MacKenzie Scott has made thousands of donations over the past few years, totaling an eye-popping $26 billion. Organizations focused on myriad causes including education, DEI, disaster recovery, and more have often said these gifts are record-breaking or life-changing—and much of it goes back to Scott’s philosophy: trust-based philanthropy.
But there’s one gift that wasn’t used as intended, at least according to some stakeholders. In 2021, Scott, the billionaire philanthropist and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, donated a record $20 million to Santa Barbara City College (SBCC)—the largest gift in the school’s 112-year history. The gift came at a time when SBCC and U.S. community colleges were facing a “serious enrollment decline” owing to the pandemic, according to an SBCC statement from 2021.
“This gift is an act of incredible generosity and due to its unrestricted nature, a demonstration of tremendous trust in our community’s college,” former SBCC Foundation CEO Geoff Green said in the 2021 statement. “It reinforces the importance of providing quality higher education that is accessible to everyone.”…