A billionaire philanthropist has made a spontaneous $10million donation to a small nonprofit in a key swing state.
MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, gave the whopping donation to Georgia-based nonprofit Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), which helps small businesses thrive through grants and loans.
‘This came completely out of the blue,’ ACE CEO Grace Fricks told Fox 5 Atlanta.
It is the largest donation the organization has ever received and the second time the 54-year-old Democrat has given to ACE, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Scott and her team emailed the organization earlier this summer but Fricks ignored it, thinking it was spam. She realized the billionaire actually wanted to donate after receiving a follow-up.
MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos , gave the whopping donation to Georgia-based nonprofit Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), which helps small businesses thrive through grants and loans
‘I thought, you know, she’s probably calling because they’re going to be doing a blog or a story on the impact of MacKenzie Scott’s previous awards, and she either wants to talk to me or wants to talk to one of our clients who benefited,’ the CEO told the Journal-Constitution.
She was even more shocked when Scott’s team told her the billionaire wanted to hand over $10million, as her organization didn’t have a strong relationship with Scott.
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‘In the world of nonprofits and fundraising, one of the things that you’re taught and that you learn is that relationships are so important,’ Fricks said.
‘This particular money from MacKenzie Scott is coming…without any personal relationship. So, what that means is that it is truly, 100% based on the work of the entire organization, including our clients.’
It is unclear how the organization will use the funds, which are immediately available, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
ACE has provided more than $200million in loans to entrepreneurs in Georgia, with a focus on women, people of color, and lower income individuals.
Scott previously donated $5million to the organization in 2020, according to the Journal-Constitution.
ACE used the original funds to hire additional staff, grow the organization, and strengthen its financial position, making institutions more likely to lend to the nonprofit.
‘This came completely out of the blue,’ ACE CEO Grace Fricks (pictured) said. It is unclear how her organization will use the funds
‘We’re proud of the accomplishments of each of our clients – the more than 2,600 small business owners across Georgia who’ve received ACE’s affordable loans – and grateful for this recognition of the ACE team’s hard work,’ Fricks, who launched the organization 24 years ago, told Fox 5 Atlanta.
After Scott finalized her divorce from Bezos – who is currently dating Lauren Sanchez – she signed The Give Pledge in 2019, a promise that billionaires will use most of their wealth to help others.
She said at the time that she would ‘keep at it until the safe is empty.’
‘We are attempting to give away a fortune that was enabled by systems in need of change,’ Scott wrote in a 2021 essay. ‘My team’s efforts are governed by a humbling belief that it would be better if disproportionate wealth were not concentrated in a small number of hands, and that the solutions are best designed and implemented by others.’
Scott has given more than $17billion to over 2,000 nonprofits, with nearly $250million benefiting Georgia, according to Yield Giving, a database that tracks her donations.
Scott is the fifth richest woman in the world and is estimated to be worth around $32billion.