The Jed Foundation Receives $40 Million Gift From MacKenzie Scott

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Dec 05, 2025, 09:15 ET

The unrestricted gift is the second since 2022 and will advance JED's mission to support emotional well-being and prevent suicide for teens and young adults.

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults nationwide, today announced that it has received an extraordinarily generous $40 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

The unrestricted gift, the largest in JED's history and arriving nearly four years after Ms. Scott made a $15 million donation to the organization, comes at a critical time for youth mental health. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 34, and according to a 2024 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2.6 million adolescents age 12 to 17 years (10.1%) had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. Approximately 1.2 million (4.6 %) made a plan for suicide, and 700,000 (2.7%) attempted suicide in the past 12 months. And yet, mental health receives just 0.5% of all philanthropic health spending, the lowest proportion of any area of health care funding.

"We are deeply grateful for MacKenzie Scott's continued, transformational generosity to The Jed Foundation and the trust she has placed in us. The gift she made in 2022 helped catalyze the growth we've since achieved, adding four million youth served through JED's school and community-based programs. Today's gift significantly builds on her support for our mission," says John MacPhee, JED's CEO. "This powerful endorsement of our direction and team allows us to think boldly and strategically about how we will dramatically elevate our impact. We plan to utilize these resources over the next five to eight years to ensure they create durable, sustainable change."

"Ms. Scott's milestone gift, as well as the continued support from our many generous donors, is very much appreciated and an altruistic testament to the importance of our work," said Adee Shepen, JED's chief growth officer. "The commitment from the philanthropic community is critical to the success of our team's tireless efforts and organization's mission helping young people thrive while also equipping them with lifelong skills for sustained emotional resilience and growth."

For more than 25 years, JED has touched the lives of more than seven million students and formed partnerships with over 550 colleges, 150 high schools, and 28 school districts representing an additional 670 schools. JED also works with youth-serving community-based organizations, representing over 1.8 million youth, to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems through its Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention.

A recent report by JED analyzed a decade of data (2013 to 2023) from schools participating in its JED Campus program and found that JED's Comprehensive Approach was effective. Schools that completed JED Campus saw statistically significant improvements in student mental health at the end of the program compared to baseline. Students reported they were:

10% less likely to experience suicidal ideation
13% less likely to make a suicide plan
25% less likely to attempt suicide in the last year

Students also had improved average anxiety and depression scores and were more likely to stay in school and graduate.

JED was created in 2000 by Phil and Donna Satow following the loss of their youngest son, Jed, to suicide while he was in college. At the time, there was no uniform model for preventing suicide in schools, and mental health was frequently overlooked due to the shame, secrecy, and stigma that often surrounded mental health challenges. As a result, the Satows created a suicide prevention blueprint to help students navigate the emotional challenges of high school and college, prepare for adulthood, and thrive.

"Since we lost Jed, we committed ourselves to helping other parents avoid our heartbreak," said Phil Satow, JED's co-founder, board member, and former board chair. "This remarkable expression of generosity is sure to touch countless families giving young people the chance for a full life. We are so grateful and thank MacKenzie Scott from the bottom of our hearts."

Visit jedfoundation.org for information or get tips and resources to support the emotional well-being of teens and young adults at JED's Mental Health Resource Center.

About The Jed Foundation (JED)
JED is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation's teens and young adults. We're partnering with high schools, colleges, school districts, and youth-serving community-based organizations to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems. We're equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. We're encouraging community awareness, understanding, and action for young adult mental health.