Friends of the Children Included in a New MacKenzie Scott Blog Post

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott shares in a Medium.com post today that Friends of the Children is one of 343 organizations she has funded over the last seven months, with gifts to these organizations totaling a combined nearly $2 Billion. Scott says that these are organizations who support “the voices and opportunities of people from underserved communities.” Friends of the Children and 12 of its chapters across the US are listed and linked in Scott’s online announcement.

This past August, the Friends of the Children national network received a gift of $44 million from Scott. Of the $44 million, Friends of the Children – National received a $15 million gift and 12 of its chapters received direct gifts totaling $29 million. It is the largest single gift ever received by the organization in its 30-year history.

“Friends of the Children is honored to be one of the organizations who received an extraordinary gift from MacKenzie Scott this year,” said Terri Sorensen, CEO of Friends of the Children – National. “When I read her words today about empowering others to tell their own story, I am tremendously proud of the difference our organization is making as we counter intergenerational poverty and support youth and families in avoiding the foster care system.”

MacKenzie Scott begins her post today with a poem called “Dakota Homecoming,” by Indigenous writer Gwen Nell Westerman, from Minnesota, who is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate, and also a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. The poem focuses on people having a voice for themselves, and this theme is carried throughout the blog post. Scott also references the saying, “nothing about us without us,” which she says she learned recently.

“For me, it’s another beautiful and powerful reminder,” writes Scott. “I needn’t ask those I care about what to say to them, or what to do for them. I can share what I have with them to stand behind them as they speak and act for themselves.”

MacKenzie Scott’s extraordinary gift to Friends of the Children will support the organization in expanding its child and whole-family well-being services to thousands more children and families at new Friends of the Children locations. The funds will go towards launching 10 new chapters in 25 states and sovereign nations in partnership with communities by 2025. In addition, Friends of the Children – National will be creating a chapter impact fund to support ongoing grants to chapters and to grow the National team to further support our work across the country.