As reported by Fortune via Yahoo!Finance, MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has been making a name for herself as a quiet yet impactful philanthropist. Her unassuming approach to donating was recently exemplified when she made a substantial $10 million gift to the Cleveland, Ga.–based Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE). Grace Fricks, the president and CEO of ACE, revealed that the notification of the generous donation was initially mistaken for a spam or phishing email by one of the organization's employees.
ACE, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, was taken by surprise by Scott's substantial gift, which is the largest the organization has ever received. The nonprofit, established in 2000, focuses on offering loans and advisory services to new businesses in Georgia, with a specific emphasis on assisting women, people of color, and individuals with low to moderate incomes. Scott had previously contributed $5 million to the organization in 2020.
Fricks expressed her astonishment at the unexpected gift, stating, "I thought, you know, she’s probably calling because they’re going to be doing a blog or a story on the impact of MacKenzie Scott’s previous awards, and she either wants to talk to me or wants to talk to one of our clients who benefited."
MacKenzie Scott has been on a mission to distribute a significant portion of her wealth following her 2019 divorce, having donated a staggering $17.3 billion to over 2,300 nonprofit organizations as of March.
Despite her immense generosity, Scott prefers to keep a low profile, with gifts typically only being publicized by the recipients. Her recent donation to ACE is expected to greatly aid the nonprofit in achieving its five-year strategic growth plan to provide $300 million in loans to 1,500 underserved small business owners, along with 100,000 hours of business consulting services.
Scott's discreet and substantial philanthropy has captured the attention of many, with Sara Lomelin, CEO of Philanthropy Together, praising her for mobilizing a significant amount of funding for various nonprofits. However, some experts have raised concerns about the long-term impact of Scott's giving, citing a lack of transparency and sustained engagement with recipients. “There’s no long-term relationship,” Pamala Wiepking, a professor at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, who has studied the impact of unrestricted giving on nonprofits, told the AP. “What they are saying with trust-based philanthropy is to offer support beyond a check, and that’s typically not what she is doing.”
Despite differing opinions, the sheer magnitude of Scott's contributions continues to make a substantial difference, with her recent gift to ACE expected to significantly boost the organization's impact and attract further support.
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