CLEVELAND — The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio (BGCNEO) has received a $6.8 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, which the organization hopes will help its plan to double the number of kids it serves.
The donation to BGCNEO was part of Scott's $281 million gift to Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the largest amount given by an individual in the organization’s 160-year history. Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has a net worth of about $47 billion and has given away approximately 18% of that, according to Forbes.
BGCNEO officials said the unexpected $6.8 million gift will help the organization get closer to accomplishing its goal of adding Clubs and serving 20,000 kids by 2025. That goal was part of a new strategic plan finalized by BGCNEO before the gift was made.
The CEO of BGCNEO, Jeff Scott, calls the donation “an amazingly generous gift to our kids.” Scott, who is not related to MacKenzie Scott, says opening more Clubs for afterschool programming is a critical need in Northeast Ohio, a region with one of the nation’s highest child-poverty rates, and that BGCNEO hopes corporate partners will now make that plan a reality.
“Our kids deserve our unrelenting efforts,” he adds.
According to Jeff Scott, the gift was unusual not just in its size but also in that it was not the result of a request by BGCNEO. He said it was MacKenzie Scott’s team that contacted him about BGCNEO’s work to alleviate child poverty and help working families in the region. The same team followed up with questions and then informed him of the award.
“We are so thankful,” Jeff Scott said.
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