MacKenzie Scott, the philanthropist, is donating $640 million to 361 nonprofits, her organization Yield Giving and Lever for Change said on Tuesday, following an open call for applications. More than 6,000 charitable organizations applied for the funds. Scott ended up donating more than double what the original open call called for, which was 250 awards of $1 million apiece, according to Lever for Change, the organization that coordinated the open offer. “In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panellists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount,” the organization said.
279 organizations with the highest scores received $2 million each
Scott’s giving strategy differs from that of her ex-husband, Jeff Bezos. While Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez announced a major, splashy $50 million commitment apiece to actress Eva Longoria and retired Admiral Bull McRaven, Scott distributed her massive philanthropic contributions to hundreds of smaller organizations. Many of the recipients find the presents transformative. Gender Justice, an organization dedicated to advancing gender equality, announced a $2 million grant, the largest one-time gift in its history. “This Open Call award helps us 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,” said Megan Peterson, the executive director of Gender Justice.
To advance in the prize, organizations had to be rated by their peers. According to Lever for Change, the top-rated applicants advanced to a second-round interview with an external panel in the fall of 2023, followed by a final round. The 279 organizations with the highest scores received $2 million each, while the 82 organizations in the next tier received $1 million each.
Scott’s organization, Yield Giving, keeps track of donation amounts for the organizations and nonprofits to which it contributes.
Scott announced last December that Yield Giving had received $2.15 billion in donations over the previous year.
In 2022, Scott stated that her team had donated over $3.8 billion to 465 organizations in nine months. She has donated $436 million to Habitat for Humanity and $84.5 million to Girl Scouts of the USA, the latter’s largest donation from a single individual.