MacKenzie Scott donated billions of dollars to charities across the nation, including agencies in Chicago
CHICAGO - Her divorce from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was very public, and now, so is her generosity.
MacKenzie Scott has donated billions of dollars in time for the holidays to hundreds of causes across the nation, including several agencies right here in Chicago.
“I've certainly never had a phone call where somebody says we're going to give you $25 million after two minutes of conversation,” said United Way CEO, Sean Garrett.
But that's exactly what happened when Scott, billionaire ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, called the United Way of Chicago, just before Thanksgiving.
“It was amazing, and within a couple of days the money arrived in the United Way's bank account,” said Garrett. “And we were just asked to keep it quiet until yesterday's announcement, so it was unbelievable!”
Along with United Way, the local YMCA also got what it called a "generous gift" from Scott, saying, "The YMCA of Metro Chicago is humbled and honored to be a recipient of Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s generosity. This significant gift will allow us to magnify our efforts to perform our mission of working every day to strengthen youth, families, and communities."
Scott also gave 'Goodwill of southeastern Wisconsin and metropolitan Chicago' the largest donation in its history: an unexpected $15 million!
In a statement, the CEO, Jackie Hallberg said, "With more than 10 million Americans unemployed and in urgent need of help to find their next jobs, this donation will help Goodwill expand its current efforts and deliver its mission locally to equip the communities it serves with the skills they need to get back to work."
“I just want to say, we are humbled and grateful. She is setting the course for philanthropy in America and she is trusting people to make the right decisions. It's unbelievable to see and we're grateful to be a part of it,” said Garrett.
Goodwill, the Y and United Way were 3 of 384 organizations nationwide to receive donations from Scott, who has donated $4.1 billion since the end of the summer.