Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott has donated over $1 million to the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona.
Scott
On Tuesday, the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona announced it received a $1.4 million donation from Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The gift is part of an $84.5 million donation given to the Girl Scouts of the USA and 29 of its local councils.
Each of the local councils were vetted by Scott’s philanthropy team, who dedicated 40 hours of research per council to determine who would receive a portion of the donation, a news release from the local Girl Scouts said.
“We are honored and humbled to be one of the councils to receive these incredible funds and to have our work recognized by this powerful philanthropist,” Kristen Garcia-Hernandez, CEO of Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, said in the news release. “Her gift allows us to elevate and accelerate our work of fueling the female leadership pipeline. We hope this gift attracts the attention of others to invest in girls to change the world.”
The donation will help the organization create more equitable membership opportunities in under-engaged communities, foster meaningful program innovation, support research staff and volunteer training and invest in climate-resiliency improvements, the news release said.
“Scott’s donation is an incredible catalyst for the Girl Scout movement in Southern Arizona. To use one of our newly adopted phrases, it is our ‘rocket fuel to relevancy,’” Garcia-Hernandez said.
Forbes estimates Scott’s net worth at about $35 billion. As part of the couple’s 2019 divorce, she received a 25% stake in the online retailer.
In May 2019, Scott signed the Giving Pledge, promising to give away at least half of her wealth over the course of her lifetime.
Since July 2020, Scott has given away about $13 billion to more than 1,200 nonprofits, according to Forbes.
