MacKenzie Scott’s $84.5 Million Donation
National Operations 7 Comments 
councils, gsusa, money
The news broke yesterday about billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s $84.5 million donation to Girl Scouts. The money will be divided between GSUSA and 29 councils. One article makes it sound like the councils haven’t been chosen yet, but another one names the Southern Arizona council as a recipient. The article doesn’t state how much each council will receive, but the Southern Arizona council is listed as receiving $1.4 million.
How much does that leave GSUSA? Doing the math, $1.5 million x 29 councils = $43.5 million. I’ve seen reports where some councils received more than $2 million (and even over $4 million), so if you bump that up to $60 million going toward councils, that leaves GSUSA with $24.5 million. Note that this is TOTAL conjecture on my part and don’t quote me.
So what will be done with this money? The Forbes article states that it will be used to “launch diversity initiatives; expand career-readiness, mental wellness and STEM programs; boost staff and volunteer training and upgrade facilities at Girl Scout camps, including accessibility improvements and ‘high adventure elements.'” But we don’t know if that is what councils will be doing with it or GSUSA specifically.
The 2022 Stewardship Report will be held Thursday, October 27th at 4pm EST, and it’s open to any member. The deadline to register is this Monday, October 24th. Supposedly anyone can submit questions ahead of time, but directions haven’t been released as to how to do so. I’m sure a few will be asking about this windfall and what will be done with it! Addendum 10/20/22: Here’s info on how to register, the form to ask questions, and the PDF of the report. I’m sure the recording of the webinar will be added in the future.
My council was not a recipient. Sad face. Hopefully whatever GSUSA received will be something that all members can benefit from. On the national side, I’d personally love to see a new program instead of the piecemeal corporate sponsored badge system we have now. Or even a new IT platform!
And MacKenzie, while you’re at it, can you spare $350 to buy our Trailblazer troop a Garmin InReach mini? 😉
Glad to read your post. I”m full of questions! That’s a lot of money, isn’t it? I wonder how the general cookie-buying public will react? Will they think “we” are pretty well off and not feel obliged to buy any more Thin Mints? And has the job just gotten tougher for council level fund development staff; whether or not they were recipients of the windfall? AND, the troop level volunteer (I consider the backbone of Girl Scouting) & parent? How will they perceive this? Glad I don’t have to visit the local United Way committee to plead our case for funds.
$15 million stays with GSUSA. The rest goes to 29 councils in various amounts. The most I have heard for a single council is $5 million. The gift is amazing news, and even if your council did not receive a direct gift, the donation will help all of us. The only disappointing part of this donation is that GSUSA failed once again from a communications point. They should have anticipated the confusion, rumors and hurt feelings that went along with donations that only went to a few councils. GSUSA needs to improve their communications team.
CNN reported that the money went to Girl Scouts of America. Sheesh. Why is it such a problem to get the name of the organization correct?
$1.8 million to GS of Nassau County.
2.4 million to Girl Scouts of Eastern Mo.
In several newspaper articles Ms. Scott has been very clear that she donates without strings. So did she change her MO this time? The way this donation was announced is unsatisfying.
It is disingenuous for GSUSA to withhold the process by which the recipient councils were chosen. Are we to believe Ms. Scott simply handed them a list of 29 councils without any analysis? Did GSUSA give her a list of councils and statistics about membership so her team could decide who needed the money. Or perhaps she used a dartboard?
And if she did single out 29 councils, why would leadership accept that? Why didn’t they tell her that we are a federated, democratic organization? Why didn’t they agree to take the donation and to use some methodology to appropriate the funds across all councils? Did she really tell GSUSA to take $15 million and did she decide exactly how much the 29 councils received? What happens to 29 councils with a donation this size affects all 111.
All members, past and present should demand to have access to the documentation facilitating the donation, the criteria used to choose recipient councils and the amount received. Our leadership should be held accountable for being deliberately opaque.
We are simply asking for the rationale applied to this decision. As this is likely a once-in-a-lifetime gift, the lack of leadership from GSUSA makes a sweet donation leave a sour taste in 2/3’s of the councils who serve our girls.
Which 29 local councils received part of this very generous donation and how much did each get?
$800,000 Girl Scouts of Hawai`i
$800,000 Girl Scouts of VA Skyline
$1.1 million Girl Scouts Heart of the South
$1.1 Million Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council
$1.4 million Girl Scout council in Southern Arizona
$1.4 million Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois
$1.4 million Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona
$1.8 million Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey
$1.8 million Girl Scouts of Nassau County
$2 Million Girl Scouts of Greater New York council (GSGNY)
$2 million Girl Scouts of West Central Florida
$2.4 million Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines
$2.4 million Girl Scouts of Central Indiana
$2.4 million Girl Scouts of Connecticut
$2.4 million Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri (GSEM)
$2.4 million Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan (GSSEM)
$2.8 million Girl Scouts of Colorado
$2.8 million Girl Scouts of Orange County
$2.8 million Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council
$3.8 million Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital
$3.8 million Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX)
$4.2 million Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana
$4.2 million Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys
$4.2 million Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council
$4.9 million Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA)
$4.9 million Girl Scouts of Northern California
significant Caribe Girl Scouts Council
generous Girl Scouts of Gateway Council
Unknown Girl Scouts – Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas