Madar Mee, 10, left, and Emma Diaz, 7, right, are selling Girl Scout Cookies in the Mar Vista neighborhood in February 2022 in Los Angeles. Photo: Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $84.5 million to the Girl Scouts of America and 29 local councils in what the 110-year-old organization is calling the largest donation from a single individual in its history.
Why it matters: The organization said in a statement Tuesday that the donation will help its recovery from the pandemic, expand its investment in girls by helping advance its mission to "provide life-changing experiences, mentorship, and programming."
- The pandemic drove down membership and changed the way girls sell the infamous Girl Scout Cookies, pushing more sales online and with virtual cookie booths.
Details: The Girl Scouts said Scott's gift will be used to create “more equitable membership opportunities in communities that have been under engaged,” including diversity, equity, inclusion and racial justice initiatives.
- It also will be used to future-proof facilities including Girl Scout camp properties, including making “climate-resiliency improvements.”
Meanwhile, Scott — who walked away from her marriage with Jeff Bezos with Amazon shares worth tens of billions — has given away a staggering $12 billion in three years and has said she plans to keep giving until it’s mostly gone.
- Some 60% of the organizations she has given to most recently are women-led, Axios' Erica Pandey reports.
Flashback: In March, Scott announced in a Medium post that she has donated nearly $3.9 billion to 465 different organizations in nine months including $275 million to Planned Parenthood.
What they’re saying: Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Sofia Chang said the donation is “critical in delivering on our work of reimagination and transformation.”
- “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,” Chang said.
- “We’re excited to prove how Ms. Scott’s investment in girls will change the world — because when one girl succeeds, we all succeed,” Chang said.
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