MacKenzie Scott Donates $40 Million To Cal Poly Pomona

POMONA, CA — Cal Poly Pomona received a welcome surprise Tuesday morning when school officials found out the campus was receiving $40 million, courtesy of MacKenzie Scott.

The donation marks the largest gift the school has ever received from an individual, according to a statement from Cal Poly Pomona President Soraya Coley. She said Scott's donation is on par with other landmark events in the university's history including when it was gifted its campus in 1949 by W.K. Kellogg, founder of the Kellogg Company, and when Pomona received full university status in 1972.

“A gift of this magnitude represents a transformative moment for our institution,” Coley said. “The donation comes at a time when we are actively investing in key areas that advance our strategic plan with special focus on student success and future paths — faculty and staff diversity, advancement and well-being; and institutional innovation and excellence.”

The gift was part of a larger, $2.7 billion giving spree by the 51-year-old in which 286 organizations that have been "historically underfunded and overlooked" received sizable charitable donations. Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, cited the growing wealth gap as a reason for the donations.

In a blog post announcing the donations, Scott said she worked with her husband, Dan Jewett, a Seattle schoolteacher, and a "constellation of researchers, administrators and advisors" to help give away her $60 billion fortune.

“In this effort, we are governed by a humbling belief that it would be better if disproportionate wealth were not concentrated in a small number of hands, and that the solutions are best designed and implemented by others,” she said.

Some of the recipients of the donations include groups fighting back against ethnic and religious discrimination, small art organizations catering to communities, artists typically overlooked by large donors, and organizations focused on empowering women and girls. She also focused her giving on two- and four-year schools whose students come from underserved communities.

Other schools in the Southland that received donations from Scott in addition to Pasadena include Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Channel Islands, Long Beach City College and Pasadena City College.

Part of the money will be used as part of a recently created endowment fund for the university, which will provide ongoing and permanent support for future students, according to Coley.

“Ms. Scott’s generosity will undoubtedly change many lives across Cal Poly Pomona, as well as within communities and families in our region and beyond,” she said. “This tremendous gift we announce today will power our unparalleled efforts now and into perpetuity.”