It gives the season of MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos. Despite a lack of public announcements of new grants on his charity website Yield Giving, the philanthropist has spent the past few months quietly donating more than $300 million to at least 14 charities.
The gifts, which primarily benefit nonprofits working on affordable housing and financial equity, range from $65 million to $1.5 million and have been issued by Scott since September. They add to the $17.3 billion Scott has already given since 2020 to more than 2,300 nonprofits. The philanthropist’s most recent public offering came in March, when he awarded $640 million to 361 nonprofits as part of an open call administered by Lever for Change, an organization that hosts philanthropic challenges.
Scott’s new grants benefit community development organizations like the New York-based Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), which received $65 million this month, the largest grant in the organization’s 45-year history. The donation builds on a previous $40 million grant from Scott four years ago. “This incredible grant is not only an investment in our ability to support affordable housing, economic development, health, safety and jobs, but also in the well-being of the thousands of communities in which we serve every day,” said Michael Pugh, LISC. The CEO, in a statement.
In addition to other housing-focused grants such as Enterprise Community Partners and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, which received $65 million and $40 million, respectively, Scott has also invested his wealth in organizations that use money to strengthen equity within local communities.
Brunswick, Maine-based Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), for example, received $15 million. Atlanta, Ga.-based Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs received $10 million. “We are grateful for Ms. Scott’s continued commitment to the field of Community Development Finance as a means of building economic empowerment and sustainability, especially for individuals and low-income communities,” said Keith Bission, president of CEI, in a statement.
Other grants have been matched by the Mni Sota Fund, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. Two other Minnesota-based organizations, Propel Nonprofits and the Entrepreneur Fund, also benefited from Scott’s recent wave of giving with grants of $8 million and $9 million respectively.
Here’s a closer look at some of Scott’s contributions over the past few months:
- $65 million to Local Initiatives Support Corporation, based in New York, NY
- $65 million to Enterprise Community Partners, based in Columbia, Md.
- $40 million to the Corporation for Supportive Housing, based in New York, NY
- $30 million to Housing Trust Silicon Valley, based in San Jose, Calif.
- $22 million in Nonprofit Finance Fund, based in New York, NY
- $15 million to Coastal Enterprises, Inc., based in Brunswick, Maine
- $15 million in Craft3, based in Ilwaco, Wash.
- $15 million to Community Vision, based in San Francisco, Calif.
- $12 million to PeopleFund, based in Austin, Texas
- $10 Million to Access Capital for Entrepreneurs, based in Atlanta, Ga.
- $9 million in Entrepreneur Fund, based in Duluth, Minn.
- $8 million to Propel Nonprofits, based in Minneapolis, Minn.
- $3 million to the Wind River Development Fund, based in Fort Washakie, Wyo.
- $1.5 million to the Mni Sota Fund, based in Minneapolis, Minn.
Are more gifts coming?
Known for his trusting approach, Scott often gives large, unrestricted gifts without specifying how they should be spent. He currently has an estimated net worth of $28 billion, with most of his wealth coming from the 4 percent stake in Amazon he acquired after parting ways with Bezos in 2019.
Scott has already disposed of more than half of these shares in the past five years to bolster his philanthropy. In a sign of possible more charitable giving, Scott in September reportedly sold more than 45 million Amazon shares worth more than eight billion dollars.
