MacKenzie Scott Donates $42 โMillionโฃ to Educationโ nonprofit 10,000 Degrees
MacKenzie Scott has awarded a $42โ million grant to โ10,000 Degrees, a nonprofit association dedicated to helping studentsโข from low-income backgrounds achieve thier college dreams. The substantial gift willโข considerably bolster the organization’s efforts to expand its reach โandโ impact.
Currently operating โคin โthe San Francisco Bay Area and Utah, 10,000 Degrees plans to utilize the fundsโฃ toโฃ extend its services beyond these regions. The organization โคalso intends to explore replicating aspects ofโข itsโข successful model nationally, collaborating with other nonprofit entities โฃinโค the process. A portion ofโ the grantโข will be allocated to the organization’s endowment fund, allowing it to growโ and secure its long-termโฃ financial stability.
The news of the grant arrived for 10,000 Degrees’ President & CEO,Kimberly Mazzuca,on September 10th,but remained confidential until the funds were officially transferred to the organization’s account. Staffโ were informed of the โdonation on Wednesday, September 27th at noon PT.
However, the transfer of funds on September 22nd presented an unexpected challenge. โThe organization’s Chief Financial Officer was โคon vacation and initially unreachable, leadingโ to an urgent call later that day regarding anโฃ issue with the corporate account.
This donation is partโ of โa broader โpattern of philanthropic giving โby scott, who has focused her โefforts on โคorganizations addressingโข critical societal issues.โ Last month, she donated $70 โฃmillion to the United Negro College Fund, supporting scholarships for Black students and historically โBlack colleges and universities.She also provided โค$50 million to โฃthe Native Forward Scholars Fund, whichโ aidsโ Native American undergraduate and graduate students. Scott had previously donated to both organizations in 2020.
Inโข 2022, Scott gifted $6 million to โฃthe Southern Education Foundation, dedicated to education equityโข in โคthe โSouth, and โค$5 million to Breakthrough Collaborative, which recruits college students into teaching fellowships.
Five โคyearsโฃ ago, Scott announced her intention to donate the majority of her approximately $33 billion fortune, largely โtied toโข Amazonโข stock. Theโข value of that stock has as increased byโ roughly 35%, significantly increasing the total amountโข available for โphilanthropicโฃ endeavors. To date,Scott has donated โคapproximately $19.3 billion to overโ 2,450 โขnonprofits,โข with some donations receiving widespread public attention whileโ others have been made privately.
Scott prioritizes organizations working on issuesโค like โคearly learning, affordable housing, and gender and race equity. Past large giftsโฃ include $85โ millionโ to โฃthe Girl Scoutsโค of the USA inโ 2022, $25 million to Big โBrothers/Big Sisters of America, and $65 million toโ Local Initiatives Supportโ Corp. for community advancementโ and โฃhousing stability.
Despite herโ extensive giving, MacKenzieโ Scott remainsโค the 49th richest โperson in the world, with a net worth of $42.1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
