MacKenzie Scott is using her massive fortune to give back to the community, and a new study has revealed that the billionaire has already donated over $19 billion to a slew of organizations.
Scott and Jeff Bezos divorced in 2019, and she walked away with $38 billion and a 4 percent stake in Amazon.
Shortly after her divorce, Scott pledged to give away at least half of her wealth, writing on The Giving Pledge that she had a ‘disproportionate amount of money to share,’ and wouldn’t stop donating ‘until the safe is empty.’
While Scott has retained her fortune through the success of Amazon and personal business endeavors, she is upholding her promise, as a new study revealed her philanthropy has been ‘transformational’ for over 2,000 organizations.
The Center for Effective Philanthropy conducted extensive research on her donations and how it’s impacted the organizations that received the ‘golden ticket’ from Scott.
Lowell Weiss, President of Cascade Philanthropy Advisors, wrote in the study that Scott’s donations were ‘one of the most important developments in my 24 years in this field.’
The study focused on a few organizations that benefited from Scott’s philanthropy including, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Pastoral Women’s Council, Goodwill Industries of East Texas, the South Texas Food Bank, Kaboom!, Equal Opportunity Schools, and the Chords of Community.
Below is a breakdown of how Scott’s philanthropy benefited the organizations she donated to.
MacKenzie Scott is a philanthropist, author, and was previously married to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
Scott has dedicated her career post-divorce to donating her massive multi-billion dollar fortune
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a popular mentorship program that matches volunteers with children ages five and up. The mission is to help youth reach their full potential and have an adult they can lean on.
BBBSA almost doubled its operating budget after Scott’s donation, according to the study.
Scott gifted the organization $25 million in 2022. Prior to receiving the donation, BBBSA only had an operating budget of $24 million. Their operating budget now has more than doubled to $52.6 billion.
The increased funds were able to accelerate the matching process and help convert interested volunteers to join the mentorship program.
BBBSA also started group mentoring options in addition to the organization’s flagship one-on-one model.
‘With the benefit of her incredible gift, we have our best opportunity ever to create change at the systems level,’ BBSA Chief Development Officer Deborah Barge said of Scott’s donation.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a popular mentorship program that pairs volunteers with youth in their area
Goodwill Industries of East Texas and South Texas Food Bank
Goodwill Industries of East Texas is a workforce development organization that provides training and vocational opportunities for those who have barriers to finding employment.
Scott donated $5 million to the organization, increasing their operating budget from $11.9 million to $17.1 million.
The funds were used to build new technology systems and double the number of disabled people GIET helps to find employment.
GIET also raised staff salaries, increased warehouse facilities, and paid off $823,000 in debts.
Another organization in Texas, the South Texas Food Bank received $9 million from Scott.
The food bank serves a tribal nation and eight counties, including the community that was impacted by the Uvalde school shooting.
The organization was struggling to accommodate their needs during the COVID-19 pandemic until Scott’s gift helped them increase resources.
STFB used the funds to increase food distribution and prioritize the quality of food by purchasing healthier choices.
Goodwill Industries of East Texas helps find employment and provides training for those who have barriers in the workforce
South Texas Food Bank increased their services and food quality after receiving a donation from Scott
Kaboom!
Kaboom!, an organization that builds safe playgrounds in communities that need them, received $9 million from Scott in 2021.
The organization’s mission is to end inequitable access to playgrounds. They used the funds from Scott to create the Playspace Inequity Prioritization Index.
The algorithm helped Kaboom! figure out what communities lack safe playgrounds, so they know where to concentrate their mission.
CEO Lysa Ratliff told the study that if she could give a message to Scott, she would say, ‘I want her to know that her gifts are not just having a transformative effect on individual organizations. She’s also having a huge impact on female leaders.’
Kaboom! is an organization that builds playgrounds in underprivileged communities that lack safe playspaces for children
The donation that Kaboom! received from Scott helped them create an online program pinpointing communities that need them
Equal Opportunity Schools
Equal Opportunity Schools provides college and career prep courses for underrepresented students.
The organization received $8 million from Scott in 2021 which they used to increase staff salaries and upgrade their software programs.
They rolled out a new and improved student portal which helped them serve more students and extended their programs to include middle schoolers.
‘I would love to see hundreds of other donors do what she did,’ EOS’s CEO at the time Eddie Lincoln said.
‘Her generosity is amazing, but please help other foundations know that [one donor] is not nearly enough.’
Equal Opportunity Schools works to provide college prep courses to communities that don’t have access to those resources
EOS was able to extend their program offerings to middle schoolers thanks to Scott’s donation
The Chords of Community and Pastoral Women’s Council
The Chords of Community is a music center in Yarmouth, Maine, that received $1.5 million from Scott.
The community music center was forced to shut down its doors due to the pandemic, but continued group classes online.
The organization used Scott’s donation to give teaching staff bonuses, increase retirement funds, and invest in solar energy.
The Pastoral Women’s Council in Tanzania received an undisclosed amount of money from Scott, but they were able to increase their operating budget from $1.8 billion to $4 billion.
The organization helps women in Tanzania who were forced into child marriage or don’t have access to quality education and clean water.
Scott’s philanthropy allowed PWC to hire more staff, increase scholarship money, and help other community-based programs in the region.
The Pastoral Women’s Council extended their outreach in Tanzania to help more women facing inequities
The Chords of Community is a local music center that provides classes and serves the community of Yarmouth, Maine
The funds that Scott allocated were ‘no strings attached,’ and her team practiced a hands-off approach.
In addition to the organizations discussed in the study, Scott tracks her giving efforts on Yield Giving.
Despite her generous donations, Scott’s net worth increased in 2024 from $24.4 billion to $35.6 billion, according to Forbes.
She’s ranked ninth on the publication’s Power Women list and placed 26th on the Forbes 400.
Meanwhile, her ex-husband is ranked third on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaire list with a net worth of $240.1 billion.
