Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’former wife, MacKenzie Scott, has donated another $4.2 billion to 384 charity organizations in the United States this year. The 18th wealthiest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, donated $1.7 billion to 166 organizations in July.
With a net worth of $60.9 billion, Scott said she wants to speed up her philanthropic efforts to help people most affected by the coronavirus pandemic around the country. An author and a philanthropist, Scott received a quarter of Bezos’ Amazon shares following their marital divorce in 2019.
Scott said she obtained the professional assistance of volunteers, field experts, funders, and non-profit leaders to determine the beneficiaries that are in most need of the donations. A total of 6,490 organizations were obtained but these were drilled down to 822.
“We do this research and deeper diligence not only to identify organizations with high potential for impact but also to pave the way for unsolicited and unexpected gifts given with full trust and no strings attached,” Scott wrote in a blog post. “Because our research is data-driven and rigorous, our giving process can be human and soft.”
Scott revealed that in her second offering this year, a total of $4,158,500,000 was given to 384 organizations in 50 American states, including Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. Many of the beneficiaries are organizations helping to fight inequalities visited on marginalized groups, those helping to alleviate the sufferings of people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and historically black colleges and universities among others, CNN reports.
She said these beneficiaries were carefully selected since they have “dedicated their lives to helping others, working and volunteering and serving real people face-to-face at bedsides and tables, in prisons and courtrooms and classrooms, on streets and hospital wards and hotlines and frontlines of all types and sizes, day after day after day.”
While stating that she is far from reaching her philanthropic goals, Scott mentioned that some of her beneficiaries include Morgan State University in Baltimore ($40 million), Prairie View A&M University in Texas ($50 million), Virginia State University, Dillard University, and Claflin among other HBCUs. Other beneficiaries include the NAACP, Global Fund for Women, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), United Way, YMCA, Meals on Wheels, and Goodwill among others.
Scott is committed to the Giving Pledge Initiative, a program established by Warren Buffett, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to inspire the richest persons in the world to give away a significant portion of their wealth to charitable causes around the world.
“If you’re craving a way to use your time, voice, or money to help others at the end of this difficult year, I highly recommend a gift to one of the thousands of organizations doing remarkable work all across the country,” Scott said. “Every one of them could benefit from more resources to share with the communities they’re serving. And the hope you feed with your gift is likely to feed your own.”
Source: foxbusiness.com