MacKenzie Scott continued her recent spree of philanthropy Thursday, with a $44 million donation to mentorship program Friends of the Children, after promising in 2019 to give away at least half of her fortune.
Scott’s gift allows the organization to “continue expanding across the country to provide a Friend to thousands more youth,” said CEO Terri Sorensen.
Friends of the Children provides kids 12 and over, many of whom are in or at risk of entering the foster care system, with a professional mentor, and has 26 locations across the country.
The national FOTC organization received $15 million, and 12 chapters received donations totaling $29 million.
Scott’s donation is the largest single gift received in Friends of the Children’s 30-year history.
Scott and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos split in 2019, and she received 25% of his stake in the company.
$40.1 billion. That’s how much Scott is worth, Forbes estimates, earning the No. 30 spot on Forbes 2022 list of the world’s billionaires.
Scott’s this year have included $275 million to Planned Parenthood, $133.5 million to Communities In Schools, $50 million to the National 4-H Council and $281 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
So far, she’s given away over $12 billion dollars to hundreds of organizations, including $3.8 billion alone to nearly 500 groups between June 2021 and March of this year.