For more than 60 organizations and colleges across North Carolina, philanthropist Mackenzie Scott has proved to be bigger than any Santa Claus.
Much of the giving from Scott, who co-founded Amazon with ex-husband Jeff Bezos, has arrived around the holidays. Todd Tibbits, then CEO of the United Way of Greater Charlotte, described as “a miracle’’ one of the early gifts from Scott’s Yield Giving foundation: $18 million in 2020 that helped the Charlotte Y plug funding gaps amid the pandemic.
“We are humbled by this generosity,’’ said Amanda Lee, president of Bladen Community College, the recent recipient of $12 million. Nearby Robeson Community College got $24 million, distinguishing the two southeastern North Carolina schools as the state’s latest beneficiaries of Yield Giving.
The foundation has given more than $26 billion to more than 2,700 organizations since 2019. In the Tar Heel state, it has provided $108 million to N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro, including a $63 million grant last month and $80 million to Winston-Salem State University, including a $50 million grant last month.
Other big recipients in North Carolina include $18 million for Durham Public Schools in 2022; $6 million for Roanoke Rapids-based Rural Health Group in 2024; $18 million for the YMCA of the Triangle in 2020; $13.5 million for Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region in 2022; $8 million for the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina in 2022; $15 million for Elizabeth City State University in 2020; and $5 million for Wilson-based Carolina Family Health Centers in 2023.
Scott established the foundation “to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people,’’ its website said. “Yield is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control.’’
The foundation said it allows recipients to use the money “as they see fit for the benefit of others.’’
In a 2019 essay, Scott wrote “I have no doubt that tremendous value comes when people act quickly on the impulse to give. No drive has more positive ripple effects than the desire to be of service.’’
Noting that she possesses “a disproportionate amount of money to share,’’ Scott said her “approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.’’
Forbes listed Scott’s net worth at $30.4 billion, reflecting her receipt of a 4% stake in Amazon as part of her 2019 divorce from Bezos. Shortly later, she announced her pledge to donate much of her fortune.
Toundation’s giving to educational institutions has centered on colleges with histories of serving Black and other minorities. N.C. A&T and Winston-Salem State are HBCUs. Robeson County is the home to the nation’s largest Lumbee Indian population.
Organizations on the receiving end of Scott’s giving cover a wide range, from well-established community groups such as the YMCA, the Girls and Boys Clubs and Habitat for Humanity to smaller entities providing food and health care.
The foundation’s giving has followed two paths: “quiet research’’ to identify potential recipients “working to advance the opportunities of people in underserved communities.’’
The foundation reaches out to “selected organizations to tell them we admire what they are doing and would like to give them an immediate gift for use however they choose.’’
One of those organizations was Mills River, North Carolina-based MANNA FoodBank, the recipient of $9 million in 2020 to help end hunger in the western part of the state.
In an email earlier this week, MANNA CEO Claire Neal said the gift arrived “before my time, but our former CEO Hannah Randall said it was one of the best calls she’d ever answered.’’
In 2023, an open call by Yield Giving drew 6,353 applications, resulting in the award of $640 million to 361 organizations “for their work with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States.’’
