MacKenzie Scott has crossed another major milestone in her years-long philanthropy campaign. The billionaire author and philanthropist’s latest gift—a $42 million donation to Elizabeth City State University—has pushed her total giving to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) beyond $1 billion.
According to Fortune, the latest contribution was announced during Elizabeth City State University’s Founders Day celebration in North Carolina. School officials said the funding will support the university’s ASCEND 2030 strategic plan, including new scholarships, expanded academic programs, and upgrades to campus facilities.
The donation comes five years after Scott previously gave the university $15 million in 2020.
Elizabeth City State Chancellor S. Keith Hargrove Sr. said the new funding arrives at a pivotal moment for the university, which recently celebrated its 135th anniversary.
“I want to express our deepest gratitude to MacKenzie Scott for this remarkable act of generosity,” Hargrove said in a statement. “Her investment affirms what we already know: that institutions like ECSU are powerful catalysts for change.”
He added that the latest gift will help the school move faster on projects already outlined in its long-term plan. “Gifts like this do more than provide resources; they accelerate momentum,” Hargrove said.
The Elizabeth City State donation is the latest chapter in Scott’s growing financial support of HBCUs, which began in 2020 and has accelerated over the past year. Since then, Scott has repeatedly made some of the largest private donations in the history of the schools she supports, often returning to institutions she had already funded.
Scott’s 2025 giving spree also included $50 million to Winston-Salem State University, $50 million to Virginia State University, $38 million to Spelman College, $38 million to Clark Atlanta University, $38 million to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and $42 million to Alcorn State University.
Other HBCUs that have received major donations over the past several years include Morehouse College, Hampton University, Delaware State University, Tuskegee University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Dillard University, and Lincoln University.
The HBCU donations are part of a much larger philanthropic effort. Since 2020, Scott has given away more than $26 billion to organizations focused on education, health care, community development, disaster recovery, and diversity initiatives.
In 2025 alone, she also gave $70 million each to the United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
