Posted December 12, 20238:11 pm
By Crain's Staff
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott included a Cleveland group in her latest round of donations, announced on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
On the site for Yield Giving, Scott's charitable organization, the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland is named as a recipient of one of Scott's gifts. Though Yield doesn't list an amount, a press release from the Legal Aid Society puts the gift at $2.5 million.
In the Legal Aid press release, the organization says, "Legal Aid’s Board of Directors is honored by this one-time special investment in our work. The Board will take time to thoughtfully identify how the funding will be used so this one-time investment can have the highest and most sustainable impact on our client communities."
The statement adds that the board plans to "align" the spending of Scott's gift with its new 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.
In the statement, Colleen Cotter, executive director of Legal Aid, called the gift "an honor" and noted that the gift is the "largest one-time gift in Legal Aid's 118-year history."
She added, “We believe in the ripple effect of our efforts, and this gift bolsters our work to fight injustice, and to create ripples of hope as we ‘sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.’”
Scott, who previously donated $20 million to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and $6.8 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio, also distributed funds to a handful of other groups in Ohio in this round of giving.
Those groups and their gifts are:
- $6 million to the Muskingum Valley Health Centers in Cambridge and Zanesville.
- $5 million to the Ironton-Lawrence County Area Community Action Organization in Ironton.
- $2.2 million to the Crossroad Health Center in Cincinnati.
- $1.6 million to SpringVale Health Centers in Caroll and Tuscarawas counties.
In total, that's $17.3 million in donations to Ohio organizations.
Source: Crain's Cleveland Business - MacKenzie Scott gives to Legal Aid Society