MacKenzie Scott, billionaire philanthropist and Amazon co-founder, donates $640 million to hundreds of nonprofits

Mackenzie Scott has donated millions to Twin Cities non-profits

Billionaire philanthropist and Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott announced Tuesday that she has donated another $640 million of her fortune to hundreds of nonprofit organizations.

Scott has already given billions to charity, but she changed her approach slightly for this most recent round of donations. For the first time, she set up an open call for nonprofits to directly apply for a gift through her organization, Yield Giving. In the past, her organization had participated in "quiet research," which involved privately and anonymously finding deserving organizations and secretly contacting them.

The open call had over 6,000 applicants, from which 361 organizations from 38 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico were selected "for their outstanding work advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles," Scott said in a statement.

Yield Giving had originally planned to grant $1 million in gifts to 250 organizations when the initiative was announced last year. But, because of the impressive applications they got, evaluators decided to expand the awardee pool and how much they would receive: 279 organizations were gifted $2 million each, while 82 others were given $1 million each, Yield Giving said.

"The Open Call awardees are all making positive change in their communities by reducing disparities in economic outcomes, education, health, and other critical issues," the organization said.

Scott is the fourth-richest woman in the world with a net worth of just under around $35 billion, according to Forbes. After her divorce from Jeff Bezos in 2019, Scott received a 4% stake in the company, boosting her wealth and personal net worth. She signed the Giving Pledge that year, committing the majority of her wealth to society.

Last year, the philanthropist donated over $2 billion to 360 organizations, saying in a brief post on Yield Giving's website that she was "inspired by all the ways people work together to offer each other goodwill and support."

Many of the causes Scott focuses her donations on are often related to education, the arts, public health and diversity. A few awardees of the open call include ACLU of Alabama, Black Girl Ventures, GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, and Ser Familia.

Simrin Singh

Simrin Singh is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.