19 Chicago-area organizations receive millions from MacKenzie Scott's 'Yield Giving'

Scott announced $640 million in gifts to nonprofits nationwide, bringing her donations to $16.5 billion after divorcing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

By Mary Norkol

Nineteen Chicago-area organizations woke up to good news and millions of dollars Tuesday morning thanks to author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

Scott, through her “Yield Giving” venture, announced $640 million in donations to nonprofits across the country, including 19 Chicago-area organizations focusing on topics from housing to immigration and grassroots activism.

“It’s a beautiful thing to see,” said Maria Degillo, youth director at Communities United, which received $2 million.

Communities United, a citywide nonprofit that focuses on intergenerational racial justice and youth leadership, will aim to designate the money for youth leadership development and advancing its Healing Through Justice initiatives. The organization hopes to reach more youth organizers and access more mental health support for young people, especially young people of color, Degillo said.

“Centering young people’s voices and leadership and having people like MacKenzie Scott really invest in that, I think it opens up a lot of doors,” Degillo said. “It might not have happened maybe 10, 15 years ago, but the fact that it’s happening now shows that people are really understanding the role of young people in creating the world they want to live in.”

Scott has donated $16.5 billion of her fortune since divorcing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2019. The most recent round of donations is part of Yield Giving’s Open Call, which garnered more than 6,000 applications and selected 361 organizations as recipients. The gifts are meant to highlight “outstanding work advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles,” according to the Open Call page on Yield Giving’s website.

When staff at the Legal Council for Health Justice applied for the donation last year, they believed getting the money would be a long shot, according to executive director Julie Justicz.

“To be honest, when we got the news, there was a bit of disbelief,” Justicz said. “Then we did a lot of dancing.”

It was especially exciting to receive the money because legal assistance can sometimes be overlooked for grants in favor of more immediate needs like food and shelter, she said.

Justicz said the money likely will be used to improve the organization’s underfunded medical-legal partnerships with other entities like Howard Brown Health and Mount Sinai Hospital’s behavioral health program, and to continue efforts to increase access to health care for transgender people.

“This will help us continue working with these clients and these communities that have long been underserved,” Justicz said. “There’s a sense of security that we can continue these without the ups and downs of grant funding.”

Another local organization receiving $2 million is the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, which works to build leadership in the Black community, engage low-income and working families and improve housing and education. The grant will be used to bolster its Silver Fox Cafe and new office space, according to a news release from the organization.

“This grant isn’t just about growth; it represents a crucial advancement for our community, offering an example of how to uplift communities of color nationwide and even globally,” deputy director Jaribu Lee said in the news release.