Billionaire MacKenzie Scott donates $20 million to Mississippi community college

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College was among the 286 “high-impact organizations” recently donated to by billionaire MacKenzie Scott.

The $20 million donation is the largest gift in the college’s history.

“This generous gift from MacKenzie Scott will have a transformational impact on our college and community,” said Dr. Mary S. Graham, MGCCC president. “[...] It makes me proud that Ms. Scott and other generous Gulf Coast donors and supporters recognize the good work we do, and they trust us to continue that work.”

Last year, Scott, the wealthiest woman in the world, gifted both Alcorn State University and Tougaloo College with multi-million dollar donations.

She also gave $9 million to the Mississippi Food Network.

Scott announced the news in a Medium post on Tuesday. In the post, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos revealed that over the first quarter of 2021, her team donated “$2,739,000,000 in gifts to 286 high-impact organizations in categories and communities that have been historically underfunded and overlooked.”

“Higher education is a proven pathway to opportunity,” Scott wrote, “so we looked for 2- and 4-year institutions successfully educating students who come from communities that have been chronically underserved.”