LOS ANGELES — Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has announced another $2 billion in donations to 199 organizations worldwide, including several in the Los Angeles area.
“Roughly 75% of them are nonprofits that support the economic security and opportunity of people who are struggling by improving access to affordable housing, jobs that provide stability for themselves and their families, child development and post-secondary education, healthcare, and financial counseling, business coaching, and low-interest rate loans focused on increasing economic potential and building wealth,” Scott wrote in an online post announcing the donations Wednesday. “The others support well-being through other means, such as work on human rights and natural resources conservation.”
The latest donations bring the total amount that Scott — ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — has given away to $19.2 billion, according to her Yield Giving website.
Included among the recipients of the latest round of grants were Genesis LA, which received $10 million for its work “to advance economic and social opportunities in underserved communities in the Los Angeles area.” America on Tech, also based in Los Angeles, received $3 million for its work to create pathways to degrees or careers in technology for people from underserved communities.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California received $8 million, benefiting its work to protect the rights of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Nonprofit Finance Fund, which has an office in Los Angeles, received $22 million for its efforts to support nonprofits that “advance racial equity and community wealth and well-being.”