MacKenzie Scott gives $39 million to Junior Achievement USA

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $38.8 million to Junior Achievement USA and 26 local operations — the largest single gift in its 103-year history — the national education nonprofit announced Tuesday.

Like all of Scott’s nearly $12 billion in donations since 2019, her gift to Junior Achievement USA is unrestricted, meaning the Colorado-based nonprofit, which prepares students for adulthood by teaching them financial literacy, career skills and business ownership training, can use the funds for any project it wants.

Jack E. Kosakowski, Junior Achievement USA’s president and CEO, said the gift was “a huge, pleasant surprise” and raised morale throughout the organization. Junior Achievement USA will receive $10 million, while 26 local Junior Achievement operations will split $28.8 million based on the evaluation of Scott and her team.

It is not clear whether the gift to Junior Achievement marks a new run of donations from Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett. The author and philanthropist does not comment on her donations beyond her Medium blog, which has not been updated since March. Her gifts are only announced if and when the groups receiving them confirm the donations.

Kosakowski said he is thrilled by Scott’s unrestricted gift because it can be used to modernize the group’s technology infrastructure, a need that is rarely high on most donors’ priority lists. The $10 million will also help expand the nonprofit's digital educational offerings and add volunteers in currently underserved areas.

“We support all 102 of our local offices across the country, so this is going to really help us streamline our operations,” Kosakowski told The Associated Press. “Ultimately, as we get more efficient, it’s gonna allow us to use more of our traditional donor...