MacKenzie Scott, one of the richest women in the world and the ex-husband of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, has donated $2.74 billion dollars to 286 organizations that work in the arts and combating racism.
Yes, not content with giving away $1.7 billion in July 2020 and another $4.2 billion in December 2020, MacKenzie and her new husband Dan Jewitt have given away a mere drop in their fortune to non-proifts including Racial Equity in Journalism Fund, the Asian American Federation, the Emerging LGBTQ Leaders of Color Fund and the National Equity Project.
In a blog post, the pair revealed that they wanted to deliver the money to “high-impact organizations in categories and communities that have been historically underfunded and overlooked.” Adding that she wanted to “de-emphasize privileged voices” and “cede focus” to others, the 51-year-old shared: “Me, Dan, a constellation of researchers and administrators and advisors — we are all attempting to give away a fortune that was enabled by systems in need of change.”
The author wrote: “What do we think they might do with more cash on hand than they expected? Buy needed supplies. Find new creative ways to help. Hire a few extra team members they know they can pay for the next five years. Buy chairs for them. Stop having to work every weekend. Get some sleep. Because we believe that teams with experience on the front lines of challenges will know best how to put the money to good use, we encouraged them to spend it however they choose.”
MacKenzie joined The Giving Pledge in 2019, months before she divorced Jeff. A campaign created by Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Melinda Gates, The Giving Pledge encourages extremely wealthy people to contribute a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
In the past year, MacKenzie has donated $8.5 billion to the campaign; Forbes reported that she is worth $53 billion as of April 2021. She received 25% of Jeff’s Amazon stake as part of their divorce, which was worth 4% of the company.
These are the 286 organizations MacKenzie donated to:
317 Main Community Music Center
ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities
Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh Fund
African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC)
Arts Administrators of Color Network
Arts for Healing and Justice Network
Ashoka Innovators for the Public
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy
AWID (Association for Women’s Rights in Development)
Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD)
· Communities Transforming Policing Fund
· Emerging LGBTQ Leaders of Color Fund
· Racial Equity in Journalism Fund
· Racial Equity in Philanthropy Fund
· Racial Equity to Accelerate Change Fund
CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities
California State University Channel Islands
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Northridge
Center for Asian American Media
Center for Cultural Innovation
Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP)
Center for Evaluation Innovation
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
Child in Need Institute (CINI)
Chinatown Community Development Center
Chinese for Affirmative Action
CompassPoint Nonprofit Services
Constellations Culture Change Fund
Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy
Equitable Evaluation Initiative
Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
Florida International University
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grants COVID-19 Funds
Grantmakers for Effective Organizations
Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts
Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN)
Institute for Transformative Technologies
Interaction Institute for Social Change
International African American Museum
Japanese American National Museum
Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy
Management Leadership for Tomorrow
MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership
Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit
National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures
National Center for Family Philanthropy
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
National Council of Nonprofits
National Museum of Mexican Art
Native Americans in Philanthropy
Native Arts & Cultures Foundation
New England Foundation for the Arts
Oregon Arts and Culture Recovery Fund
PEN America Writers’ Emergency Fund
Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity
Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN)
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
San Francisco Community Health Center
Sanku — Project Healthy Children
Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO)
SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action)
Southwest Texas Junior College
The International Association of Blacks in Dance
The Village of Arts and Humanities
Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation
University of California, Merced
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
West/Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation
Western States Arts Federation
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)