4 Cleveland nonprofits awarded millions from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Four Northeast Ohio nonprofits received millions of dollars Tuesday from Yield Giving, the charitable organization run by MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp. received $1 million. Birthing Beautiful Communities, the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland and Towards Employment received $2 million each.

More than 6,000 nonprofits submitted applications for grants in an open call launched last March, according to Yield. Panels of nonprofit representatives chose 361 community-led nonprofits “for their outstanding work advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles.”

Yield calls the organizations “vital agents of change.”

In Cleveland:

• Birthing Beautiful Communities is dedicated to improving Cleveland’s dire infant mortality rate through culture, education, advocacy, support and engagement. The group plans to build a new birthing center on Cleveland’s East Side.
• Fairfax Renaissance aims to strengthen historically marginalized Black neighborhoods and advocate for solutions.
• The LGBT Center works to enrich the lives of Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ community through advocacy, support, education and celebration.
• Towards Employment believes in championing the potential of everyone to have a rewarding career today, while working to create an equitable and inclusive workforce for tomorrow.

Since 2019, Yield Giving has distributed more than $16.5 billion to nearly 2,000 non-profits around the country to be used toward benefiting the communities they serve.

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District received $20 million from Scott in November 2022. The district created the Get More Opportunities program to distribute the donation over five years through a grant process designed and implemented by CMSD students.

However, a year into the program, newly appointed district CEO Warren Morgan announced he would be ending the program and reallocating the remaining $17 million to the district’s general fund. Following criticism from Cleveland City Council members who said it amounted to a broken promise to students, Morgan announced in late February that the district would relaunch the program.

The Cleveland organizations chosen Tuesday expressed their thanks.

“We are sincerely moved by this transformative gift supporting the LGBT Community Center of Cleveland, fueling our unwavering dedication to service excellence,” said LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland Executive Director Phyllis Harris. “The LGBTQIA community can trust in the Center’s leadership to be visionary and accountable stewards of this invaluable support.”

Said Jill Rizika, Towards Employment president and CEO: “For our board, staff and partners who care about our work, this is a dream come true. The world of work is rapidly changing, and this is a great opportunity to thoughtfully identify how this one-time investment can be a catalyst that ensures high-impact equitable community change.”

In the past, Scott has given money to Cleveland organizations including the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Ohio, YMCA and YWCA Greater Cleveland.

Three other Ohio organizations also won grants Tuesday: HER Cincinnati, Women Helping Women and Justice for Migrant Women.