Philanthropist pledges $15 million to WWCC

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott recently announced $4.1 billion in cash gifts to 384 groups across the United States, including $15 million to Walla Walla Community College, according to the Walla Walla Union Bulletin.

Scott, an author and the ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, announced the gifts Tuesday on a blog post.

The donations were part of her making good on a promise she made last year to give away more than half the wealth she received after divorcing Bezos, the newspaper reported.

The donation to WWCC is the largest individual donation in the 53-year history of the school, according to Jessica Cook, executive director of the WWCC Foundation

WWCC President Chad Hickox said he received a phone call about three weeks ago — an anonymous donor wanted to give money to the school, and they only wanted to speak to Hickox.

Hickox said a representative then called on Scott’s behalf and read a nondisclosure statement to him. When Hickox agreed to the terms verbally, the representative then told him who the donor was and the amount of money — $15 million.

“I was frankly a little bit overwhelmed,” Hickox said. “The possibilities that it opened for me and the ways it could be used to serve our community — my mind just started spinning about all the good we could do with it.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say there wasn’t a little bit of disbelief ... it took a little while for it to sink in.”

The money will be funneled through the Walla Walla Community College Foundation and treated as a one-time gift, which means it won’t be used to “plug holes” in the budget, Hickox said.

“(And that) means we’re going to have to be very thoughtful ... and really look at all of our options,” Hickox said.

The college, which has a satellite campus at Clarkston, will consult with its board of governors and WWCC trustees over the next few months to determine strategies for where to target the money. Announcements on how the money will be spent won’t come until that process is underway.

The fact that this came at the end of a harrowing year for the school and the community was a welcome plot twist to 2020, Hickox said.

According to Fortune, Scott is the richest woman in the world and the 18th richest person, with more than $68 billion in assets, including more than $23.6 billion this year alone because of her stake in Amazon, which is gaining money at historic rates this year.

She has already given away about $6 billion this year and is continuing to research nonprofits around the country for potential gifts.