MacKenzie Scott donates over $700M to HBCUs in latest record-setting contribution

WASHINGTON — Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has given historically Black colleges and universities hundreds of millions of dollars this fall, continuing a yearslong wave of record-breaking support for the typically underfunded campuses.

Scott has donated more than $700 million to over a dozen HBCUs since the start of the current school year.

Just in the past week, she committed $63 million each to Prairie View A&M University in Texas and North Carolina A&T State University, as well as $50 million to Bowie State University in Maryland, Norfolk State University in Virginia and Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.

All five universities described the gifts as the largest single donations in their histories. Those latest gifts follow an $80 million donation to Howard University earlier this month, and additional multimillion-dollar donations to Spelman College, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Virginia State University, Alcorn State University, Clark Atlanta University and Alabama State University.

In September, Scott also gave $70 million to the United Negro College Fund for a pooled endowment that will provide $10 million to each of UNCF’s 37 member HBCUs, one of the largest collective boosts to Black colleges in decades. 

The fall gifts follow Scott’s round of donations in 2020, when she donated about $560 million to 23 HBCUs, with many institutions, like Lincoln University, calling the unrestricted funds “transformative.” 

The donations are typically unrestricted, which means university administrators can allocate funding based on where they see the best fit, rather than to a particular cause designated by the donor. 

Many of the HBCUs have used Scott’s donations for scholarships, to strengthen research, improve facilities and grow endowments.

Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, signed the Giving Pledge in 2019 and has said she plans to give away the majority of her wealth. 

“In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I have a disproportionate amount of money to share,” Scott said. “My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.”

Public announcements show that dozens of HBCUs have received major gifts from Scott in recent years. They include:

• Prairie View A&M University – $63 million in 2025 following a $50 million gift in 2020

• North Carolina A&T State University – $63 million in 2025, after a $45 million gift in 2020

• Bowie State University – $50 million in 2025, in addition to $25 million in 2020

• Norfolk State University – $50 million in 2025, after a $40 million gift in 2020

• Winston-Salem State University – $50 million in 2025, following a $30 million gift in 2020 

• Howard University – $80 million in 2025, following $40 million in 2020 and another $12 million to the College of Medicine in 2023

• Spelman College – $38 million in 2025, after a $20 million gift in 2020 

• Morgan State University – $63 million in 2025, topping a $40 million donation in 2020

• University of Maryland Eastern Shore – $38 million in 2025, plus a $20 million gift in 2020

• Virginia State University – $50 million in 2025, after $30 million in 2020

• Alcorn State University – $42 million in 2025, after $25 million in 2020

• Clark Atlanta University – $38 million in 2025, following $53 million in 2020

• Alabama State University – $38 million in 2025 

• Voorhees University – $19 million in 2025, on top of a $4 million donation in 2020

• Philander Smith University – $19 million in 2025

• Morehouse College – $20 million in 2020

• Lincoln University – $20 million in 2020

• Tuskegee University – $20 million in 2020