Getting the Call: A Look at MacKenzie Scott’s Recent Ed Giving

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What is it like to pick up the phone and learn that your organization has just received a multi-million-dollar gift from MacKenzie Scott? It’s an experience that’s occurring with increasing frequency as Scott, an author and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, does her best to give her Amazon dollars away. 

Scott’s giving to date has been head-spinning. Not long after she and Bezos finalized their divorce after 25 years of marriage, Scott signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate most of her fortune during her lifetime. “I have a disproportionate amount of money to share,” she wrote in the letter announcing her pledge, vowing to continue her philanthropy, “until the safe is empty.”

What followed has been over $8.6 billion in gifts to hundreds of nonprofits over the span of 2020 and 2021, a groundbreaking performance the likes of which we haven’t seen before. Besides the staggering numbers, Scott’s giving has been a whole-hearted endorsement of general support at a time when most other grantmakers haven’t quite lived up to mounting calls for more unrestricted funding.

Scott has given to a dizzying array of organizations, as IP has reported—more than 780 to date—including groups pushing for economic mobility, racial and gender equity, gun control, mental health support, climate protection, COVID relief and more.

Scott is making education a priority. In 2020, she gave more than 4.1 billion to 384 organizations, including institutions typically neglected by major donors: colleges primarily serving people of color and low-income students. Six months later, she gave an additional $2.73 billion to community and regional colleges, as well as to organizations that help underserved students succeed in college.

Late last year, Scott dropped another Medium post—her preferred means of communicating about her giving—but this time with “no dollar signs,” and no information about her latest tranche of grantees. As we’ve written, her change of tack sparked debate regarding what appeared to be a move away from transparency. But leaving that aside for a moment, what Scott did was to essentially let her latest recipients announce their gifts on their own terms, if they chose.

Some of them are doing just that. So far this year, a steady flow of Scott gift announcements has surfaced, most likely dating from that late 2021 round. They include some big gifts to organizations that focus on improving education for K-12 students, particularly underrepresented students. The groups include Leading Educators, NewSchool Venture Fund and Communities in Schools. We reached out to a couple of these organizations to learn more about the gifts, how they’ll use the funds and what it’s like to get the call.

A casual phone call—and a transformative gift

Chong-Hao Fu, CEO of Leading Educators, was in a hotel lobby, about to give a presentation at a conference for teachers and leaders of color in education, when he answered the phone. Fu had recently received an email from a woman saying she represented an anonymous donor, asking if he had time for a 15 minute chat.

“So it was a very casually framed phone call,” Fu said. “And when we actually got to speaking, they said Leading Educators was selected based on our values and our impact. That hit me, because our values and our impact are two things we are really proud of as an organization. I literally cried, I really did.” 

Leading Educators, which received $10 million from Scott, is a national nonprofit that partners with school systems around the country to increase support, mentoring and collaboration among teachers.

The organization developed a framework it calls “Teaching for Equity” that emphasizes challenging, anti-racist curriculum, and also focuses on in-classroom relationships and the individual identity and potential of each student. Leading Educators receives support from Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the Gates Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Overdeck Family Foundation and other funders.

Fu points to research showing that more than 50% of teachers say they are considering leaving the profession post-pandemic. “This is such a critical point in education because of the stresses and challenges and disruptions in learning that students have experienced, and teachers have experienced those same stresses and challenges,” he said. “As an organization, we are staffed almost entirely by former teachers, former principals, former district leaders. We’ve been in those shoes, and we know how hard people are working. Our job is to provide teachers with tools, resources, coaching and support. We see our work as helping to realize the promise of great teaching in America.” 

In terms of its impact, which the organization tracks closely, Leading Educators sees improved student outcomes in the districts where it works, and it has even more ambitious goals. The gift from MacKenzie Scott will allow Leading Educators to double its reach over the next three and half years, according to Fu. 

“As a nonprofit, you’re always working lean, and operating from somewhat of a scarcity mindset,” he said. “[The new funding] allows us to press the gas a little more, to grow with confidence. Now, we can grow in a way that ensures quality and deep impact.” 

“Game-changing support” 

“It’s game-changing support,” said Frances Messano, president of NewSchools Venture Fund. When MacKenzie Scott’s representative called to tell her about a $35 million gift, “My mouth just dropped, and I started to shake,” Messano said. “I found myself saying, ‘Can you hold on one second? I’m really sorry, I’m just really distracted. I’m still catching up with that massive number that you just shared.’”

NewSchools Venture Fund, which calls itself a “nonprofit venture philanthropy,” is 20 years old; its investment areas include innovative public schools, learning solutions, diverse leaders and racial equity. It is supported by familiar names in ed philanthropy, including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and many others.

Racial equity is a priority for the organization—and for Messano herself, as IP has reported. NewSchools’ commitment to educational equity was one of the factors Scott’s representative cited when she told Messano about the gift.

Like Fu, Messano recognizes the urgency of the moment, given what students, schools and teachers have experienced over the last several years. NewSchools already had ambitious goals for the amount of money it intends to raise and distribute this year; the $35 million from MacKenzie Scott will allow it to do even more. According to Messano, the organization’s staff is in conversations about what that will look like. 

“We believe in the core of our mission; we also believe we have a responsibility to deepen our impact, given this large and significant gift,” Messano said. “There’s a responsibility that comes with that. So we’re taking a step back and thinking about how we can deepen our impact so we can make sure that we’re moving further and faster toward our vision for educational equity.”

“The living is sometimes the most important”

Communities in Schools (CIS) received the most money from Scott in this recent wave of gifts: $133.5 million. Communities in Schools provides wraparound support services in schools for at-risk students. CIS counselors address academic issues, and they also connect students to resources to address needs like healthcare, housing and food insecurity.

“We think in order for students to be turned on to learning, they have to be turned onto living,” CIS President and CEO Rey Saldaña told the Washington Post. “The living is sometimes the most important,”

CIS counselors are currently working in about 2,900 schools around the country. The organization also receives support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Ballmer Group, CZI, the Ford Foundation and other funders. The gift from MacKenzie Scott will allow CIS to expand its reach to more schools.

No strings

For organizations like Leading Educators, NewSchools and Community in Schools, receiving a transformative gift is a validation of years of hard work. So is the fact that the money comes with no strings attached. 

“One of the most powerful parts about being a recipient of MacKenzie’s money is what it communicates,” Messano said. “As you know, when the dollar amount is shared, what’s also shared is that it’s up to you how you want to use the money. It’s fully unrestricted—you can use it over any period of time. It communicates a deep trust in the mission that we’re advancing, and in the vision that we have for how the work should be done.” 

Given her colossal Amazon fortune—now estimated at around $48 billion—emptying the safe will still take some time, even if Scott sustains her historic rate of giving. But judging from her giving record so far, that could be very good news for those working to boost fairness, equity and excellence in U.S. education.