Anne Marie Dougherty, in her capacity as CEO of the Bob Woodruff Foundation, has met numerous affluent individuals and observed their philanthropic methods. However, Dougherty informed Coins2Day that few individuals are comparable to MacKenzie Scott.
TL;DR
- MacKenzie Scott provides unrestricted grants, allowing recipients full autonomy in fund allocation.
- Scott has donated over $20 billion since 2020, positioning her as a top philanthropist.
- Her trust-based philanthropy empowers organizations to innovate and address pressing issues effectively.
- Scott's approach contrasts with traditional benefactors who impose stipulations on donations.
Scott's distinctive approach to philanthropy involves providing unrestricted grants, which is uncommon in the sector. This signifies that entities receiving funds from the exceptionally wealthy philanthropist, author, and former spouse of Amazon creator Jeff Bezos have the autonomy to allocate the contribution as they deem appropriate. This method stands apart from numerous other prominent benefactors, who impose stipulations such as matching contributions or achievement benchmarks on their donations. Such requirements can result in uncertainty and hindrances in deploying the funds effectively.
Since 2020, Scott has contributed over $20 billion, positioning her among the most generous philanthropists, alongside Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett. Her foundation, Yield Giving, reports she's given more than $19.25 billion, yet this figure doesn't encompass her contributions this year. Just this autumn, she's allocated hundreds of millions to groups concentrating on DEI, education, and disaster relief.
“She practices trust-based philanthropy,” Dougherty said of Scott, who donated $15 million to the veteran-focused nonprofit organization in 2022, and made a subsequent $20 million donation this fall. The $15 million gift was the largest in history at the organization, which was founded in 2006—the same year military reporter Bob Woodruff was severely injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq. The foundation was cofounded by Woodruff and his family to provide support for injured service members, veterans, and their families.
The Bob Woodruff Foundation, thanks to that initial $15 million donation, was empowered to implement a three-year strategy, increasing its investment in programming by 20% annually over the last three years.
“There were a couple things we did not do,” Dougherty explained. “We did not establish an endowment, we did not hire a bunch of people, we did not buy real estate, open up an office, anything like that. We just increased our grant making.”
This turned out to be the “right choice” for deciding how to allocate Scott’s first donation, Dougherty stated, as it demonstrated to Scott's organization, Yield Giving, that the Bob Woodruff Foundation was capable of receiving additional funds and amplifying their effect.
Unrestricted giving
Scott's preferred method of philanthropy involves providing donations without limitations. Most of her contributions, as disclosed by the recipient charities, are of this unrestricted nature.
Dougherty stated that this follows a comprehensive due diligence procedure. This procedure involved exchanging details like the entity's strategic roadmap, verified financial statements, operational blueprints, staffing structure, and funding allocation methods.
Following the receipt of the donation, Scott's organization adopted a non-interventionist approach; however, Dougherty mentioned that Yield Giving has contacted past beneficiaries to solicit recommendations for other entities deserving of their contributions.
“It was a great opportunity for us to pay it forward,” Dougherty said. “So we put together a list of organizations that we really believe in that are smaller in scale, but really having an impact, and we sent that through. But otherwise, the name of the game was just to make an impact, and we did that.”
Scott has recently contributed numerous other unrestricted donations, such as a record-setting $80 million gift to Howard University and a $70 million donation to UNCF, which serves as the country's primary private source for scholarships for Black students. Additionally, she recently provided unrestricted contributions to the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (amounting to $40 million) and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (amounting to $60 million).
“Unlike traditional funding processes that often involve lengthy applications, specific restrictions, and reporting requirements, her style empowers organizations like ours to determine how best to direct funds quickly and innovatively to address pressing issues,” Noni Ramos, CEO of Housing Trust Silicon Valley, told Coins2Day in late 2024, when her organization received a $30 million gift from Scott.
