This is the largest single donation made in Planned Parenthood's history.
MacKenzie Scott donated $275 million to Planned Parenthood and 21 of its affiliates. According to the nonprofit organization that provides sexual health care, this is the largest gift from a single donor in its history. President and CEO of Planned Parenthood, Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement that the donation couldn't have come at a better time with the country currently in "crisis".
The $275 million donation — the largest gift from a single donor in the organization’s history — comes at a critical time when reproductive rights are under attack across the US. https://t.co/gBgeAoLENA
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) March 23, 2022
She said, “We are incredibly grateful for Ms. Scott’s extraordinary philanthropic investment in Planned Parenthood, as a critical part of the public health infrastructure. There is no question that we are living through a crisis for sexual and reproductive health and rights in this country. As we face the most serious attacks on access to reproductive health care that we’ve seen in a generation, we know this moment requires us to be innovative and to double down on our efforts to ensure everyone has equitable access to health care, including abortion." She continued, "This funding will support our efforts to advance health equity by eliminating racial and structural barriers for our patients in the communities where Planned Parenthood works. We know Black women experience disproportionately higher rates of maternal mortality, STIs, and will be most hurt by the loss of abortion access in the South and Midwest. By starting with the Black health experience in partnership with local communities, we see this as an opportunity to not only improve health outcomes for Black patients, but to transform how all patients, especially those of color and those in rural and low income communities, experience our health care, education, and organizing efforts. In future years, I hope this is what it means to Be Seen.”
MacKenzie Scott makes a record $275 million donation to Planned Parenthood https://t.co/r1EsuxszeL
— NPR Health News (@NPRHealth) March 24, 2022
According to NPR, the donation is part of Scott's 2019 pledge to give away the majority of her wealth. Scott received a 4 percent stake in Amazon in her divorce settlement with founder Jeff Bezos and her estimated net worth currently is $48.3 billion. The novelist and philanthropist signed the Giving Pledge, making a commitment to give more than half of her fortune to charity or philanthropic causes. It looks like she is staying true to her word. "We each come by the gifts we have to offer by an infinite series of influences and lucky breaks we can never fully understand," Scott wrote in a letter announcing her pledge. "In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I have a disproportionate amount of money to share." At the time NPR noted that billionaire Jeff Bezos had not signed the Giving Pledge. Buzzfeed News reports that Scott has also donated $436 million to Habitat for Humanity as well as nearly $3.9 billion this year to a total of 465 nonprofits.
The ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently gave $436 million to Habitat for Humanity and $133.5 million to educational nonprofit Communities in School, according to previous statements from the organizations.https://t.co/Nbqmd0VnY2
— CNN (@CNN) March 23, 2022
References:
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/23/1088390733/mackenzie-scott-donation-planned-parenthood
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/paigeskinner/mackenzie-scott-planned-parenthood-donation
https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=393
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Kevork Djansezian
