I’m always surprised when I come across yet another example of how stingy the rich are. It really shouldn’t shock me at this point – the economic elite have a real talent for acquisitive behavior. Another thought emerges: the rich only stiff the poor; they’re more than happy to give each other the money they’ve borrowed or stolen from the lumpenproletariat. 

Which is why Mackenzie Scott is such a refreshing change. Her divorce settlement from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos put nearly $40 billion dollars in her bank account. And what did she do with that windfall? Over the last five years, she’s given close to half of that money away.

That’s right:  MacKenzie Scott has given away close to $20 billion dollars through Yield Giving. Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, her network of staff and advisors has yielded over $19,250,000,000 to 2,450+ nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and social activists to use as they see fit for the benefit of others.

Ms. Scott’s re-written the handbook for contemporary philanthropy. She sees a cause or group she wants to support and she simply gives them money; no directives on how it should be used are given, no stipulations made. Her gifts have a two-fold effect: they validate the missions of the various recipients and they attract more donors. Shankar Narayan’s Substack blog The Consis describes it this way:

MacKenzie Scott isn’t just giving; she’s building a river – a steady, powerful flow that’s designed to last. By carefully selecting institutions and empowering them with unrestricted grants, she’s creating a ripple effect. If more philanthropists follow her lead, and if these institutions use the funds wisely, that river will grow stronger, fueling long-term change and making their impact deeper and more enduring.

What recipients do with Scott’s largesse are as varied as the recipients themselves. 

Hostos Community College – based in the South Bronx and part of the CUNY system – received a $15 million dollar gift from Scott in June 2021 – the largest grant in the college’s history and one of the largest in the City University of New York system.

Hostos President Daisy Cocco De Filippis said at the time: “We will create a number of initiatives and opportunities for our students…such as: increase scholarship, programmatic and career innovation, and college capacity building while also…supporting internships and transfer opportunities to competitive universities, developing Jobs on Campus opportunities for career advancement, and many others to be discussed with colleagues.”

President Cocco De Filippis has been as good as her word. To date, nine wide-ranging initiatives have been created and put into action to further student success at Hostos, with more on the way.

Scott’s “trust-based” philanthropy has its detractors as well as its advocates. Melinda Katayama of GHJ Advisors notes: 

With less oversight on how funding is applied, there is an inherent risk of misallocation or fraud. Since funds are not earmarked for a specific purpose, measuring the impact of funding is more complex. Although TBP aims to equalize the power dynamic between funders and grantees, the power dynamic remains and this shift can create tension.       

Whether you agree or disagree with the whys and wherefores of MacKenzie Scott’s philanthropy, there’s one thing you can believe without fear of contradiction: she ain’t spending her dough on private rocket ships so middle-aged rich guys can relive their adolescent dreams of being Han Solo.

It’s no secret that women are at the forefront of philanthropic giving. Forbes recently published an article about how they’re shaking things up and blazing trails. As the philanthropic landscape evolves, non-profits would do well to focus on long-term relationships to prioritizing collaboration and community-led solutions. Common to female-led giving, these approaches offer a blueprint for more sustainable, impactful fundraising.

As Melinda Gates believes, “When we invest in women, we invest in the future.” And in the world of philanthropy, that future looks brighter than ever.”