Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, 54, donated $65 million to Enterprise Community Partners last month, a Maryland-based national nonprofit that aims to address the affordable housing shortage in the US.
The surprise donation left the organization shocked, representatives said in a statement.
“Some of us probably wanted to cry for joy,” said Janine Lind, president of Enterprise's community development division. Banner Baltimore. “This came at a time when the affordable housing sector is certainly being tested and struggling.”
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It's Scott's second gift to the 42-year-old organization—the first was $50 million in 2020. The organization highlighted in a press release that Scott's gift is “one of the largest reported gifts to an affordable housing organization.”
“Housing affordability is on the national radar in a way it never has been in my three decades of work in this field,” said Shaun DonovanCEO and President of Enterprise Community Partners, in a statement. “There is a growing bipartisan consensus on the need to address this crisis, and MacKenzie Scott's continued support reaffirms the importance of Enterprise's mission. This gift will allow us to expand and accelerate our work, providing sustainable, evidence-based solutions community for housing for the people and places that need it most”.
Scott, who helped start Amazon with her first husband, Jeff Bezos, is still a “major” shareholder with a 1.3% stake, based on a November 2024 SEC filing, and has an estimated net worth of 41.3 billion dollars. according to Bloomberg.
In 2022, Scott donated two $55 million Beverly Hills homes for the California Community Foundation to support the nonprofit's affordable housing and immigrant integration initiatives. That same year, she too donated $84.5 million for Girl Scouts of the USA.