Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has made one of her largest single donations ever, committing $70 million to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).
The gift comes as the UNCF continues its ambitious campaign to raise $1 billion to bolster the financial future of all 37 of its member historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
“This extraordinary gift is a powerful vote of confidence in HBCUs and in the work of UNCF,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, UNCF’s president and CEO, in a statement to The Associated Press. “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.”
Scott’s donation will go toward UNCF’s pooled endowment, a fund designed to provide $10 million to each HBCU within the organization. The goal is to build a $370 million endowment that can pay out about 4% annually, helping stabilize budgets for schools that historically operate with far smaller endowments than their non-HBCU peers.
Currently, HBCU endowments trail behind other institutions by an estimated 70%.
Since signing the Giving Pledge in 2019, Scott has consistently directed support toward HBCUs and organizations serving underrepresented communities.
She previously donated $10 million to the UNCF in 2020 and has given billions to various nonprofits focused on education, equity, and justice. To date, she has given away more than $19 billion, despite her net worth remaining around $34 billion, according to Forbes.
Though Scott rarely comments publicly on her decisions, she wrote in 2020 that her philanthropy is guided by “a deep belief in the value different backgrounds bring to problem-solving on any issue.”
