The billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott announced Tuesday she would give $640 million to more than 360 organizations in response to an application process she launched last year
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.
