COurtesy / USDHS
MacKenzie Scott, second from left, with former husband Jeff Bezos, to her left, shown at a 2016 naturalization ceremony for their daughter.
December 16, 2020
Bezos' ex-wife donates millions to 3 Maine nonprofits
By William Hall
Three Maine nonprofits are receiving millions of dollars in charitable gifts from MacKenzie Scott, the author, philanthropist and ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.
Coastal Enterprises Inc., the Good Shepherd Food Bank and Goodwill of Northern New England are among 384 organizations nationwide that on Tuesday were named recipients of $4.16 billion in donations by Scott.
Scott, whose wealth is estimated at over $60 billion, said in a post on Medium.com that the contributions she has made in rapid fire over the past four months are intended to provide “immediate support to people suffering the economic effects of the [COVID-19] crisis.”
The recipients — which span all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico — include food banks, emergency relief funds, debt relief organizations, job training programs, civil rights groups and others.
Coastal Enterprises, a Brunswick-based community development financial institution, on Tuesday said it has received a pledge of $10 million from Scott.
“We will steward and invest these funds with great care to advance our mission and build CEI’s capacity to have greater impact in months and years ahead,” CEI said on its website.
“We are committed to working with our partners, helping to ensure that families and communities recover and thrive — in Maine and other rural regions. This gift will allow us to take action in this moment, while also thinking strategically about how to continue CEI’s impactful and innovative community development work for another 40+ years.”
Good Shepherd Food Bank, the largest hunger relief organization in Maine, said information about its gift would be disclosed in early 2021.
“We are quickly convening our board of directors, leadership team and other stakeholders, and working hard to ensure that the philanthropy entrusted to us will help more Mainers access more nutritious food equitably and efficiently — now during the crisis of COVID-19, and for the long term,” said President Kristen Miale, a 2020 Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year, in a news release.
“MacKenzie Scott’s investment in Maine is a vote of confidence in the work we are all doing together to end hunger in our great state.”
Goodwill of Northern New England, a social services organization headquartered in Gorham, would not disclose the amount of its gift but said details and plans for its use would be announced later. Spokeswoman Heather Steeves told Mainebiz the nonprofit is “incredibly grateful.”
“This gift will help us in our mission to help people achieve personal stability,” she said by email. “In Maine we do that through workforce programming, helping people get job training and career placements … We also operate two brain injury clinics in Maine, and programs for adults with disabilities. This gift will support all of that work.”
In her post, Scott said she and her advisers considered 6,490 candidates for potential support, and after additional research narrowed the field to 822. The 428 organizations that were not selected have been “put on hold for now” for further consideration.
“We do this research and deeper diligence not only to identify organizations with high potential for impact, but also to pave the way for unsolicited and unexpected gifts given with full trust and no strings attached,” Scott wrote in her post.
“Because our research is data-driven and rigorous, our giving process can be human and soft … These 384 carefully selected teams have dedicated their lives to helping others, working and volunteering and serving real people face-to-face at bedsides and tables, in prisons and courtrooms and classrooms, on streets and hospital wards and hotlines and frontlines of all types and sizes, day after day after day.”
In 2019, Scott signed the Giving Pledge, a project that encourages billionaires to promise to give away at least half of their wealth throughout their lifetime. Founded in 2010 by Warren Buffett, other signers include Bill and Melinda Gates, Elon Musk and Michael Bloomberg.
Scott and Bezos divorced in April after 25 years or marriage, and both are considered among the wealthiest individuals in the world.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include comments from the Good Shepherd Food Bank.
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Anonymous
December 17, 2020
Goodwill NNE does amazing work in Maine and in my opinion has always held itself out as non-political. It's extremely concerning; however; to hear that it's being courted by a far left billionaire. I hope the Goodwill decisionmakers read the fine print very carefully before accepting this. A gift that comes with conditions is not a gift.
Anonymous
December 17, 2020
MacKenzie Scott donates millions to 3 Maine nonprofits*
3 Comments