MacKenzie Scott has given $26B to nonprofits since 2019. Here’s what she supported in 2025

Billionaire MacKenzie Scott has revealed $7.1 billion in donations to nonprofits this year, bringing her total charitable giving since 2019 to an impressive $26.3 billion. The announcement came Tuesday as Scott continues to fulfill her pledge to donate the majority of her wealth, which she made following her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Scott’s philanthropic approach stands out in the world of high-net-worth giving. Her donations are characterized by large, unrestricted gifts to organizations without requiring applications or progress reports. While her giving has primarily focused on U.S.-based nonprofits, she has also supported international causes.

Unlike many wealthy philanthropists, Scott operates without a formal foundation structure, making her donations difficult to track independently. She communicates her giving through occasional blog posts and essays on her website, Yield Giving, which now includes a comprehensive database of her grants.

The scale of Scott’s annual giving has varied considerably since she began her philanthropy journey. Her reported donations ranged from $2.1 billion in 2023 to $7.1 billion in 2025. This year’s gifts indicate a particular focus on higher education and climate initiatives.

Climate organizations have received significant attention in Scott’s 2025 giving. The collaborative Forests, People, Climate, which focuses on stopping tropical deforestation, received her largest environmental grant to date at $90 million. This marks a shift in her giving patterns, as previously environmental causes represented a relatively small portion of her overall donations, accounting for just 9.4% in 2024 according to research from Panorama Global.

“What we’re now seeing is different years have different focus areas,” explained Gabrielle Fitzgerald, founder and CEO of The Panorama Group. “Last year, there was a really big economic security focus. This year, I really see education and climate.”

Among the climate beneficiaries is the Global Methane Hub, which received its second gift from Scott, a $60 million donation. The organization grants approximately $100 million annually to projects aimed at reducing methane emissions. CEO Marcelo Mena described the flexible funding as “magical” and particularly crucial amid reduced government action on climate change.

“This is when the philanthropic funding is actually absolutely key,” Mena stated. “Because it’s the bridge that we need because we can’t discontinue this fight to reduce emissions and keep the climate safe for everyone.”

Remarkably, despite giving away more than $26 billion, Scott’s fortune has remained relatively stable. When she began detailing her philanthropy in 2020, Forbes estimated her net worth at around $36 billion. Today, despite her enormous charitable contributions, her wealth still stands at an estimated $33 billion.

Scott has evolved her approach over time. Initially, she advised grantees not to expect follow-up donations, but she has increasingly provided additional—often larger—gifts to organizations she previously supported. “She clearly is getting comfortable with reinvesting in partners that she thinks are doing good work,” Fitzgerald observed.

One such organization, CAMFED, which supports girls’ education in African countries, has received four separate gifts from Scott, including her largest to date—$60 million in 2025.

Higher education institutions have been major beneficiaries in Scott’s latest round of giving. She donated at least $783 million to historically Black colleges and universities in 2025 alone. Her education-focused giving has also included substantial support for tribal colleges, community colleges, and scholarship funds.

Marybeth Gasman, a professor at Rutgers University and expert on HBCUs, noted that Scott appears to favor institutions with “steady, consistent leadership” that are “rooted in community.”

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Scott’s philanthropy is her commitment to unrestricted funding—allowing recipients complete freedom to decide how and when to use her donations. This approach contrasts sharply with typical major philanthropy, where donors often impose specific conditions on how funds can be used.

Research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy in 2023 found that concerns about misuse of Scott’s unrestricted funds have largely proven unfounded, possibly due to the extensive research and vetting her team conducts before making donations.

These unrestricted gifts provide nonprofits with crucial flexibility to navigate disruptions, test new approaches, or invest in infrastructure. For example, when the Trump administration cut funding from USAID, the nonprofit Village Enterprise used Scott’s 2023 grant to maintain its antipoverty programs.

Scott also allows organizations to decide whether to publicly disclose the amounts they’ve received. More than a third of her 2025 recipients have chosen not to reveal specific grant amounts in her grant database.

Fitzgerald notes that Scott consistently centers her giving around the work of others rather than herself. “In her essays, she’s always talking about other stakeholders and other people’s contributions,” Fitzgerald said. “So it’s very different than many other philanthropists who are often the center of the story of their gift.”