MacKenzie Scott has crossed a major milestone in her philanthropic support for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), with her latest donations taking her total giving to the institutions to well over $1 billion.
According to Fortune, a $42 million gift to Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina earlier this year pushed Scott’s total contributions to HBCUs beyond the $1 billion mark. The donation, announced on the university’s Founders Day, is part of Scott’s wider philanthropic effort that has seen her give billions of dollars to organisations working across areas including education, healthcare, community development, disaster recovery and environmental causes.
MacKenzie Scott’s $42 million donation to Elizabeth City State University
Scott’s $42 million donation to Elizabeth City State University will support the institution’s ASCEND 2030 strategic plan. The initiative aims to expand opportunities for students while strengthening the university’s relationship with the wider community.
ECSU Chancellor S. Keith Hargrove Sr. expressed his gratitude for the gift, saying Scott recognised “the critical role that HBCUs play in expanding opportunity and strengthening communities”.
“Her investment affirms what we already know: that institutions like ECSU are powerful catalysts for change,” Hargrove said in a statement. “Gifts like this do more than provide resources; they accelerate momentum.”
The donation builds on Scott’s earlier $15 million contribution to the university in 2020.
Which HBCUs has MacKenzie Scott donated to?
As per a Fortune report, Scott has directed major donations to dozens of HBCUs over the past several years. Some of the largest gifts have gone to institutions including Howard University, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, Prairie View A&M University, Virginia State University and Winston-Salem State University.
Her donations include:
- Alabama State University — $38 million in 2025
- Alcorn State University — $42 million in 2025
- Bowie State University — $50 million in 2025 and $25 million in 2020
- Clark Atlanta University — $38 million in 2025 and $15 million in 2020
- Howard University — $80 million in 2025 and $40 million in 2020
- Morgan State University — $63 million in 2025 and $40 million in 2020
- Norfolk State University — $50 million in 2025 and $40 million in 2020
- Prairie View A&M University — $63 million in 2025 and $50 million in 2020
- Spelman College — $38 million in 2025 and $20 million in 2020
- Virginia State University — $50 million in 2025
- Winston-Salem State University — $50 million in 2025
Other recipients include Claflin University, Delaware State University, Dillard University, Hampton University, Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T State University, Tougaloo College, Tuskegee University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Voorhees University and Xavier University of Louisiana.
Why MacKenzie Scott’s no-strings-attached donations stand out
One of the defining features of Scott’s philanthropy is that many of her donations are unrestricted. This gives recipient organisations greater freedom to decide how the money should be used.
For universities, such funding can support scholarships, endowments, faculty recruitment and long-delayed campus improvements without imposing the same restrictions often attached to traditional philanthropic grants.
Fortune has previously highlighted how Scott’s approach differs from conventional funding models, which can involve lengthy applications, specific conditions and extensive reporting requirements.
Anne Marie Dougherty, CEO of the Bob Woodruff Foundation, previously described Scott’s approach as “trust-based philanthropy”.
Noni Ramos, CEO of Housing Trust Silicon Valley, has also said Scott’s donations are “unlike traditional funding processes”, giving organisations the flexibility to respond quickly to their priorities.
MacKenzie Scott’s wider $26 billion philanthropy
Scott began making large-scale philanthropic donations in 2020 and has since committed around $26 billion to thousands of organisations, according to the information cited by Fortune.
Her giving has covered a broad range of causes, including racial and gender equity, community development, healthcare, environmental initiatives, disaster recovery and education.
Her support for HBCUs has become a particularly significant part of that strategy. In 2025, she also donated $70 million each to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the United Negro College Fund.
MacKenzie Scott’s $80 million Howard University donation
Among Scott’s most notable university gifts was an $80 million donation to Howard University in November 2025.
The contribution was one of the largest donations in the Washington, DC, university’s history. Howard is known as the alma mater of prominent figures including former US Vice President Kamala Harris, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and author Toni Morrison.
Scott has now directed multiple major gifts towards the university, including a $40 million donation in 2020.
Why does MacKenzie Scott give away so much money?
Scott’s approach to philanthropy has been influenced partly by experiences from her own college years.
In a December 2025 essay, she recalled how a dentist once offered her free dental treatment after seeing that she was using denture glue to secure a broken tooth. She also remembered a college roommate lending her $1,000 when Scott was struggling financially and feared she might have to leave college.
Scott has said such experiences shaped her belief in the wider impact of acts of generosity.
“It is these ripple effects that make imagining the power of any of our own acts of kindness impossible,” she wrote.
She has argued that giving can create benefits that are difficult to measure but can nevertheless have a lasting impact.
Other billionaires are also increasing HBCU donations
Scott is not the only billionaire directing significant sums towards historically Black colleges.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and his wife, Judith, recently announced a $12 million commitment to 12 HBCUs, adding to a growing wave of corporate and private philanthropic support for the institutions.
For HBCUs, large unrestricted donations can provide financial flexibility at a time when many universities are dealing with rising costs and changing funding conditions.
Inputs from agencies
