MacKenzie Scott, philanthropist and author, made a splash in 2025 by announcing $7.1 billion in unconditional gifts to hundreds of nonprofits. This massive contribution pushes her total charitable giving since 2019 to just over $26.3 billion. Much of Scott’s philanthropy has valued higher education. She focuses particularly on the role of historically Black colleges and universities, tribal schools, and community colleges.
Scott’s devotion to education has a long history. Her higher ed donations began in 2020. These contributions have often constituted a much smaller share of her overall education funding. 2025 will see the biggest jump. This move reflects a tactical change as she moves to advance her broader strategy to address some key needs in the education arena.
In her most recent round of giving, for example, Scott has given at least $783 million to HBCUs. She continually advocated fiercely for tribal colleges and community colleges. Further, she seeded multiple scholarship funds, showing her deep devotion to fostering diversity in our nation’s schools.
Scott’s donations are indeed massive, but unlike her, she doesn’t operate a public foundation. That absence makes it more difficult to track her philanthropic activities in a comprehensive way. She maintains a dedicated website, Yield Giving, where she provides a database of her grants and the organizations she supports.
Scott’s annual giving has demonstrated considerable variability. In the past, her gifts have been as low as $2.1 billion in 2023, to the very significant $7.1 billion this year. This balance is evident in this fluctuation and in her overall responsiveness to today’s needs while staying true to her larger philanthropic vision.
Scott’s contributions in 2025 included a significant $60 million grant to CAMFED, an organization that champions girls’ education in African countries, and $90 million to the collaborative initiative Forests, People, Climate, aimed at combating tropical deforestation. These initiatives are a few examples of her commitment to advancing those pressing global issues right outside the U.S. border.
Scott’s approach to philanthropy is unique. Fran donates without strings attached. This flexibility means recipients have the ability to choose the best, most efficient way to use these precious tax dollars. This approach distinguishes her from most of her philanthropic peers, who tend to impose constraints on their donations.
“In her essays, she’s always talking about other stakeholders and other people’s contributions,” noted a philanthropy expert, highlighting Scott’s collaborative mindset.
As our expert elaborated, “This strategy is completely unlike most other philanthropists. Too often, they end up being the center of their own gift’s narrative. This lens is important because it highlights Scott’s intention to elevate others through her philanthropy—not gain individual credit herself.
Whether it’s opening up educational opportunities or leading the nation on climate action, Scott’s priorities align beautifully with her dreams of a more just world. It appears that she’s hearing a great deal of demand, especially in two areas making sure people are obtaining higher education and making certain coalitions are operating to preserve the climate,” the expert mentioned.
Even after her massive giving, Scott’s net worth is still estimated at $33 billion. The scope of her philanthropy suggests that she is very much in earnest about using her fortune to make the world a better place.
