Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has made a record-breaking $15 million donation to the San Jose based non-profit, Fistula Foundation, significantly bolstering their innovative efforts to eliminate the suffering associated with obstetric fistula within a generation, as reported by San Jose Business Journal earlier today.
This game-changing donation marks the largest single gift in the Fistula Foundation's history and supports their ambitious vision to end the misery caused by obstetric fistula which, according to the Yahoo Finance report, affects between 50,000 and 100,000 women each year worldwide, primarily in rural parts of Africa and Asia. The plan's development is another stride forward in the organization's ongoing fight against the condition since its inception in 2000.
Obstetric fistula is a debilitating childbirth injury that leaves women incontinent and, in many cases, isolated from their families and communities. The condition can only be rectified through surgery, access to which is often limited in areas where it is most prevalent. Kate Grant, CEO of the Fistula Foundation, expressed immense gratitude for Scott's contribution, stating that the donation represented "a milestone without precedent" for the organization, as mentioned in the Yahoo Finance article.
Scott's philanthropic activities have become well known for their transformative impact on many non-profits across the globe. The unrestricted nature of her donations allows recipient organizations to navigate their allocation without bureaucratic constraints, which Grant refers to as "pioneering a revolution in philanthropy."
The Fistula Foundation now has Scott's historic donation as a catalyzing force to launch their strategic five-year plan, valued at $110 million, aiming to support 80,000 surgeries. The five-year plan will surpass the organization's impressive achievement of 75,000 surgeries supported in the period from 2009 to 2022. This latest initiative will also see the expansion of the organization's model to five new countries while adding more than 40 surgery and outreach organizations to its global network of partners.
Scott's donation and her continuing philanthropic endeavors have become transformative milestones in various sectors. For example, in 2020, Scott donated $10 million to Goodwill of Silicon Valley, embodying her dedication to community-focused non-profit organizations. This philanthropic drive has notably extended to the developing world, with the Fistula Foundation representing one of the few recipients focusing entirely on this area.
#JeffBezos' $500M yacht appears to have figurehead of girlfriend #LaurenSanchez. https://t.co/8sGGYdje4a pic.twitter.com/d6Ly95CvJO
— New York Post (@nypost) May 19, 2023
It should also be noted that this significant sum comes during an interesting time for both MacKenzie Scott and her ex-husband, Jeff Bezos. While the Fistula Foundation benefits from Scott's generosity, Bezos has just recently become engaged to Lauren Sánchez and is celebrating with a lavish trip aboard his $500 million yacht, as reported by Page Six.
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