Non-profit Enterprise Community Development was given US$65 million by MacKenzie Scott to continue affordable housing advocacy.
It will provide shelter for seniors, homeless veterans, and low-income households with the money.
This is after a previous $15 million grant in 2020 that Scott had offered to Enterprise.
Key Background:
MacKenzie Scott, a philanthropist and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has given $65 million to Enterprise Community Development in Columbia, Maryland, in a gift revealed during the holiday season that will help this organization in developing affordable housing for vulnerable populations. The funding is to support senior and homeless veterans, low-income families.
This donation is part of Scott’s pledge to give away much of her $36.1 billion fortune. Known for large charitable donations, Scott’s latest donation follows a $15 million grant in 2020 to Enterprise, which helped the nonprofit plan and develop affordable housing units across Greater Baltimore and the U.S. Enterprise is a national leader in affordable housing. It was founded in 1982 by Harborplace developer James Rouse. The nonprofit runs on a portfolio of $72 billion developed over 1 million homes that have been constructed in the 50 states, as well as Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Enterprise President Janine Lind said she was both surprised and thankful as she received the news of the $65 million donation in a call late on a Friday afternoon. The gift was “incredibly unbelievable and heartwarming,” Lind said. Enterprise is still deciding how it will spend the money in the next year, but Lind said the gift would really help the nonprofit fulfill its mission of expanding housing opportunities and improving services for its current residents. Enterprise’s annual budget is $141 million.
It is a significant moment to donate because housing affordability is such a systemic issue across the U.S. Affordability had been at risk with skyrocketing housing costs and dwindling supply. “There is growing political consensus around housing affordability as an issue,” Lind said, emphasizing the need for continuing support for work like that led by Enterprise.
Scott was generous in donating huge sums to other Maryland-based entities, including $15 million to the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and $40 million to Morgan State University. Through late 2022, Scott had donated over $14 billion in multiple philanthropic causes under the umbrella of The Giving Pledge, which is a call to action to encourage billionaires to give away most of their wealth during their lifetime.
Enterprise Community Development’s work with small, diverse developers, such as its projects in Baltimore and Annapolis, will greatly benefit from Scott’s contribution, providing critical seed capital and flexibility in tackling the nation’s housing crisis.
