Current:Home > reviewsMacKenzie Scott donates $640 million -- more than double her initial plan -- to nonprofit applicants -FutureFinance
MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million -- more than double her initial plan -- to nonprofit applicants
View
Date:2025-04-13 04:36:51
MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist and author, had promised to give $1 million to 250 organizations last year through an “open call” for applications. On Tuesday, she announced she would give $640 million to 361 organizations instead.
That makes her organization Yield Giving’s first round of donations more than double what Scott had initially pledged in response to applications from nonprofits. Since she began giving away billions in 2019, Scott and her team have researched and selected organizations without an application process and provided them with large, unrestricted gifts.
In a brief note on her website, Scott wrote she was grateful to Lever for Change, the organization that managed the “open call,” and the evaluators 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.”
Some 6,353 nonprofits applied for the $1 million grants when applications opened.
“In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount,” said Lever for Change, which specializes in running philanthropic prize awards.
The 279 nonprofits that received top scores from an external review panel were awarded $2 million, while 82 organizations in a second tier received $1 million each.
The grantees range in focus from those that provide support to people returning from incarceration to The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company, which creates original theater with young people in Los Angeles. Many organizations serve very specific geographies or populations, like Asian Americans in central Texas or South Asian young people in New York.
The “open call” asked for applications from nonprofits who are community-led with missions “to advance the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means,” Yield Giving said on its website. Only nonprofits with annual budgets between $1 and $5 million were eligible to apply.
“In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen,” Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change, said in a statement.
The awardees were selected through a multilayer process, where applicants scored fellow applicants and then the top organizations were reviewed by a panel of outside experts.
Scott has given away $16.5 billion from the fortune she came into after divorcing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Initially, she publicized the gifts in online blog posts, sometimes naming the organizations and sometimes not. She launched a database of her giving in December 2022, under the name Yield Giving.
In an essay reflecting on the website, she wrote, “Information from other people – other givers, my team, the nonprofit teams I’ve been giving to – has been enormously helpful to me. If more information about these gifts can be helpful to anyone, I want to share it.”
___
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
veryGood! (2874)
Related
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Mike Tyson explains why he's given up sex and marijuana before Jake Paul bout on July 20
- A second new nuclear reactor is completed in Georgia. The carbon-free power comes at a high price
- 3 police officers, 2 civilians shot in standoff at Louisiana home; suspect killed
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Passage of harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law in Iraq draws diplomatic backlash
- Columbia protest faces 2 p.m. deadline; faculty members 'stand' with students: Live updates
- MLB power rankings: Red-hot Philadelphia Phillies won't need a turnaround this year
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Mega Millions winning numbers for April 26 drawing: Did anyone win $228 million jackpot?
Ranking
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Philips will pay $1.1 billion to resolve US lawsuits over breathing machines that expel debris
- Campus protests multiply as demonstrators breach barriers at UCLA | The Excerpt
- United Auto Workers reaches deal with Daimler Truck, averting potential strike of more than 7,000 workers
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Hong Kong transgender activist gets ID card reflecting gender change after yearslong legal battle
- Joel Embiid peeved by influx of Knicks fans in Philly, calls infiltration 'not OK'
- Affluent Americans are driving US economy and likely delaying need for Fed rate cuts
Recommendation
Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
Clayton MacRae: Global View of AI Technologies and the United States
2 dead, 1 hurt after 350,000-pound load detaches from 18-wheeler and pins vehicle in Texas
AIGM Crypto: the Way to Combat Inflation
See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
New charges announced against 4 youths arrested in gunfire at event to mark end of Ramadan
RHOSLC's Monica Garcia Suffers a Miscarriage After Revealing Surprise Pregnancy
Are weighted sleep products safe for babies? Lawmaker questions companies, stores pull sales