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Breaking the Mold:
The Transformative Effect of MacKenzie Scott's Big Gifts

The Final Report in a Three-Year Study

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Overview

Since 2019, MacKenzie Scott has given more than $19 billion in unrestricted support to more than 2,000 organizations, stating that her aim “has been to support the needs of underrepresented people from groups of all kinds.” Scott’s very large, unrestricted gifts – with few to no restrictions on the time in which they must be spent – have transformed recipient organizations and influenced many of the communities these organizations serve.

"I needn’t ask those I care about what to say to them, or what to do for them. I can share what I have with them to stand behind them as they speak and act for themselves."

- MacKenzie Scott

This final report in CEP’s three-year research study aimed to explore:
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To what extent are other funders’ beliefs and practices being influenced by Scott’s approach?

Do nonprofits believe the grant from MacKenzie Scott increased their impact – and in what ways?

What can we start to learn about the financial trajectory of organizations receiving the gifts from Scott?

This study includes data from:

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Nonprofit leaders' survey responses

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Foundation leaders' survey responses

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Nonprofit Form 990s analyzed

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Finding 1

Making Intentional Choices for Financial Stability

Most nonprofit leaders report managing grant funds to ensure their organization’s long-term financial sustainability, and few anticipate
a financial cliff.

85%

of nonprofit leader respondents indicate that the grant has moderately or significantly strengthened their organization’s long-term financial sustainability.

Data from nonprofits' tax filings show that two years after grant receipt, organizations that received a grant from Scott have twice as many months of expenses in reserves as comparable nonprofits.

Median Financial Reserves of Scott Grant Recipient Organizations Versus Those of Comparable Nonprofits Over Time (Ns=512-1666)

Form 990 data also indicate that recipient organizations have grown their investment assets relative to their expenses in the two years after grant receipt, while comparable nonprofits’ investment assets have stayed essentially the same.

Median Investment Assets of Scott Grant Recipient Organizations Versus Those of Comparable Nonprofits Over Time (Ns=512-1666)

70%

of leaders believe that their organization has not lost any funders because of the grant.

Effect of Grant Receipt on Recipient Organizations’ Fundraising (N=780)

Fewer than 10 percent of respondents anticipate having a lot of difficulty covering ongoing costs of initiatives funded by the grant. Conversely, more than half of leaders expect to have no or “a little” difficulty.

Anticipated Levels of Difficulty Covering Ongoing Costs (N=787)

88%

of leaders report that the grant has had no negative consequences for their organization or work.

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Finding 2

Measuring Meaningful Change in Communities

Many organizations are collecting information about the impact of this gift and are observing meaningful change created for communities.

Most nonprofit leaders say their efforts funded by the grant have been somewhat or very successful in expanding existing programs to new populations and new geographies, and engaging in new programs.

Success in Using Scott Funds for Different Programmatic Efforts (Ns = 252-457)

Nearly 70 percent of nonprofit leaders report collecting quantitative or qualitative information to understand the impact of their efforts funded by Scott’s gift.

86%

of nonprofit leaders report that Scott’s gift has strengthened or will strengthen the fields and communities in which their organization seeks
to have impact.

"Through this grant, we were able to open a new clinic, expanding care to 12,000, many of whom are experiencing homelessness, live at or significantly below the federal poverty level, and have historically had limited access to the comprehensive and compassionate care we provide."

– Nonprofit Leader

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Finding 3

Supporting the People Behind
the Work

Leaders report Scott’s gifts increased their confidence in their own leadership, reduced their burnout, and sparked innovations in their programs and improvements in fundraising.

Effect of the Scott Grant on Recipient Leaders’ Confidence in Their Own Leadership (N=795)

42%

of leaders mention without prompting that the grant has had a positive effect on internal morale.

"Receiving this grant made such a difference in how [the entire leadership team] saw ourselves. It has made it possible to have the confidence to ask for the dollars we needed, not just the dollars on offer. This gift continues to pay dividends, not only for the organization, but for the people we serve."

– Nonprofit Leader

34%

of leaders indicate that receiving a Scott grant reduced their level of burnout.

"The demonstration of faith in social impact leaders and the refusal to make us jump through hoops or prove our worth displays such high levels of respect. For me personally, the grant fundamentally lowered my stress levels in a way that has noticeable effects on my staff, my family, and my health."

– Nonprofit Leader

37%

of leaders intend to stay in their current role as leaders for a longer period of time because their organization received a Scott grant.

"I got the call about the award when I was about to quit my job. I had reached my breaking point and then I was reminded that I am more than competent, and I have done not just good, but great work. I was also reminded that there is so much more to do, and now I had the means to do it."

– Nonprofit Leader

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Finding 4

Gap Between Funder Beliefs
and Practices

Since CEP began this study three years ago, nonprofits have consistently reported positive effects of these large, unrestricted gifts, but foundation CEOs have mixed perspectives on the approach.

7%

of foundation leaders report that Scott’s approach to grantmaking has had “some” or “a lot” of influence on their own, though most say their staff, leadership team, or board has discussed Scott’s giving.

Approximately one third of foundation leaders believe Scott’s approach has been “quite” or “very effective” for increasing the impact of the nonprofits she has funded while another 36 percent say they “don’t know” how effective her approach has been
for increasing recipient
nonprofits’ impact.

Effectiveness of Scott’s Approach to Giving for Strengthening and Increasing the Impact of Funded Nonprofit Organizations (N=243)

Foundation leaders express varying levels of confidence in nonprofits’ ability to handle large gifts with no restrictions on how or when
they must be used.

Ability of Nonprofit Organizations To Handle Large Gifts with No Restrictions on How or When They Must Be Used (N=241)

52%

of foundation leader respondents believe that their own foundation should be providing more large (i.e., six-figure), multiyear, unrestricted support than
it currently provides.

Reasons Foundation Leaders Have Not Provided More Large, Multiyear, Unrestricted Support (N=122)

"If the world had 1,000 MacKenzies (and it does) … what a wonderful world it would be. We are trying to do so much with so little, and this type of vetted giving is what we all need. Thank you! "

– Nonprofit Leader

Breaking the Mold:

The Transformative Effect of MacKenzie Scott's Big Gifts

This report is the culmination of three years of research into the experiences of nonprofit organizations that received large, unrestricted gifts from MacKenzie Scott.

It remains too early to draw definitive conclusions about Scott’s giving and its long-term effects. It could take decades to truly understand the effects these gifts have had on nonprofits and the sector at large. At this time, however, after five years of giving, the reported effects of her gifts on recipient organizations selected through her quiet-research process remain overwhelmingly positive. Alongside this report, CEP shares the stories of seven organizations that received gifts from Scott in "Transformative Gifts: Inside Organizations That Received MacKenzie Scott Gifts."

If this report has been helpful to you, please consider supporting CEP’s research. Reach out to us for more information. Thank you.

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WEBINAR VIDEO

Recorded March 10, 2025

Breaking the Mold: The Transformative Effect of MacKenzie Scott's Big Gifts

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Research funded by:

Authors: Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Ph.D., Ellie Buteau, Ph.D., Christina Im, and Seara Grundhoefer

Copies of the survey instruments can be found here.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license.

© 2025. The Center for Effective Philanthropy, Inc. All rights reserved.

View more reports at cep.org