FROM HBCUs: HAPPY BIRTHDAY & THANK YOU, MACKENZIE SCOTT!

On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, as philanthropist MacKenzie Scott marks her birthday, I write this letter not simply as an individual, but as a son of the HBCU experience, a professor shaped by Black higher education, a director committed to educational uplift, and an alumnus who understands what it means when institutions that have historically done so much with so little are finally seen, trusted, and meaningfully resourced. Scott was born on April 7, 1970, and through her philanthropic platform, Yield Giving, she has now directed more than $26 billion to thousands of nonprofit organizations since 2019.

This column is a salute of gratitude.
It is a public thank-you.
It is an open letter of appreciation from those across the HBCU landscape who know that philanthropy is not just about dollars. It is about dignity. It is about timing. It is about trust. And it is about whether donors truly believe that Black institutions are worthy not merely of survival, but of strength.

In that regard, MacKenzie Scott has changed history.

I have said before, and I still say now:
“MacKenzie Scott has done more for HBCUs than any man, woman, or person in history. No single donor in American history—not Rockefeller, Carnegie, Mellon, Vanderbilt, Morgan, Buffett, Musk, or Gates—has ever invested more directly and broadly into Black higher education than MacKenzie Scott.”

That quote was later highlighted by educator Benjamin O. Watson, MBA, in his November 24, 2025, LinkedIn article, where he argued that the statement resonated because it articulated what many in the HBCU community had already come to understand about Scott’s historic philanthropic footprint.

And the facts still support that conclusion.
Recent reporting shows that by the end of 2025, Scott’s giving to HBCUs had reached roughly $1.35 billion since 2020, including at least $783 million in 2025 alone, according to CBS News. The Associated Press reported that a major portion of her 2025 giving went to HBCUs, while JBHE and Forbes documented record-setting gifts across the HBCU sector.

That matters because these were not symbolic checks.

These were transformational investments.
Howard University received $80 million. Morgan State received $63 million. Spelman College received $38 million in a new gift, building on an earlier $20 million gift, with the college saying the unrestricted support would help expand scholarships and modernize technology infrastructure. JBHE also documented major gifts to institutions such as Clark Atlanta, Virginia State, and others, while UNCF announced a $70 million gift from Scott to strengthen the pooled endowment fund supporting its 37 member institutions.

This is one reason Scott’s giving feels so different.

She has not simply funded campuses. She has trusted them.

Her model is rooted in unrestricted giving, allowing leaders to decide where the need is greatest rather than forcing them to perform for permission. Yield Giving explains that recipients are chosen because their work is admired, and the gift is meant to be used however the organization sees fit. That approach has become one of the most defining features of her philanthropy.

That kind of trust reminds me of Luke 12:48: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” Scott has been given extraordinary wealth, and unlike so many in American history, she has responded to that wealth with uncommon moral urgency. Her giving reflects an understanding that resources are not merely to be possessed. They are to be stewarded.

It also calls to mind Proverbs 11:25: “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” For generations, HBCUs have watered this nation’s intellectual, civic, spiritual, and professional lives. They have produced teachers, preachers, doctors, lawyers, scientists, artists, engineers, military leaders, and movement-builders, often while being dramatically underfunded compared with predominantly white institutions. HBCUs are the soul of higher education. Scott’s generosity has not erased that historic injustice, but it has helped confront it with action. Her philanthropy has said, in effect, that these institutions are worthy of abundant investment, not occasional sympathy.

And there is a third scripture that fits this moment well: Galatians 6:9: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” That verse speaks directly to the HBCU story. Our institutions have endured segregation, underfunding, erasure, and doubt. Yet they kept educating, leading, producing, and building. In due season, some harvests arrive through students. Some through legacy. Some through leadership. And some, as we have now seen, through a donor bold enough to move resources at a scale history cannot ignore.

As a social historian, I do not use historical superlatives lightly.

America has long celebrated its giant philanthropists, and we are grateful for them—Rockefeller, Carnegie, Mellon, Morgan, and in modern times Gates and Buffett. But history is not only about who gave the most in general. It is about who gave most meaningfully to communities and institutions that had long been denied equitable investment. On that question, MacKenzie Scott occupies singular territory in the story of Black higher education. The breadth, pace, and unrestricted nature of her HBCU giving distinguish her in ways that are historically significant.

If MacKenzie Scott were Dr. Bruce Banner’s Incredible Hulk, then perhaps I have become something like Mr. McGee, the journalist keeping track of where the force has moved. Only in this case, I am not following destruction. I am following restoration. I am tracing the path of what I call her green bag for HBCUs — that remarkable movement of capital, confidence, and compassion that has reached campuses and organizations too often overlooked by traditional power.

And let it be clearly said: her giving has not only benefited HBCUs. Scott’s philanthropy has extended across a broad range of nonprofits, institutions, and causes in education, economic mobility, community development, and social good. But HBCUs have plainly been one of the most important and visible beneficiaries of her modern philanthropic legacy.

So on this birthday, let this letter serve as a token of public gratitude.

Dear MacKenzie Scott:
Thank you for seeing HBCUs. Thank you for trusting Black institutions. Thank you for investing in presidents, faculty, staff, and students you may never meet but whose futures you have strengthened. Thank you for modeling a kind of philanthropy that is fast, faithful, and free of ego.

Thank you for helping campuses dream bigger than deferred maintenance, emergency budgeting, and generational scarcity. Thank you for reminding this country that generosity can still be strategic, humane, and transformational at the same time.

All HBCUs may not speak in one identical voice, but I believe many across our community share the same spirit on this matter:

We are grateful.
We are pleased.
We are encouraged.
And we thank God for your kindness.
Happy birthday, MacKenzie Scott.
From classrooms and campuses, from alumni and administrators, from students present and generations yet to come, please know this:

Black higher education sees what you have done.

History sees what you have done.
And many of us will never stop saying thank you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Edmond W. Davis is an American social historian, international speaker, and Amazon #1 bestselling author. He is a global authority on the Tuskegee Airmen and serves as the founder of the National HBCU Black Wall Street Career Fest. A native of Philadelphia, PA, and current resident of Little Rock, AR, Davis is committed to cultural empowerment and educational equity through storytelling and civic engagement. Davis is a grand marshal at the 38th Annual African American History Month Celebration Parade.

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