Current:Home > BackMacKenzie Scott, billionaire philanthropist and Amazon co-founder, donates $640 million to hundreds of nonprofits-LoTradeCoin
MacKenzie Scott, billionaire philanthropist and Amazon co-founder, donates $640 million to hundreds of nonprofits
View Date:2024-12-23 20:48:40
Billionaire philanthropist and Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott announced Tuesday that she has donated another $640 million of her fortune to hundreds of nonprofit organizations.
Scott has already given billions to charity, but she changed her approach slightly for this most recent round of donations. For the first time, she set up an open call for nonprofits to directly apply for a gift through her organization, Yield Giving. In the past, her organization had participated in "quiet research," which involved privately and anonymously finding deserving organizations and secretly contacting them.
The open call had over 6,000 applicants, from which 361 organizations from 38 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico were selected "for their outstanding work advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles," Scott said in a statement.
Yield Giving had originally planned to grant $1 million in gifts to 250 organizations when the initiative was announced last year. But, because of the impressive applications they got, evaluators decided to expand the awardee pool and how much they would receive: 279 organizations were gifted $2 million each, while 82 others were given $1 million each, Yield Giving said.
"The Open Call awardees are all making positive change in their communities by reducing disparities in economic outcomes, education, health, and other critical issues," the organization said.
Scott is the fourth-richest woman in the world with a net worth of just under around $35 billion, according to Forbes. After her divorce from Jeff Bezos in 2019, Scott received a 4% stake in the company, boosting her wealth and personal net worth. She signed the Giving Pledge that year, committing the majority of her wealth to society.
Last year, the philanthropist donated over $2 billion to 360 organizations, saying in a brief post on Yield Giving's website that she was "inspired by all the ways people work together to offer each other goodwill and support."
Many of the causes Scott focuses her donations on are often related to education, the arts, public health and diversity. A few awardees of the open call include ACLU of Alabama, Black Girl Ventures, GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, and Ser Familia.
Simrin SinghSimrin Singh is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
veryGood! (5667)
Related
- Mississippi woman pleads guilty to stealing Social Security funds
- Whole Foods Market plans to launch smaller Daily Shops; first to open in New York in 2024
- San Francisco votes on measures to compel drug treatment and give police surveillance cameras
- 'The Harlem Renaissance' and what is Black art for?
- Wildfires burn from coast-to-coast; red flag warnings issued for Northeast
- More people filed their taxes for free so far this year compared to last year, IRS says
- New satellite will 'name and shame' large-scale polluters, by tracking methane gas emissions
- Pregnant Ayesha Curry Shares the Lessons She’s Passing on to Her 4 Kids
- Justice Department sues to block UnitedHealth Group’s $3.3 billion purchase of Amedisys
- Do you know these famous Aries signs? 30 celebrities with birthdays under the Zodiac sign
Ranking
- Horoscopes Today, November 12, 2024
- Toyota, Jeep, Hyundai and Ford among 1.4 million vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- 'Real horsepower': See video of runaway horses galloping down Ohio highway
- It's NFL franchise tag deadline day. What does it mean, top candidates and more
- Ariana Grande's Brunette Hair Transformation Is a Callback to Her Roots
- In the N.C. Governor’s Race, the GOP Frontrunner Is a Climate Denier, and the Democrat Doesn’t Want to Talk About It
- Dakota Johnson Shares Her Outlook on Motherhood Amid Chris Martin Romance
- 'The Masked Singer' Season 11: Premiere date, time, where to watch
Recommendation
-
Jimmy Kimmel, more late-night hosts 'shocked' by Trump Cabinet picks: 'Goblins and weirdos'
-
EAGLEEYE COIN: The Rise of Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
-
Crowded race for Alabama’s new US House district, as Democrats aim to flip seat in November
-
As threat to IVF looms in Alabama, patients over 35 or with serious diseases worry for their futures
-
Ready-to-eat meat, poultry recalled over listeria risk: See list of affected products
-
Immigration judges union, a frequent critic, is told to get approval before speaking publicly
-
Russian drone attack kills 7 in Odesa, Ukraine says
-
New lawsuit blames Texas' Smokehouse Creek fire on power company