Historically Black universities have traditionally been overshadowed and underfunded compared to their non-Black collegiate counterparts. But now, a major public figure’s game-changing gift has helped level the playing field for a beloved Houston-area school.
Noted author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott (many know her as the former wife of Amazon CEO and billionaire Jeff Bezos) has donated a massive $50 million to Prairie View A&M University, the institution announced on December 15. The gift is the largest one-time endowment in the school’s 144-year history.
Under terms of the donation, the funds can be used at the discretion of the president to support the needs of the university, per a press release. Administrators have chosen to designate $10 million of the total to create the Panther Success Grant Program, an effort to assist juniors and seniors with unpaid balances created by the financial challenges posed by COVID, the school announced.
“This is a historic gift for Prairie View, coming at a time when the university had already decided and begun to invest heavily in key areas to strengthen its academic programs and improve student success,” said Ruth J. Simmons, president of Prairie View, in a statement. “The timing of this gift could therefore not be better.”
Simmons adds in a statement that she had been in contact with Scott “about a matter not involving Prairie View,” and thus was “stunned and, for a time speechless” when Scott’s assistant phoned and revealed the donation.
Another whopping gift from Scott includes $18 million to the Greater Houston YMCA.
In a post on Medium, Scott notes that she and her advisers have disbursed some $4,158,500,000 in gifts to 384 organizations across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C. over the last four months. This is in effort to “accelerate my 2020 giving through immediate support to people suffering the economic effects of the crisis,” Scott writes.
Scott’s generosity includes myriad Texas organizations and groups, including:
- Easterseals of Greater Houston
- Easterseals Rehabilitation Center, San Antonio
- East Texas Food Bank
- El Pasoans Fighting Hunger
- Feeding the Gulf Coast
- South Texas Food Bank
- Southeast Texas Food Bank
- Goodwill Houston
- Goodwill Industries of Dallas
- Goodwill Industries of East Texas
- Goodwill Industries of Fort Worth
- Goodwill Industries of San Antonio
- Heart of Texas Goodwill Industries
- Meals on Wheels Central Texas
- Meals on Wheels Montgomery County
- Meals on Wheels North Central Texas
- Texas A&M International University
- United Way of El Paso County
- United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County
- YMCA of Greater Houston
- YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas
- YWCA El Paso del Norte Region
- YWCA Greater Austin
- YWCA of Lubbock
- YWCA San Antonio
Mackenzie Scott has gifted tens of millions to Houston-area organizations and institutions.
