Getting the Call: A Look at MacKenzie Scott’s Recent Ed Giving

February 22, 2022 | Inside Philanthropy

What is it like to pick up the phone and learn that your organization has just received a multi-million-dollar gift from MacKenzie Scott? It’s an experience that’s occurring with increasing frequency as Scott, an author and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, does her best to give her Amazon dollars away.

Scott’s giving to date has been head-spinning. Not long after she and Bezos finalized their divorce after 25 years of marriage, Scott signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate most of her fortune during her lifetime. “I have a disproportionate amount of money to share,” she wrote in the letter announcing her pledge, vowing to continue her philanthropy, “until the safe is empty.”

Leading Educators CEO Chong-Hao Fu recounts what it was like to learn that the organization would be receiving a historic $10 million donation.