MacKenzie Scott donates $84.5 million to Girl Scouts of America
(CNN) -- The Girl Scouts of America received its largest ever donation from a single individual, a gift of $84.5 million from MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the group said in a release.
The donation will be awarded to 29 local councils selected by Scott, along with the national chapter.
Scott became one of the wealthiest women in the world after her 2019 divorce from Bezos. Last year, Scott announced donations of $2.7 billion to nearly 300 organizations, following donations of $1.7 billion and $4 billion to various causes in 2020. One of the largest was a $436 million gift to Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliates, to be used to promote home ownership in Black and minority communities.
Since mid-2020, Scott has donated $12.8 billion to more than 1,200 organizations, according to Forbes.
The grants to the Girl Scouts will be used, in part, to "create more equitable membership opportunities in communities that have been under engaged" and "foster meaningful program innovation informed by the current interests and needs of girls to prepare them for leadership, including an expanded focus on career readiness and mental wellness," the release said.
"This is a great accelerator for our ongoing efforts to help girls cultivate the skills and connections needed to lead in their own communities and globally," Girl Scouts CEO Sofia Chang said in a release.
The Girl Scouts of America says it's the largest leadership organization for girls in the world, with 2.5 million members worldwide.