MacKenzie Scott’s large, unrestricted gifts have left largely positive impacts on recipient organizations and the communities they serve, including expanding and improving programs for greater impact and building stronger organizations, a report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) finds.

According to the report, Emerging Impacts: The Effects of MacKenzie Scott’s Large, Unrestricted Grants (56 pages, PDF), the median size of Scott’s gifts is approximately $5.75 million—significantly larger than the median grant of $110,000 from a staffed foundation—and represents 83 percent of the organization’s prior-year budget. Scott has given more than $14 billion in just over three years; this is the first year of her official giving platform Yield Giving.

According to the report, nonprofit leaders describe expanding and improving programs to pursue opportunities—often related to equity—which resulted in what they increasingly see as demonstrable impact, as well as using Scott’s grants to strengthen their organizations’ capacity and staff climate, translating into better support for the communities their organizations serve. Moreover, only 11 nonprofits (less than 2 percent of recipients) reported having encountered a major challenge related to the receipt or use of their grant from Scott.

Indeed, the positive impacts are a stark contrast from the challenges or difficulties that other funders predicted when she began her giving. Yet, CEP vice president for research Elisha Smith Arrillaga, who was a co-author of the report, said many funders still retain a deep unease and distrust in the ability of even carefully vetted organizations to handle large infusions of resources. “We hope this research provokes introspection as to why that is,” she said.

“She is challenging the historic default settings of many big donors by giving big and giving with humility and respect for the knowledge and abilities of talented nonprofit leaders doing great work in communities across the country and around the world,” said CEP president Phil Buchanan. “Every donor, even those who choose to give very differently, can learn from this fascinating natural experiment.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Luka TDB)