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Billionaire philanthropist and Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott announced Tuesday that she has donated another $640 million of her fortune to hundreds of nonprofit organizations.
Scott has already donated billions to charities, but he changed his approach slightly for this most recent round of giving. He for the first time created a open call for nonprofits to directly request a donation through their organization, Yield Giving. In the past, his organization had engaged in “silent investigations,” which involved privately and anonymously finding deserving organizations and secretly contacting them.
The open call had more than 6,000 applicants, of which 361 organizations from 38 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico were selected “for their outstanding work in promoting the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of low or modest resources, and groups that have faced discrimination.” and other systemic obstacles,” Scott said in a statement.
The performance donation had originally planned awarded $1 million in grants to 250 organizations when the initiative was announced last year. But because of the impressive applications they received, evaluators decided to expand the pool of awardees and how much they would receive: 279 organizations received $2 million each, while another 82 received $1 million each, Yield Giving said.
“All Open Call winners are making positive changes in their communities by reducing disparities in economic outcomes, education, health and other critical issues,” the organization said.
Scott is the fourth richest woman in the world with a net worth of just under $35 billion, according to Forbes. Following her divorce from Jeff Bezos in 2019, Scott received a 4% stake in the company, increasing her wealth and his personal net worth. She signed the give promise that year, pledging most of his wealth to the partnership.
Last yearThe philanthropist donated more than $2 billion to 360 organizations, he said in a short post on the Yield Giving website that she was “inspired by all the ways people work together to offer goodwill and support to each other.”
Many of the causes Scott focuses his donations on are often related to education, the arts, public health and diversity. Some awarded from the open call include ACLU of Alabama, Black Girl Ventures, GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, and Ser Familia.