MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, has donated $640 million among 361 non-profit organisations, more than double her initial plan.
In a brief note on her website on Tuesday, Scott said that she was grateful to Lever for Change, the organisation that managed the applications, and the evaluators for “their roles in creating this pathway to support people working to improve access to foundational resources in their communities.
She described them as vital agents of change.“ After her divorce from Bezos in 2019, she has given away billions and her team has researched and selected organisations without an application process for the amount, termed as “gifts”.
Some 6,353 nonprofits applied for the $1 million grants when applications opened. Only nonprofits with annual budgets between $1 and $5 million were eligible to apply.
As many as 361 community-led non-profits were “elevated by peer organisations and a round-2 evaluation panel for their outstanding work”. The NGOs that were selected, according to the Yield, advanced the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meagre or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles.
The 279 nonprofits that received top scores from an external review panel were awarded $2 million, while 82 organizations in a second tier received $1 million each.
Many organizations serve very specific geographies or populations, like Asian Americans in central Texas or South Asian young people in New York.
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“In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen,” Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change, said in a statement.
Scott has given away $16.5 billion from the fortune she came into after divorcing Bezos.
