great scott!

Mackenzie Scott gifts millions to Houston schools and organizations

The uber-generous Mackenzie Scott has done it again.

Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images

Six months after donating $50 million to Prairie View A&M, author and billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is giving another generous gift to more Texas schools.

On Tuesday, June 15, Scott — the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — announced that she has given $2.7 billion to 286 organizations. Scott is known for her impromptu multi-billion dollar donations to charities and racial equity issues.

In a post about her recent donations on Medium, she wrote that she made the gifts to enable the organizations to continue their work, and as a "signal of trust and encouragement" to them and others.

Now, Houston-area schools and organizations stand to benefit greatly.

Among them are Brazosport College in Lake Jackson and Project Row Houses, a non-profit artistic community in Houston's Third Ward.

San Jacinto College in Pasadena will receive $30 million from Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett — the largest private gift in the college's history.

Because of her donation, the college said it will provide free tuition and fees for the entire class of 2021. That opportunity will be open to anyone who graduated this year and lives in their district.

"The San Jacinto College Board of Trustees, the San Jacinto College Foundation Board of Directors, as well as our employees and students, both current and future, are deeply grateful for this very generous gift," said Chancellor Dr. Brenda Hellyer.

"We weren't expecting it, and it came at just the right time so we could put programs like 21Forward in place to help the students in east Harris County who made it through their senior year. These students were impacted by COVID, yet they persisted and graduated. We are honored to be able to use a portion of this gift to help students stay on their higher education pathway. We look forward to announcing plans for the remainder of the funding in the future. For now, we are stunned by this unbelievable gift and excited about the opportunities it provides for us to serve our community in new ways."

In Scott's blog post, she explained that she looked for "2- and 4-year institutions successfully educating students who come from communities that have been chronically underserved."

CultureMap news partner ABC13 has reached out to Brazosport College and Project Row Houses to learn more about how Scott's gift will be used.

This is the third round of announcements Scott has made regarding her philanthropy. In 2020, she donated about $6 billion to COVID relief, gender equity, historically Black colleges and universities and other schools.

You can view the full list of recipients on Medium.

-----

For more on this story, visit ABC13.

charity celebrities

flight cancelled

Historic Houston air terminal museum closes due to budget shortfall

Photo courtesy of 1940 Air Terminal Museum

undefined

A beloved Houston museum has closed its doors — at least for now. The 1940 Air Terminal Museum announced this morning (Monday, March 2) that it has ceased operations.

Located next to Hobby Airport, the 1940 Air Terminal Museum showcases Houston’s aviation history. Designed by local architect Joseph Finger, the museum’s Art Deco building is a protected landmark that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museum president and director Karen Nicolaou tells CultureMap that the problem is simple. The museum’s revenues don’t match its expenses. Previously, the museum raised $100,000 or more per year from raffles on Facebook, but that stream dried up.

It generates some money from admissions and more from hosting private events, but it hasn’t been enough. Being far away from the Museum District means it doesn’t get the cross traffic that its more centrally-located peer institutions do.

Still, the museum occupies a unique space in Houston. “It’s one of the coolest places for kids to see airplanes,” Nicolaou says. “There’s no other place where someone can walk onto the ramp and take a picture of plane taking off with nothing in the way.”

While the museum is closed for now, Nicolaou says its board has been in contact with the Texas Historical Commission about taking over operations. One issue is that the commission would want to take ownership of the building from Houston Airports, according to Nicolaou.

“That’s going to take coordination between the city, the airport system, and the Texas State Senate. There’s a lot of politics involved,” Nicolaou says.

Of course, she has a simple proposal for Houston Mayor John Whitmire that would move the process along.

“Mr. Mayor, sell the historical commission the building for a dollar and be done with it,” she says with a laugh.

In response to CultureMap's request for comment, Mayor John Whitmire provided the following statement: "I’ve spoken with the Chair of the Texas Historical Commission about opportunities to support the museum’s operations in ways that enhance the public experience. We’re making progress, but discussions are in the early stages."

Whether it’s operated by the City of Houston, the Texas Historical Commission, a university, or some other entity, Nicolaou hopes the public will be able to visit the museum again soon and for many years to come.

“We want a permanent solution. We’ve tried for one for years,” she says. “It belongs to the city. It belongs to the residents of the city of Houston. They should have it to go to for years.”

museums transportation 1940 air terminal museum