BUFFALO, N.Y. — Two Buffalo-based non-profits are among 361 organizations nationwide chosen to receive $640 million in grants from billionaire author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
Peaceprints of Western New York and PUSH Buffalo will receive $2 million each. The awards were given to organizations that helped underserved communities.
More than 6,000 applied for the grants, but only 361 non-profits were chosen in this open call. Scott wrote on her website, "Grateful to Lever for Change and everyone on the evaluation and implementation teams for their roles in creating this pathway to support for people working to improve access to foundational resources in their communities. They are vital agents of change."
Scott is the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. She has given away billions of dollars over the last few years since her divorce from Bezos.
The open call asked for applications from nonprofits who are community-led with missions “to advance the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means,” Yield Giving said on its website. Only nonprofits with annual budgets between $1 and $5 million were eligible to apply.
The awardees were selected through a multilayer process, where applicants scored fellow applicants and then the top organizations were reviewed by a panel of outside experts.
Since 2019, Yield Giving has given more than $17,300,000,000 to over 2,300 organizations. The Buffalo Urban League received $6 million in funds back in 2022, and Health Foundation of WNY & CNY received $9 million.
You can see the full-list of winning applicants here: https://yieldgiving.com/gifts?essay=20240319&sorting=az.
(The Associated Press contributed to this article)
Related Video: