MacKenzie Scott donates $65 million to LISC

New funding brings Scott's total support for LISC's work to $105 million

NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- MacKenzie Scott, the prolific philanthropist who has given more than $17 billion to nonprofits over the past four years, is donating $65 million to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). It is the largest contribution in the organization's 45-year history. 

This is Scott's second grant to LISC, one of the nation's largest community development organizations. It builds on a $40 million gift in 2020, which LISC used to seed programs that narrow gaps in health, wealth and opportunity, particularly for communities of color. 

"We are enormously grateful for Ms. Scott's confidence in LISC and our national network of programs, staff and partners that are driving impact across the country," said Michael Pugh, LISC president and CEO. "This remarkable funding is an investment not just in our capacity to support affordable housing, economic development, health, safety and jobs, but also in the well-being of the thousands of communities where we work every day," he said. 

LISC's structure, with 37 metro-area program offices and a rural development program supporting work in more than 2,000 counties, offers funders like Scott an opportunity to support both tailored local solutions and large-scale national impact. 

"This kind of unrestricted funding allows LISC to test new ideas, scale up promising programs, and leverage other sources of capital to support positive socio-economic impact," said Robert E. Rubin, LISC's chairman and a former secretary of the treasury. "We are grateful to Ms. Scott for investing in LISC so we can invest in a strong future for urban and rural communities." 

For example, the new grant will help LISC deepen its work to address the affordable housing crisis. It will advance LISC's plans to connect underserved communities to the emerging green economy. And it will fuel new efforts leveraging artificial intelligence, particularly as the technology relates to jobs and income growth for people who have not had the skills or access to take advantage of growing fields. 

"Innovation underpins everything we do," Pugh said. "But it can be difficult to lift up new models without funding that builds our capacity to do so. That's why this grant is so important; it lays the groundwork for the kind of catalytic impact that policymakers, business leaders, neighborhood advocates and residents are all working toward." 

LISC will determine the specifics of how the new funding will be used in the coming weeks. To learn more on how the prior grant was implemented, read our 2023 impact report, What a Gift Can Do. 

About LISC

LISC is one of the country's largest community development organizations, helping forge vibrant, resilient communities across America. LISC works with residents and partners to close systemic gaps in health, wealth, and opportunity and advance racial equity so that people and places can thrive. Since its founding in 1979, LISC has invested $32 billion to create more than 506,000 affordable homes and apartments, develop 82.5 million square feet of retail, community, and educational space, and help tens of thousands of people find employment and improve their finances. For more, visit www.lisc.org.

SOURCE Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)