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View Winners → Community Aug 09, 2022
| Image courtesy of In The Band/California Community Foundation
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The California Community Foundation has received a gift in the form of two single-family homes in Beverly Hills, jointly valued at about $55 million, from author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the organization announced Tuesday.
It is the second gift to CCF from Scott, who in 2021 gave $20 million to establish the L.A. Arts Endowment Fund, which supports diverse, small to mid- sized arts organizations in Los Angeles.
The discretionary gift of the two homes allocates 90% of sale proceeds to the Foundation’s affordable housing grant-making efforts. The remaining funds will be allocated by CCF to support its immigrant integration program to advance opportunities for the millions of immigrants from throughout the world who call Los Angeles County home, according to the CCF.
The cost of housing stands out as one of the most critical issues affecting the lives of Los Angeles residents. A priority for Scott, the primary focus of the $55 million will be to permanently endow grant-making efforts to benefit Angelenos in need of affordable housing, the organization said.
The group said that since 2000, it has granted over $30 million to ensure Los Angeles residents have safe and stable homes, together with the economic opportunities they need to thrive. The foundation says it has also been an advocacy leader for increased affordable housing production, helping lead the passage of Proposition HHH, an initiative to add 10,000 new units in the city by 2026.
Los Angeles is poised to exceed its target by funding 10,510 units in 178 projects, and Scott’s gift will permanently support the expansion of these grant-making efforts, the CCF said.
“We applaud and are grateful to MacKenzie Scott’s extraordinary philanthropic investment in Los Angeles,” CCF President and CEO Antonia Hernandez said.
“Her singular commitment — here and across the country — to transformative philanthropy has already secured the long-term future of dozens of non-profits. With the California Community Foundation, her generosity will support organizations struggling to solve some of the most intractable issues facing our community. We are grateful for her partnership.”
