REWRITING THE DONOR SCRIPT: How MacKenzie Scott’s HBCU Giving Departs from Earlier Philanthropists BY DR. MARYBETH GASMAN
MacKenzie Scott’s billion-dollar commitment to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) marks one of
earlier benefactors such as John D. Rockefeller and other industrial philanthropists, whose giving often came with many conditions and tight oversight. Scott’s 2025/2026 awards bring her total giving to HBCUs to more than $1.3 billion. This most recent round includes $783 million for 16 campuses and builds on her 2020 gifts to 23 HBCUs, totaling $560 million. She has also given $80 million to the United Negro College Fund, which supports 37 private HBCUs, and $120,000 to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which works with public HBCUs and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs). The scale of this giving is noteworthy, but the structure matters just as much.
the most significant infusions of private
money into the sector’s history.
It also represents a sharp break from the philanthropic traditions that once shaped support for Black higher education. Scott’s gifts are large and rooted in trust, a notable shift from
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