charity organisations seeking financial assistance, the applications from the groups were so “incredible” that they decided to increase the donations.
“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organisations,” Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change, said in a statement. Yield Giving was established in 2022 by Scott.
“In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organisations that often remain unseen.”
According to Forbes, Scott currently has a net worth of US$37.5 billon, making her the fourth richest woman in the world. Since 2019, Scott has donated over US$14 billion to over 1,600 non-profits.
“In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I have a disproportionate amount of money to share,” Scott explained in a statement in 2019. “My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.”
In December 2022, she pledged to give away half of her wealth over her lifetime. Last month, Scott made a surprise donation of US$4 million to the New Orleans nonprofit, Reconcile New Orleans.
The gift, which is the single largest donation the group have received in its history, said the money will enable them to “expand its capacity and fuel the nonprofit’s work to redefine youth-focused workforce development programming for New Orleans’ opportunity youth, young people between the ages of 16 to 24 years old, who are seeking connection to educational and workforce opportunities,” as explained in a press release.