MacKenzie Scott gives $70 million to UNCF to financially strengthen HBCUs
|
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper on September 23, 2025 Original story by AP: GLENN GAMBOA Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $70 million to the UNCF, as the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships to minority students works to raise $1 billion to strengthen all 37 of its historically Black colleges and universities. The gift is one of Scott’s largest single donations ever and among the first to be publicly disclosed in 2025. Famously private, Scott only discusses her donations through her website and does not confirm them until after the recipients do. “This extraordinary gift is a powerful vote of confidence in HBCUs and in the work of UNCF,” the nonprofit’s President and CEO Dr. Michael L. Lomax told The Associated Press in a statement. “It provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our member institutions to build permanent assets that will support students and campuses for decades to come.” Lomax said Scott’s donation would be used for UNCF’s pooled endowment, which aims to establish a $370 million fund — $10 million for each UNCF member HBCU. That fund will be invested and designed to pay out about 4% annually, which will then be divided among the HBCUs to help stabilize their budgets. Increasing HBCU endowments is a priority since they trail endowments at non-HBCUs by 70%, according to the UNCF. The broader $1 billion fundraising effort is an attempt to help HBCUs address the funding disparity they face when compared to other colleges and universities. A 2023 study by philanthropic research group Candid and ABFE, a nonprofit that advocates for investments in Black communities, found that the eight Ivy League schools received $5.5 billion from the 1,000 largest U.S. foundations compared to $45 million for the 99 HBCUs in 2019. Since Scott, a novelist who received the bulk of her fortune after divorcing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, signed the Giving Pledge in 2019, promising to donate more than half her wealth, HBCUs have been among her favorite grantees. She previously gave UNCF $10 million in 2020. Though Scott hasn’t addressed HBCU donations specifically, she wrote in 2020 that her funding decisions were “driven by a deep belief in the value different backgrounds bring to problem-solving on any issue.” Scott hasn’t made any announcements about her giving since she acknowledged $2 billion in gifts in 2024, bringing her total to $19.2 billion. According to Forbes, Scott’s net worth is currently around $34 billion. Her unusual donations — which are much larger than most foundations give at one time and carry no restrictions on when they can be used or what they can be used for — financially strengthened the nonprofits that received them, said Phil Buchanan, president of The Center for Effective Philanthropy, which studied Scott’s giving over three years. “We didn’t see the fears people predicted come to pass,” said Buchanan, who disclosed that The Center for Effective Philanthropy received a one-time $10 million grant from Scott. Though some worried that the large gifts would cause the recipients to increase staffing too much or hurt their fundraising efforts, Buchanan said their study of 2,000 nonprofits saw little evidence of that. “Folks are pretty prudent,” he said. “This shows that if you carefully vet nonprofits, we can trust them to make good use of funds.” It’s a lesson that UNCF hopes other funders will learn, following Scott’s example. “We are deeply grateful for MacKenzie Scott’s continued support,” Lomax said. “By entrusting UNCF to decide how best to use these funds, she affirms that HBCUs merit investment at this scale and her generosity will strengthen our member institutions and provide pathways to success for tomorrow’s changemakers.” _____ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. Original story posted at https://apnews.com/article/mackenzie-scott... Photo caption: Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, March 4, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
 |
Reginald Culpepper
President, Fulfillment and Web Services, HBCUCONNECT Clark Atlanta University class of 1998 Member Since September 2000 |
Comments
More From This Author
Latest News
 |
Rosen Foundation expanding scholarship program, partnering with Bethune-Cookman UniversityCarrying on the legacy of Harris Rosen and his commitment to education, today the Harris Rosen Foundation announced it is expanding its already-successful scholarship program and partnering with Bethu ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 254 Views • May 19th, 2026 |
 |
Sinners vs. Michael: Which Film Actually Won the Ultimate Culture Debate?While Antoine Fuqua’s Michael is dominating the box office with its electrifying, stadium-level concert recreations and a star-making, uncanny physical performance by Jaafar Jackson, critics and film ...more
TaQuan Ford • 209 Views • May 16th, 2026 |
 |
Healthcare Career Fair Aims to Connect Employers with Qualified Local Talent in Northern VirginiaHealthcare organizations across Northern Virginia will have an opportunity to connect directly with qualified job seekers this June during the upcoming Healthcare Career Fair in Prince William County. ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 386 Views • May 15th, 2026 |
Popular News
 |
North Carolina HBCU Unity DayShaw University - Elizabeth City State University - Johnson C. Smith University - Fayetteville State University - Livingstone College - North Carolina A&T State University - North Carolina Central Uni ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 109,381 Views • August 8th, 2016 |
