New York — Author and philanthropist Mackenzie Scott On Tuesday, it revealed $7.1 billion in donations to nonprofits in 2025, suggesting… A significant increase in its annual giving From recent years.
“This total dollar amount will likely be reported in the news, but any dollar amount represents a very small fraction of the personal expressions of care being shared in communities this year,” Scott said in an article on her website.
Scott acknowledged donating $2.6 billion in 2024 and $2.1 billion in 2023. The gifts this year bring her total donations since 2019 to $26.3 billion.
Scott’s donations have It caught the attention of non-profit organizations and other charitable funders because they come without any restrictions and are often very large compared to the annual budgets of the beneficiary organizations. Forbes estimates Scott’s net worth at about $33 billion, most of which comes from Amazon shares, which she obtained after her 2019 divorce from company founder Jeff Bezos.
except Open call for applications In 2023, it will not be possible to apply for funding for it or access it directly, as Scott has no office or public institution. Organizations are usually notified through an intermediary that Scott is giving them a donation with little introduction or warning.
Before announcing it on its website, Give returnMore than a dozen historically black colleges and universities revealed they received $783 million in donations from Scott so far this year, according to research by Marybeth Gasman, a professor at Rutgers University and an expert on historically black colleges.
“One of the things I really like about MacKenzie Scott is that it’s like a stock machine,” Gasman said, especially as it pursues efforts to… Promoting equality in education It was attacked by the Trump administration. She also said Scott’s gifts to HBCUs this time are larger than the previous round Donations you made in 2020.
Not all schools that had previously received Scott funding received a gift this time, and there were also some first-time recipients. In total, Gasman tracks $1.35 billion in donations from Scott to black undergraduate colleges since 2020.
In addition, he received the United Nations Children’s Fund, the largest provider of scholarships for minority students $70 million from Scottshe said she will invest the gift in a collective endowment she is building for participating HBCUs. Another $50 million went to the Native Forward Scholars Fund, which also received a previous gift from Scott and offers undergraduate and graduate scholarships to Native American students.
Unlike Scott Gifts, most foundations or major donors direct grants to specific programs and require an application and updates on the impact of the nonprofit’s work. Scott does not require grant recipients to report how they use the funds.
Research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy 2023 looked at The effect of Scott’s giving It found that a small number of recipients had difficulties managing money or saw other funders withdraw.
Kim Mazzuca, CEO of the California-based nonprofit 10,000 Degrees, said her organization was notified of its first $42 million gift from Scott earlier this year.
“I was filled with such happiness. I was speechless and was kind of stumbling over my words,” she said, asking the caller from Fidelity Charities to clarify the donation amount, which is roughly double its annual budget.
10,000 Degrees provides scholarships, mentoring, and other support to low-income students and aims to help them graduate from college without taking out loans. Typically, nonprofits grow only incrementally, Mazzucca said, but this gift will allow them to reach more students, test some technology tools and start an endowment.
Mazzucca credited Scott for investing in proven solutions that already exist.
“She comes from a very deep, reflective and sincere space,” Mazzucca said. “And it just provides this financial means as a tool for people to realize that they are who they have been waiting for.”
This idea refers to a prophecy of Hopi tribe Which ends with the line “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” Mazzucca said she has relied on this prophecy for years to enable her organization and the students it supports to recognize their power to shape our world.
In October, Scott Published an article on her website under that title and share the prophecy. The article, which she expanded on in December to announce her giving, reflects how acts of generosity and kindness can extend further and into the future. She cited her own experiences getting help while in college, including a dentist who fixed one of his teeth for free and a roommate who loaned her $1,000.
Scott has it now I invested in the same roommate companywhich provides loans to students who may struggle to obtain financing from banks. The investments appear to be part of an effort Scott announced last year to move more of its money to him “Mission-aligned” investments.and not in vehicles that only seek to achieve the highest cash returns.
In her 2025 essay, Scott seemed to urge people to action, writing: “There are many ways to influence how we move through the world, and where we land.”
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