MacKenzie Scott  Announces $250 million Open Call to Elevate Local Organizations

MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving  has announced the launch of a $250 million Open Call focused on elevating organizations working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States: communities, individuals, and families with access to the fewest foundational resources and opportunities.

This initiative seeks community-led organizations whose explicit purpose is to advance the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles. Organizations best suited to this initiative will enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources. This includes, for instance, organizations providing access to health care, stable and affordable housing, education and job training, support for sustained employment, asset ownership, civic engagement, and other pathways. They may also be engaged in data collection and communication to amplify the voices of people and communities struggling against inequities.

Community-led, community-focused nonprofit organizations from across the United States and U.S. Territories are invited to apply and share the impact they have had on the abilities of individuals and families in their communities to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being.

Interested organizations must register to apply before 4 p.m. U.S. Central Time on Friday, May 5, 2023. Complete applications are due before 4 p.m. U.S. Central Time on Monday, June 12, 2023. Organizations must have an annual operating budget of at least $1 million and no more than $5 million for at least two of the last four fiscal years to be eligible to apply.

The Yield Giving Open Call is being managed by Lever for Change, a nonprofit that leverages its networks to find and fund solutions to the world’s greatest challenges, including racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of economic opportunity, and climate change.

After applications are submitted, they will undergo both administrative review and participatory review. In the Fall of 2023, up to 1,000 finalists top-rated by their peers will advance to a second round of review by an external evaluation panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause. Following a final round of due diligence, the donor team will choose 250 from among the organizations top-rated by their peers and external evaluators, giving each of them unrestricted operating gifts of $1 million. The 250 awardees will be announced in early 2024.

In a recent press release CEO of Lever for Change, Cecilia Conrad shared this statement about Lever for Change’s partnership with Yield Giving. “This Open Call is designed to empower and strengthen communities across the United States that are often overlooked,” said Conrad. “We are looking for organizations that are making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. The awards will recognize teams that demonstrate the potential to make progress toward reducing disparities in health, education, economic outcomes, and other critical issues.”

In the same press statement, Mackenzie Scott also expressed excitment.“We are excited to be partnering with Lever for Change to create this new pathway to support for organizations making positive change in their communities,” added Scott. “Teams on the front lines of challenges have insights no one else can offer, so there are three big headlines here in my heart: Community change makers can nominate themselves. Community change makers get feedback from their peers. Community change makers have a powerful role in funding decisions.”