It gives us great joy to announce that FRIDA has been selected for a USD 10 million donation, the largest amount we have ever received from an individual or institution since our inception in 2008. The donation comes from MacKenzie Scott, a US-based philanthropist (and former spouse of Amazon founder and executive chairman, Jeff Bezos), who has been in the news for donating $8 billion in the past two years to nonprofit organizations, including women’s funds. While we are humbled and excited to receive this donation and map out the ways in which this money could strengthen the FRIDA community and our existing strategy, we acknowledge the source of MacKenzie Scott’s wealth and its association with one of the most exploitative companies in the world.
As a feminist fund, FRIDA sees our role in philanthropy as a political act. FRIDA’s mission in the philanthropic ecosystem is to challenge the norms and practices that perpetuate the existing colonial capitalist power dynamics. We work to challenge wealth and privilege, and recognize thatphilanthropic giving exists because of inequality and exploitation. This makes our role as grantmakers and fundraisers a radically political act because we try to be intentional about who we receive money from and who we redirect it towards.
