MacKenzie Scott has made a record-breaking $42 million donation to Elizabeth City State University. The gift is historic as it is the largest dollar per student enrolled gift of any HBCU that Scott has donated to so far. The news comes as Scott gave away $26 billion after pledging to donate at least half of her fortune in 2019.
Elizabeth City State University is gifted $42 million
The HBCU announced the donation during its Founders Day Convocation on Friday. Chancellor S. Keith Hargrove Sr. shared the news during his keynote address.
“I want to express our deepest gratitude to MacKenzie Scott for this remarkable act of generosity and for her recognition of the critical role that HBCUs play in expanding opportunity and strengthening communities,” he said, according to a press release and as reported by Forbes. “Her investment affirms what we already know: that institutions like ECSU are powerful catalysts for change.”
Scott gifted $42 million to the university, making it the largest dollar per student enrolled gift of any HBCU among her recent donations. It also marks Scott’s second donation to ECSU. In 2020, she gifted the university $15 million, according to The Grio.
The university will use the donation to help implement ASCEND 2030. The plan will help create endowed scholarship programs for students, establish endowments to support enhanced academic programs, as well as fund academic, athletic and residential infrastructure projects.
“Gifts like this do more than provide resources; they accelerate momentum,” Hargrove said. “This gift allows institutions like Elizabeth City State University to move boldly toward the future while remaining grounded in the mission that has guided us for 135 years.”
About 2,500 students are currently enrolled at ECSU, which celebrated its 135th anniversary on Friday.
MacKenzie Scott has donated over $26 billion so far
Scott’s fortune was valued at $28.4 billion after settling her divorce with Jeff Bezos in 2019. At the time, she received a 4% stake in Amazon, according to Forbes. She then pledged to donate at least half of her fortune.
“In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I have a disproportionate amount of money to share,” she wrote in May 2019 as she signed the Giving Pledge. “My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.”
Her pledge has resulted in over $26 billion donated to a variety of institutions and organizations. In 2025, she donated $7.2 billion, according to Forbes. Scott has given out mainly unrestricted donations to dozens of HBCUs, tribal colleges and nonprofit organizations focused on college access and affordability for underserved students.
The post MacKenzie Scott’s Latest HBCU Donation: Record-Breaking $42M Gift To Elizabeth City State University appeared first on Blavity.
