One year later: MacKenzie Scott's impact with United Way of Racine County

Feb. 21, 2022 (Racine, WI) — One year after author and billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott used her Medium blog to launch a new brand of giving, United Way of Racine County was one of 46 United Ways that joined forces to demonstrate the collective power of her gifts across the country.

In a Medium blog post titled “The United Way 46: One Year Later,” the United Ways chronicle the impact of Scott’s giving across their local communities, which range from urban to suburban to rural. From providing basic needs and rebuilding supports in the aftermath of natural disasters to tackling systemic inequities by bolstering Black-led businesses and nonprofits and stabilizing vulnerable critical sectors such as child care, Scott is helping build stronger, more equitable communities, according to the blog post.

“Her giving allowed us to accelerate projects, dream up innovative ideas, and leverage the funds with purpose – just as she hoped, reads the United Way 46 blog post. “Thank you to Ms. Scott for seeing us for who we are … innovative changemakers implicitly focused on equity and inclusion.”

At United Way of Racine County, Scott’s transformational gift has already had a tangible impact on the community. With the cushion of Scott’s significant financial support, United Way of was able to increase its equity-centered work through the creation of the Equity Innovation Fund, provide more support for the technology and training needs of local nonprofits through the creation of the Training and Technology Fund and increase funding for United Way’s LIFT initiative.

“We were humbled by the faith Ms. Scott placed in us to achieve results and our team set out immediately to maximize this gift for Racine County for years to come,” Ali Haigh, president and CEO of United Way of Racine County said. “We invite others to follow Ms. Scott’s lead and provide hope by investing for the common good.”

In addition to the on-the-ground action these United Ways took, Scott’s gift also sparked a learning community among these 46 United Ways. Singled out by Scott for their strong leadership and results, this cohort has swapped insights and learnings as they put Scott’s gift into action, Haigh said.

“As Ms. Scott wrote, her gifts are already creating a value beyond what was initially imagined,” Haigh said. “And we’re just getting started.”>

To learn more about the Equity Innovation Fund, the Training and Technology Fund and United Way’s LIFT initiative, visit: UnitedWayRacine.org