One email in December 2020. Four early learning centers and an apartment building later. Philanthropy news almost always stops at the announcement. A headline, a dollar figure, a grateful quote, and then nothing. What happens to the money afterward rarely makes the news, which is exactly why one Denver update stands out.
On December 15, 2020, MacKenzie Scott’s foundation gave Mile High United Way $20 million, part of a wave of gifts to 384 organizations announced that day. It was the largest gift in the Denver nonprofit’s 138-year history, and it came with no strings attached. In January 2026, the organization published a full account of where the money went.
The First $5 Million Went Out Immediately
The gift arrived in the middle of the pandemic, and Mile High United Way moved fast. According to its report, $5 million was invested right away in Metro Denver neighborhoods to help families with housing, food and child care. “I knew it was going to be life-changing for generations to come,” said Christine Benero, the organization’s president and CEO.
Four Early Learning Centers and 264 New Spots
The largest part of the story is child care. The gift helped create four early childhood education centers, adding 264 affordable, high-quality spots for young children across the region:
- Warren Village’s Alameda Campus in west Denver, with room for 104 children
- Family Tree’s GOALS center in Aurora, with 54 spots
- Mercy Housing’s The Rose on Colfax in east Denver, with 48 spots
- The Tamara M. Sparks Early Learning Center, north of downtown Denver, with 58 spots
Each center also hosts an on-site 211 navigator, who helps families find support beyond child care. “It’s life-changing for Warren Village,” said Ethan Hemming, the organization’s president and CEO. Shelly Marquez of Mercy Housing Mountain Plains called The Rose on Colfax “a model for us to say here’s how housing and child care can be combined.”
An Apartment Building for Young People Starting Over
The money also bought a 22-unit apartment building in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood. Renovations finished in 2025 upgraded the electrical and plumbing systems and added basement space for partner offices. The 245-square-foot efficiency units are rented below market rate, and most go to participants in Bridging the Gap, a program for young people leaving the child welfare system.
For someone aging out of foster care, a small, affordable apartment can be the difference between a fresh start and the street. It is one of the least glamorous outcomes of the gift, and arguably one of the most important.
Why the Follow-Up Matters
Scott’s approach to giving has always been unusual: large, unrestricted gifts with very little public fanfare and no demands about how the money should be spent. Critics have sometimes asked whether that trust pays off. The Denver report is one of the clearest answers so far, a line-by-line record of what one gift became.
It also shows the limits. Dr. Pamela Harris of Mile High Early Learning noted that paying teachers a living wage at the Tamara M. Sparks center still requires more support: “We need additional funding in order to be able to do that.” One gift can build a center. Keeping it running takes everyone.
In 2020, MacKenzie Scott sent $20 million to Denver with no conditions. Five years later, that money has turned into classrooms, apartments and a blueprint other cities can study. “Five years ago, we were humbled and thankful for Ms. Scott’s show of confidence in our work,” Benero said. The results suggest the confidence was well placed.