MacKenzie Scott shocked the philanthropic and nonprofit worlds with the announcement that she had given $1.7 billion to 116 nonprofit organizations in July 2020, at a time when many nonprofits were reeling from the impacts of and increased needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Her gifts came in the form of massive, unrestricted grants, with a significant proportion targeted to organizations focused on issues of equity. In addition to their scale, her gifts were made with few restrictions and no limits on when they must be used.
Recognizing that Scott’s unique approach to giving created a “natural experiment” in philanthropy and knowing that it would be important to capture and document the effects of her approach, CEP began a multiyear, longitudinal research study to better understand her impact. In CEP’s three-year study, we have repeatedly found that Scott’s very large, unrestricted gifts have transformed recipient organizations and influenced many of the communities these organizations serve.
At the time of the publication of CEP’s third and final report in February 2025, Scott has given more than $19 billion to more than 2,000 organizations.
Year One — Giving Big: The Impact of Large, Unrestricted Gifts on Nonprofits
In year one of the study, CEP examines how Scott’s approach has challenged norms that influence giving by individual donors and foundations alike and explore the particular ways in which recipients of her giving have experienced it, and how they are using the funding, surfacing insights that can inform other donors as they consider how to give effectively.
Year Two — Emerging Impacts: The Effects of MacKenzie Scott’s Large, Unrestricted Gifts
Data gathered over the two years of CEP’s three-year study suggests that Scott’s giving continues to have profound effects on recipient organizations and that the fears many other funders express about the impact of big gifts on nonprofits have not materialized.
Year Three — 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.
While it could take decades to truly understand the effects these gifts have had on nonprofits and the sector at large, after five years of giving, the reported effects of her gifts on recipient organizations remain overwhelmingly positive.
A Companion to CEP’s Three-Year Study — Transformative Gifts: Inside Organizations That Received MacKenzie Scott Grants
In this companion to CEP’s study, released alongside the third and final report, Lowell Weiss takes readers inside seven organizations that received big gifts from MacKenzie Scott, sharing how the gift was transformational for the organization, the community it serves, and its leader.
