Billionaire Scott donates $45 million to nonprofit

The ‘Trevor Project, known for its hot line for LGBTQ+ youth, received $45 million from billionaire and author MacKenzie Scott at the end of 2025, the organization said Monday.

- THALIA BEATY

‘The gift is the largest in the organization’s history but also a major boon following years of management turmoil, layoffs and the loss of significant federal funding over the summer.

“T literally could not believe it and it took some time. I actually gasped,” said Jaymes Black, chief executive of the Trevor Project, when they were notified of Scott’s gift.

Scott, whose fortune largely comes from her ex-husband, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, gave more than $7 billion to nonprofits in 2025, but this gift to the Trevor Project was not included among the donations she disclosed on her website in December. Scott gave the Trevor Project $6 million in 2020.

In July, the Trump administration stopped providing specific support for gay, trans and gender-nonconforming young people who called the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The Trevor Project was one of the organizations staffing that option and lost $25 million in funding, the nonprofit said.

The Trevor Project continues to run an independent hot line for LGBTQ+ young people that Black said reaches about 250,000 young people annually, but it served another 250,000 callers through the 988 Press 3 option, which was tailored for LGBTQ+ young people.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported more than 1.5 million contacts were routed through the 988 service between September 2022 and July 2025.

The Trevor Project’s hot line has become even more central to mental health support for queer young people, said Scott Bertani, director of advocacy at the National Coalition for LGBTQ Health.