Writer and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced last week that she had given $3.9 billion to hundreds of organizations in the previous nine months, funding areas such as climate and education and efforts relief in Ukraine.

Of that amount, $281 million went to Boys and Girls Clubs across the country. And some of that money went to three Boys and Girls Clubs in Mississippi.

Boys & Girls Club of the Mississippi Delta, Boys & Girls Club of the Golden Triangle, and Boys & Girls Club of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians were chosen.

No other Mississippi organizations were listed in Scott’s donations.

Neither Scott nor the local Boys and Girls Clubs disclosed the amount of money donated to the organizations. According to multiple reports, however, many, but not all, of Scott’s donations to other organizations accounted for a budget for the entire year.

Since pledging most of her wealth in 2019, Scott has donated approximately $12 billion to 1,257 nonprofits.

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“This gift recognizes the efforts of our club staff to serve their communities and each individual child in their clubs,” said David Dallas, director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Mississippi Delta, headquartered in Greenwood. “Our organization’s mission is to ensure that all children, especially those who need us most, have the opportunity to be caring, productive and responsible citizens.

Scott’s donation will make a huge difference to the Dallas organization. Its Boys & Girls Club is a low-budget organization with the largest geographic footprint of any Boys & Girls Club organization outside of Alaska.

“To reach more communities and do what we need to do, our budget should be four to five times higher,” Dallas said. “This needs more support at the grassroots level, including from local governments, businesses, churches and individuals. We hope this donation can build on that support.”

Scott said every organization she has donated to has been thoroughly vetted.

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“Each nonprofit was selected through a rigorous process and has a strong track record of meeting underserved needs,” Scott said. “If you’re looking for a way to serve the common cause of humanity, each of them is a great candidate. Helping one of us can help all of us.”

Jim Clark, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, was grateful for Scott’s donation.

“With this generous donation, Boys and Girls Clubs can continue to reach even more young people as we guide millions of children and teens on their journey to a great future,” Clark said in a statement.

Dallas said the funds will help her group reach more children and build a better future for communities in the Delta and Northwest Mississippi.

“A community is only as strong and healthy as the opportunities it provides for its children and families,” Dallas said.

Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, donated $2.7 billion to 286 charities last year.

In July 2020, Scott announced on her blog that she had donated approximately $1.7 billion to 116 groups, including historically black colleges and universities. In December of the same year, it donated an additional $4.2 billion to 384 various organizations.

Even after his multi-billion dollar donations, Forbes magazine estimates Scott’s net worth at $48.8 billion.

Ron Thornton, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Golden Triangle, said he expects the money to be used in a number of ways. Still, he’s very excited about buying new vehicles so he can transport kids to Starkville, Columbus, and West Point.

“We are so grateful to receive the generous and meaningful donation from Ms. Scott and her organization,” Thornton said. “It allows us to challenge our communities to give now on a different level. It gives us a chance to have more impact than we already do in the daily lives of children and families in our area.”

Despite the large donation, Thornton said that doesn’t mean his organization no longer needs money and support from local sources, who have always supported them.

“It’s quite the opposite,” Thornton said. “The nonprofit work we do continues to drain our budgets and the nearly 1,500 children we serve.”

The money provided by Scott and his organization to the Boys & Girls Clubs had no restrictions, which meant that Thornton and Dallas and the Mississippi Band chapter of the Choctaw Indians could invest the money in places that did not attract usually not pay attention.

In Thornton’s case, that means transportation, repairing leaky roofs and other maintenance projects.

“Some of our other funding sources, such as grants, have limits on where the money can be spent,” Thornton said. “So perhaps the best gift of all is that there are no restrictions on how we can spend the money.”

The Clarion-Ledger contacted the Choctaw Indian Band Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Mississippi, but the organization did not respond.