CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — United Way of Metro Chicago is one of the charities receiving millions of dollars from the ex-wife of the world’s richest man.
President and CEO Sean Garrett on Wednesday said he was speechless after getting a call the week before Thanksgiving telling him MacKenzie Scott was donating $25 million to the non-profit.
He says the gift from Scott, who divorced Jeff Bezos last year, is the largest single donation the local chapter has received and comes at a time of great need brought on by struggles from COVID, a summer of unrest and years of disparity in Chicago.
Garrett says his organization plans to take some time to review how to spend the money before sharing it with community groups to fund housing, education, economic development and the arts.
The United Way has been working on programs in several neighborhoods, including Austin, where he says they’re looking at how residents spend disposable income in Oak Park instead of closer to home.
The massive gift does not mean the United Way is done fundraising.
Garrett said they hope to use the donation to leverage even more gifts.
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