MacKenzie Scott gives unsolicited donation of $11 million to a Brooklyn school

By Brooklyn Magazine Staff

A Brooklyn school is the latest recipient in MacKenzie Scott’s donation spree.

Ascend Public Charter Schools, the borough’s largest charter school, announced that it had received an “unsolicited” $11 million gift from the billionaire philanthropist, which the school notes is its largest single donation the 15-year-old institution has ever received.

“We are so humbled to be chosen by Ms. Scott,” wrote Ascend’s CEO Recy Benjamin Dunn in a statement. “This donation comes at a pivotal time as we plan to open three new school facilities, strengthen our program and deepen our impact within the Brooklyn community.”

Ascend has multiple locations throughout Brooklyn with about 6,000 students in grades kindergarten through 12. The $11 million donation will help it open three new schools in Flatbush, Cypress Hills and Brownsville, as well as expand its enrollment by another 1,000 students by 2027.

Scott is the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and is one of the richest women in the world from her divorce settlement. Bloomberg estimates that her net worth is currently about $22 billion. So far, she’s given away more than $12 billion, including $2 million to the Laundromat Project in Bed-Stuy.

She has said she’s made it her mission to donate most of her money to underrepresented people from various backgrounds and communities — a categorization that Ascend fits. More than 90 percent of its students are Black or Latinx and about 80 percent of its staff are people of color.

Dunn added that the Ascend is “unapologetically Brooklyn” and said that it has had the option to expand it through other parts of the city, but decided to keep its focus on the borough.

“We are proud of what we have accomplished so far, but our work in Brooklyn is not done. We continually strive to enhance conditions for academic and economic success in our community,” he wrote.