Billionaire philanthropist gives $122.6 million to Big Brothers Big Sisters

MacKenzie Scott, a billionaire philanthropist, gave $122.6 million to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America BBBSA, which will help transform mentorship in communities across the country.

Scott will be the largest donor from a single individual in the organization's history, and will support BBBSA and 38 local agencies in its mission to ensure every young person has access to powerful mentoring experiences that empower them for success in school, life and career, the organization announced Tuesday.

The grants will help the organization grow its ability to match more young people with caring adult mentors through additional staff, resources and training.

The charity hopes to close the gap on the estimated one in three youth who don't have a positive, sustained mentor in their lives. Scott has given $12.5 billion to at least 1,253 nonprofits since 2020, many of which aim to help low-income and underserved populations.

Her latest gift to BBBSA follows three other nine-figure donations she gave to large national charities with local affiliates in March.

In the first five months of 2022, Scott has given at least 1.5 billion dollars, according to around 30 nonprofits that have announced Scott gifts this year.