MacKenzie Scott’s large, unrestricted gifts have helped strengthen nonprofits’ financial stability and increased their community impact, even as there are mixed views of her giving among foundation leaders, a report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) finds.

Based on survey responses from hundreds of nonprofit and foundation leaders, the report, Breaking the Mold: The Transformative Effect of MacKenzie Scott’s Big Gifts (60 pages, PDF), is the third and final installment in a three-year research study into the experiences of nonprofits that received gifts through Scott’s “quiet vetting” process. According to the report, recipients are using the gifts to ensure long-term financial stability, and few anticipate heightened challenges as a result of the funding. Only 7 percent of foundation leaders reported that their approach had been particularly influenced by Scott’s grantmaking.

“There is much to learn from the experiences of nonprofits who received grants using Scott’s approach,” said CEP research vice president Elisha Smith Arrillaga. “These organizations have managed large gifts in strategic ways that have impacted thousands of lives—whether doubling or tripling the number of individuals receiving food from food banks or increasing the number of houses being built in towns across the country, or countless other examples. Investing in organizations and leaders that are doing amazing work can have huge impacts on communities.”

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