Philanthropist and billionaire MacKenzie Scott has been very active lately. Over the last few weeks, she has contributed millions of dollars to initiatives focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and disaster relief efforts.
TL;DR
- MacKenzie Scott donated $80 million to Howard University, one of its largest gifts ever.
- The unrestricted donation will support student aid, infrastructure, and operational stability.
- This gift arrives amid federal funding delays impacting Howard University and other HBCUs.
On Sunday, Howard University revealed that Scott, who is worth an estimated $35.6 billion, had gifted the historically Black institution $80 million.
In line with Scott's approach, the donation is without limitations, allowing the university complete discretion in its use of the funds. Howard University will receive $63 million of the $80 million total, with the remaining $17 million allocated to its College of Medicine. This contribution stands as one of the most substantial single gifts Howard has received throughout its 158-year existence.
This significant funding injection will not only sustain our present progress but also bolster crucial student assistance, propel infrastructure upgrades, and establish a contingency fund to ensure ongoing operational stability. "Continuity, student success, academic excellence, and research innovation," stated Wayne A.I. Howard Frederick, who serves as interim president and is also president emeritus, stated in a statement.
Howard University says the gift comes at an “opportune time” as the federal government shutdown has delayed annual federal appropriations that the school receives to support student success, academic programming, Research, and the operations of Howard University and Howard University Hospital.
Due to the government closure that began on October 1st, The Department of Education has suspended new grant awards due to a furlough affecting almost 95% of non–student aid personnel, with only critical employees continuing their duties.
Programs such as the HBCU Capital Financing Program, which provides subsidies for renovation and construction loans, are currently in an uncertain state. This is especially regrettable given the Education Department's announced in September a $495 million increase for HBCUs and tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs) for fiscal year 2025.
However, education specialists note that this move is difficult to align with The Trump administration's desire to dissolve the DOE.
“If [the Trump administration] actually … cared about HBCUs and tribal colleges, then you would not see such a big attack on other sectors of higher education,” Mike Hoa Nguyen, an associate professor of education at UCLA, recently told The American Prospect.
MacKenzie Scott's commitment to DEI
Scott's contribution to Howard follows other recent DEI-focused donations. She contributed $42 million to 10,000 Degrees, a Bay Area organization dedicated to increasing college opportunities for students from low-income and predominantly non-white backgrounds, in addition to other substantial donations for Native scholars and HBCU endowments are facilitated by The United Negro College Fund (UNCF).
In September, she contributed $70 million to the UNCF as part of an initiative to strengthen collective endowments at 37 HBCUs, a method aimed at boosting income and reducing long-standing disparities in wealth and financial support.
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund revealed a $40 million gift from Scott in October, a contribution double the amount of her 2021 donation and accounting for 20% of the organization's current fundraising efforts.
Scott highlights, however, that despite the substantial figures, they don't entirely capture the extent of their influence.
“When my next cycle of gifts is posted to my database online, the dollar total will likely be reported in the news,” she wrote in an Oct. 15 essay on the website of her organization, Yield Giving. However, any monetary figure represents an infinitesimally small part of the personal gestures of kindness being disseminated globally this year.
“The potential of peaceful, non-transactional contribution has long been underestimated, often on the basis that it is not financially self-sustaining, or that some of its benefits are hard to track,” she continued. “But what if these imagined liabilities are actually assets?”