MacKenzie Scott gave more than $2B to nonprofits in 2023

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has revealed that she donated roughly $2.1 billion in grant funding to 360 organizations since last December. The gifts were provided to domestic organizations in the United States, as well as nonprofits based abroad in countries including Brazil, Kenya, and India. Most focus on equity, gender, or human rights. Scott, who was previously married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and has a net worth of $34 billion, has given away more than $16 billion total to over 1,900 organizations, mostly since 2020. She has become known for the fast pace of her giving in the form of no-strings-attached grants. In years past, she announced her gifts through Medium posts and on X, formerly known as Twitter. But this year, she quietly posted a short update on her Yield Giving website. It was published on Wednesday. “Excited to call attention to these 360 outstanding organizations, every one of whom could use more allies,” she wrote. “Grateful to everyone in the extended team who made it possible to give them gifts, $2,153,000,000 delivered since my post last December. Inspired by all the ways people work together to offer each other goodwill and support.” Some groups have taken it upon themselves to announce the gifts on social media. On Thursday, the U.S.-based Equality Fund said on X that it was “thrilled” to have received a $10 million grant. The organization advocates for women, girls, and transgender people worldwide. The donation was “a bold affirmation of our feminist values + vision and a vote of confidence in our model,” Equality Fund wrote. Global grantmaker the Disability Rights Fund, which is also U.S.-based, announced on X Tuesday that it received an $8 million gift from Scott. The donation is “an unprecedented investment from an individual donor,” the group said. The Disability Fund has provided financial support for people with disabilities in 38 countries. Other international or non-U.S.-based grantees include the Malaria Consortium, which received $10 million for its work in Africa and Asia. MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child, based in India, was awarded $9 million for efforts to provide maternal, nutrition, and other health care services in India, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in India also received a $7 million grant for its work to provide agricultural, economic, and employment assistance to women and communities in rural India. And Women Fund Tanzania received a $2 million grant to support its efforts to promote women’s rights. Scott has vowed to give the majority of her wealth to charity. She created a splash in the philanthropy world in 2020 when she began giving away large, unrestricted, often multimillion-dollar grants while most other funders were distributing much smaller amounts to nonprofits. However, some philanthropy experts have been disappointed that her methods haven’t yet caught on with other donors. A recent report on the impacts of Scott’s giving showed that many funders continue to doubt the effectiveness of Scott’s giving style, particularly whether her gifts are too large for grantees to handle.