MacKenzie Scott Gifts Continue Following Amazon Stock Sale

MacKenzie Scott is wasting little time in getting more unrestricted funds to charities following her huge sale of Amazon stock.

At least five large unrestricted gifts were announced by recipients of Scott donations in just the past two weeks, and they are likely to serve as a preview of what’s to come. Scott typically updates her annual giving with a post on her website in December.

The Freedom Fund, a charity dedicated to ending modern slavery, announced on October 17 it had received $60 million from Scott. The gift is the second to the Freedom Fund from Scott — the charity received $35 million in 2021. “We are determined to ensure Scott’s gift has a transformative impact on vulnerable communities affected by exploitation,” said Nick Grono, Freedom Fund’s CEO, in a statement.

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, the largest privately funded organization dedicated to the preservation of sites associated with African American history, announced on October 15 that it had received a $40 million gift from Scott. The action fund also received a $20 million gift from Scott in 2021. Brent Leggs, the action fund’s executive director, said in a statement that Scott’s gifts are “leaving an enduring mark on our nation’s history, and we are grateful for her philanthropic leadership.”

The George M. Pullman Educational Foundation, which advances access to higher education in the county that includes Chicago, said on October 21 it had received a $10 million unrestricted gift from Scott. The charity said the funds would go into its endowment and help sustain and expand its Pullman Scholars program, which provides renewable scholarships worth up to $40,000 over four years and wrap-around services.

“We are profoundly appreciative for this support, which was unanticipated but comes at a significant juncture in our program,” said Eric Delli Bovi, the foundation’s executive director, in a statement.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore announced on October 24 that it received $38 million from Scott, its largest gift ever. The gift is her second to the historically Black university — it also received $20 million from Scott in 2020.

The latest gifts appear to signal Scott’s continued focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Earlier this fall, she made very large gifts to nonprofits that provide college scholarships to students of color.

Climate has also been a focus for Scott. The Woodwell Climate Research Center announced on October 22 that it had received a $10 million unrestricted gift from Scott, which it will use to continue its research to find solutions to the climate crisis.

Scott was married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for 25 years before they divorced in 2019. In a filing this month, Scott revealed that she had cut her stake in Amazon by about 42 percent. The sold shares would have been worth more than $12 billion at the time of the filing.

Scott remains modest about her giving. In a post on her website this month, she highlighted the smaller gifts, crowdfunding, and volunteer services provided by others and downplayed her own support.

“Any dollar amount is a vanishingly tiny fraction of the personal expressions of care being shared into the world this year,” she wrote.