MacKenzie Scott announces another $2 billion in donations

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN Business

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated almost $2 billion to more than 300 organizations in the last seven months, she said in a Medium post Monday. This followed an announcement from her ex-husband and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos that he will donate the majority of his wealth during his lifetime.

Since her divorce from Bezos in 2019, Forbes estimates Scott has given away $14.4 billion to more than 1,500 organizations. Her most recent donation totals $1,990,800,000.

Scott made the announcement on the day Bezos, along with his current partner Lauren Sanchez, told CNN he plans to give away the majority of his $124 billion net worth during his lifetime. And though Bezos did not specify his donations, he said would devote most of his wealth toward combating climate change and unifying humanity.

Bezos had been criticized for not signing the Giving Pledge, a commitment for the world’s wealthiest to dedicate most of their wealth to charity.

A database of Scott’s donations will be posted “soon,” but the Medium post did list the charitable organizations that received aid, ranging from immigrant resources to school districts.

Though specific donation amounts weren’t published, some organizations already announced how much they had received from the philanthropist. Last month, Girl Scouts of the USA said it received its largest ever single individual donation from Scott, totaling $84.5 million.

Scott had gifted $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliates in March to promote homeownership in Black and minority communities.

Scott noted many of the 343 organizations she donated to are funds, meaning they “pool donations and spread them across a diverse group of smaller organizations working toward a common cause.”

Big impact

Scott has been praised for challenging “big” philanthropy and her focus on LGBTQ and minority-focused organizations, even though others have given large, unrestricted gifts. But the scope and speed of her philanthropy has raised eyebrows. Additionally, a report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy that details Scott’s givings noted it has come with criticisms.

The large gifts may overwhelm organizations or lead to a misuse of funds, and her one-time gifts might cause other donors to pull back their support, critics say. Others have called for transparency for her selection methods.

But of the 277 nonprofit organizations surveyed, slightly more than half of the respondents said their grant from Scott has made fundraising easier, with some saying they are able to use it as leverage with other donors. And the large gift “has enabled organizations to focus funds where they were most needed to achieve their mission.”

Nonprofit leaders who had received grants from Scott said it was transformational for their organizations.

“The amount of money didn’t even feel real — what felt more real was the pride and validation that the work I was doing mattered, and somebody had noticed,” said one nonprofit leader whom the report did not identify. Eighty-eight percent of respondents said it was the largest unrestricted grant they ever received.

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