MacKenzie Scott’s Gifts Aid Military Families, Advance Equity, and Provide Help in Ukraine

MacKenzie Scott has announced $12.3 billion in charitable gifts since 2020, with her latest disclosure coming last week, when she said she had provided $3.9 billion since late last year. But figuring out how much has been given to which groups has been a challenge because Scott has left it up to the nonprofits whether to disclose details.

As more and more groups reveal their gifts, we are getting a better picture of where the money has gone. Since the beginning of March, 29 more nonprofits have announced contributions totaling nearly $1.4 billion, according to a Chronicle tally. The Chronicle has identified 284 of the 1,257 recipients since 2020.

The three largest gifts include $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International, $281 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and $275 million to Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Those three donations will benefit the organizations’ national offices plus many of their affiliates across the country.

Scott responded to the war in Ukraine by giving $10 million to HIAS, an international Jewish humanitarian organization, to support its response to the refugee crisis, and gave to an interesting array of charities focused on equity, a cause to which she has devoted significant sums over the past two years.

Among such groups, Scott gave $20 million to Landesa, a nonprofit that works to shore up gender-equal land rights in rural and Indigenous communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and $15 million to NPower, which trains women and people of color for technology jobs. She also gave $10 million to the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit that is focused on reshaping how policing works, reducing crime, and offering aid to vulnerable people, including immigrants and people who are homeless or impoverished, as well as those dealing with mental illnesses or drug addiction.

In addition, half a dozen military veterans groups announced gifts from Scott in March. Operation Homefront will use its $20 million donation to expand financial assistance, transitional housing, and other work to aid military families.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation got $15 million to further its work with other nonprofits, government agencies, and others who assist military veterans, current service members, and their families and caregivers. The Wounded Warrior Project received $15 million for its mental-health and brain-health programs and services for veterans. Hire Heroes USA received $11 million; Blue Star Families got $10 million, and the Headstrong Project, which provides mental-health treatment and service to veterans and their families, received $10 million.

Listening and Learning

Since July 2020, when she made her first big giving announcement, Scott has announced her unrestricted gifts to nonprofits in twice yearly Medium posts.

In most cases she has named the recipients but has left it up to them to decide whether to publicize the gifts. When she announced her fourth round in December, Scott was criticized for declining to list the charities or provide a total for how much she was giving to those groups.

But Scott soon proved that she is listening and learning as she goes. She followed up a few days later with an essay that explained her thinking behind that decision. She also promised to make public more information about her contributions over the next year. Last week, she wrote another Medium post disclosing gifts totaling $3.9 billion and listing all of the 465 groups to which she has given since late last year.

The Chronicle is keeping a tally of Scott’s announced gifts, including amounts that beneficiaries have disclosed. We’ll update this list regularly; if your organization received a contribution, let us know.

To see all of Scott’s publicized donations and to learn about big gifts from other donors, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated regularly.