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Kansas City Nonprofits Awarded Millions from MacKenzie Scott, Yield Giving

Kansas City nonprofits KC Healthy Kids and Amethyst Place receive $1 million and $2 million grants respectively.

Posted March 20, 2024

Updated 1:17 p.m., March 20, 2024

Billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott, through her organization Yield Giving, has awarded $3 million to Kansas City-based nonprofits.

KC Healthy Kids announced it had received $1 million while another nonprofit Amethyst Place received $2 million, according to the organizations.

KC Healthy Kids, an organization dedicated to addressing the physical and mental health challenges children face in the KC area, will use their award to expand and deepen their partnerships, president and CEO of KC Healthy Kids Danielle Robbins-Gregory said in a release Tuesday.

“This award represents the largest gift in our nearly two-decade history, and recognizes and confirms our impact advancing the health and well-being of kids in our community,” she said.

Amethyst Place, which worked to house women and children who are recovering from generational substance use, poverty and trauma, will use the grant to further support its affordable housing expansion project.

“We are incredibly honored to be among the leading nonprofits in the country working toward transformational community change,” executive director of Amethyst Place, Starla Wulf Brennan said in a release. “This gift nearly closes the gap on our capital campaign, ensuring affordable housing for 32 more families by the end of 2024. We can’t wait to bring these families off our year-long waitlist and home to heal.”

With the addition of Yield Giving’s grant, Amethyst Place’s $16 million supportive housing expansion project is now 87 percent funded.

In March 2023, Yield Giving launched its open call for community organizations with the explicit purpose of advancing the voices of individuals and families who face discrimination and other systemic obstacles. The open call received more than 6,000 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each.

Scott announced she would give $640 million to 361 organizations on Tuesday.