Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, through Yield Giving and Lever for Change, announced on Tuesday that she is donating $640 million to 361 charitable organisations following an open call for applications.
For the grant, over 6,000 nonprofit organisations submitted applications. Scott ultimately gave away more than twice as much as the original open call called for—250 awards totaling $1 million each—according to Lever for Change, the group in charge of organising the offer.
“In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount,” according to Lever for Change.
Compared to her ex-husband Jeff Bezos, who she assisted in creating Amazon, Scott has a different giving approach. While Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez made headlines for donating a whopping $50 million to retired admiral Bull McRaven and actress Eva Longoria, respectively, Scott distributes her enormous donations to hundreds of smaller charities.
For many of the recipients, the gifts are transformational. The organisation Gender Justice, which works to promote gender equality, announced that it has received a $2 million grant, the biggest one-time gift in its existence.
“This Open Call award helps us take our fight for justice and equity to the next level, continuing our work to dismantle the legal, structural, and cultural barriers that contribute to gender inequity,” said Megan Peterson, Gender Justice’s executive director, in a statement.
Organisations had to be evaluated by their peers in order to advance in the contest. According to Lever for Change, the best candidates moved on to a second round of interviews with an outside panel in the autumn of 2023 before facing a final round.
Each of the 82 organisations in the next tier of scores received $1 million, while the 279 organisations in the top tier of scores received $2 million.
Yield Giving, Scott’s organisation, keeps track of the donation amounts made to the nonprofits and organisations it supports in a database.
