Mackenzie Scott’s record donations to HBCUs highlight major choices for Black higher education. The historic underfunding of Black education remains an issue. Black Economics examines Mackenzie Scott’s donations and the impact on Black Higher Education.

Introduction

Mackenzie Scott donated close to $1 billion to HBCUs and related educational funds in 2025. She has also donated a record $7 billion in the same year to other organizations. According to her website, YieldGiving.Com, she has already given nearly $19 billion to over 4000 organizations since her divorce from Jeff Bezos in 2019. About 8% of her total donations have gone to Black educational institutions.  

In 2020, in an initial round of donations, Mackenzie Scott donated $400 million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).  In October 2025, Scott doubled the amount of giving to Black higher education institutions to $800 million and another $140 million to charities that support Black education.

MacKenzie Scott is the co-founder of Amazon and the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos. She has a net worth of $30.4 billion dollars according to Forbes.  She has given away almost half of her fortune, while Elon Musk has donated less than 1%.

For many institutions, the gifts were record amounts. Press releases from Black institutions describe the donations as the “largest ever received” and “groundbreaking.”

Scott gives unrestricted donations, which are rare in philanthropy. Most donations come with strings attached.  Scott’s donations are built on trust in the mission and leadership of an institution. A typical restricted donation is for a building, an endowed chair, or a special scholarship. Scott’s donations support the strategic mission of the institutions.

While the general media attention is focused on donations to HBCUs, the coverage often overemphasizes the HBCU share. Black higher education represents only about 8% of Scott’s total giving. And she gives to a wide range of educational, environmental, and social justice organizations.

Historic Underfunding of Black Education

Black higher educational institutions have also suffered from historic underfunding compared to white institutions due to a lack of state support and the philanthropy gap.   Private colleges have little recourse since they raise money only from private donors. They depend on Pell grants and student loans. However,  public HBCUs have a clear and legal right to missing funds. The US Department of Education estimates the gap at $12 billion dollars. Private institutions are left to appeal to donors.

Separately, there is a larger problem with philanthropy itself. Black communities receive only 1.3% of total donations, as estimated by the NCRP.  Donations are spread across arts, social services and education. Black education receives only a portion of that money.  

Tax Implication

Whether you like it or not, your taxes are supporting Mackenzie Scott’s donations. You are supporting her choices.  Anyone who pays taxes indirectly supports the charitable giving of billionaires. And almost all do not support Black causes.

Your taxes are higher because of her donations. Why? Because her gifts to schools are 100% tax deductible.  While we might support her donations, we are all paying higher taxes to support the choices of these millionaire donors without any control over their gifts.

How Schools Plan use the Money

Blackeconomics.com analyzed 18 different press releases related to gifts to HBCUs. All schools mentioned more than one category.

We found that the institutions were generally focused on scholarships and student programs. The press releases show that most Black educational institutions will use the money for scholarships, endowments, and student programs. All would increase their endowments. More forward-looking schools promised to spend money on new programs and faculty development, and some schools are looking longer range and deeper. They are looking at programs they could never fund before.

Black Economics Analysis of Press Releases Announcing Mackinzie Scott’s Donations

Endownments

Almost all used the money to increase their endowments, setting aside money for the long-term. Endowments are low-risk, professionally managed investment funds that generate yearly cash for scholarships, faculty programs, and operating expenses.

Increasing a school’s endowment is the safest and lowest risk choice. You cannot go wrong with adding to the endowment. The school’s board can make a safe choice with little scrutiny or second-guessing.

However, adding to the endowment is not the point of Scott’s donations. When we look at schools that did not receive donations in the second round of gifts in 2025 (the first round was 2020), Scott now appears to be looking for programs with increasing enrollments, new programs, and higher graduation rates.

Some Schools use gifts to innovate

More forward-looking schools are looking deeper.  They are asking what is the school’s “core” mission.  What will improve student success? They are targeting higher graduation rates, creating new student-focused programs, and spending money on faculty development.

For example, the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, is starting a veterinary science program. A new veterinary school of medicine is groundbreaking and unimaginable without the sustained gifts of someone like Mackensie Scott. Other schools are upgrading faculty, research, and innovation. Some schools are thinking even broader; they are investing in small business development and community engagement.

Another example is Winston-Salem State University, a lower-cost school with a focus on health care careers. Scott’s donations are 150% of the current endowment.  They dwarf any previous gift. WSSU can now shore up basic needs while planning and implementing long-term goals. After struggling for so long, Scott’s donations have provided the financial stability they have only dreamed of.

Boards of Directors and Strategic Planning are important for HBCUs

The large gifts highlight the importance of oversight, governance, and strategic planning at Black institutions. Black colleges face new and complex challenges in handling the money. The donations are in a different league, allowing schools to go beyond increasing their endowments and scholarships. But do Black colleges have the capacity to use Scott’s donations well?

Morris Brown has recently had board problems, first firing the President, then reinstating him.

Scott’s gifts allow boards of directors to look beyond survival. Many of the early gifts funded repairs, scholarships, and endowments. Now, Black schools are looking at longer-term and strategic programs like faculty growth, academic innovation, and even new schools.  A great example is the creation of a new veterinary school at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.

Scott’s gifts will change how Black colleges plan for the future. Before Scott’s donations, many Black colleges were struggling to survive. They had underdeveloped strategic plans and a small planning staff. Now they can dream big.  Scott’s gifts turn those plans into real decisions with lasting consequences.

Some schools did not receive donations in 2025

Four notable schools, Morehouse, Southern University, Cheyney University, and Tuskegee University, which received donations in 2020, did not receive a donation from Scott in 2025.

So, what makes a Mackinzie Scott Eligible Institution?

It is hard to say, given the large number of donations. But some patterns emerge.  She donates to institutions that use the money for more than endowments.  Schools that increase enrollment and graduation rates.  HBCUs that develop new programs, support liberal arts, and help faculty.

Summary

Mackinzie Scott has changed philanthropy for HBCUs. Her donations have challenged HBCUs and exposed how much governance, strategic planning, and high-quality management matter. The responsibility to deliver results from the donations is new and challenging.

Mackenzie Scott’s donations did not just strengthen HBCUs. They changed what is possible. For the first time in generations, many Black colleges are not planning for survival. They are planning for long-term developments and innovations.

But large gifts do not automatically produce large results. They only create larger consequences for success or failure.

The real challenge is no longer whether HBCUs can keep the lights on. The challenge is whether their leadership, governance, and strategic planning are strong enough to turn historic resources into lasting institutions with new programs that adapt to a changing world. New schools, new programs, faculty expansion, and research investment all require management capacity that many institutions have never been able to build before. Now is the chance.

Scott’s approach to giving also exposes a deeper truth about American philanthropy. Black communities remain dramatically underfunded, and it should not require one billionaire’s unusual choices to correct that imbalance. Her gifts show both what is possible and how abnormal it still is.

Mackenzie Scott has changed the financial picture for Black higher education. What happens next will depend on whether Black colleges can rise to the scale of the opportunity. HBCUs must step up to meet the challenge. This is not just a windfall. It is a test