Lightning strikes again: MacKenzie Scott gifts $15M to Brunswick-based Coastal Enterprises

MacKenzie Scott has donated $15 million to Coastal Enterprises Inc., the Brunswick community development nonprofit — just a few years after CEI unexpectedly received $10 million from the same billionaire philanthropist.

Scott, who is also an author and was once married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has given $17.3 billion of her fortune to some 2,300 nonprofits since 2020, according to the website of her foundation, Yield Giving.

File photo

MacKenzie Scott

She's made the donations as unrestricted gifts, allowing each recipient to determine how best to use the funds.

After an announcement of the gift to CEI on Wednesday, spokesperson Leah Batt told Mainebiz that the organization's board and senior leaders will meet in the coming weeks to consider where the windfall will go.

The aim, Batt said, is to find a use "that will benefit small businesses, their workers and communities in Maine and rural regions facing barriers to economic opportunity, guided by CEI’s mission and aligned with our strategic plan."

CEO Betsy Biemann said in a news release, “We extend our sincere thanks to MacKenzie Scott for this generous and rare gift of unrestricted funds. This grant is an incredible recognition of CEI’s strong track record, the innovative work of our team, and the potential for CEI’s future impact building a more just, vibrant and climate-resilient economy in Maine.”

In December 2020, CEI was one of three Maine nonprofits that received a total of $45 million from Scott. In addition to the $10 million gift for CEI, Goodwill Northern New England received $10 million and Good Shepherd Food Bank got $25 million.

Batt said CEI used its 2020 donation to expand lending and programs in support of environmental resilience, as well as a fellowship created to advance social justice and equity. The funds also allowed CEI to make IT upgrades, expand staff training and create a financial reserve.

As in 2020, CEI had no heads-up about the recent gift. Biemann simply took a phone call in September, Batt recalled. The funds will be distributed in a lump sum.

That's the low-key way Scott and her advisors at Yield Giving typically handle donations.

Scott, 54, and Bezos, 60, divorced in 2019 after 25 years of marriage. Under terms of the separation, she received a 4% stake in Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the world's largest online retailer.

She then signed the Giving Pledge, a campaign that asks billionaires to give away at least half of their wealth throughout their lifetime. Founded in 2010 by Warren Buffett, the program includes signers such as Bill and Melinda Gates, Elon Musk and Michael Bloomberg.

Scott was married to Maine native Dan Jewett from 2021-23, and has continued to make gifts to nonprofits in the state and elsewhere. She currently has an estimated net worth of $35.1 billion, according to Forbes magazine.