WORCESTER—The United Way of Central Massachusetts received a $5 million donation in 2020 to distribute to the community and UWCM used it to invest in local housing, education, food security and emergency aid.
MacKenzie Scott, novelist, philanthropist and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, made the donation even though UWCM never asked for it. Scott donated $5.8 billion to charitable organizations in the U.S. in 2020 and another $2.7 billion in 2021. Over the years, she’s donated close to $15 billion, but she still has a net worth of $42.1 billion.
Tim Garvin, United Way of Central Massachusetts president and CEO, told the Worcester Guardian that he thinks Scott would be proud of how UWCM spent her donation.
“I think she would say, ‘You’ve found ways to reach your tentacles and inspire a community beyond my wildest dreams,’” Garvin said.
The UWCM was one of 380 organizations across the country that received funding in 2020 from Scott.
UWCM has distributed the final $980,000 of Scott’s donation to 11 local organizations and representatives of most of them made presentations at what was called the “Worcester Community Challenge Showcase” Monday in the Walnut Wing Basement Conference Center at 18 Chestnut St. The Worcester Community Challenge was created following the success of the Worcester Together Fund.
Garvin said the Worcester Community Challenge is “innovative, creative (and has a) deep connection to community, and ways to improve lots of lives. In the United Way, we talk about dosage. How deep does it go, not just how wide, and each of the awardees has made a huge, significant impact in the lives of participants and new to them participants and we’re thrilled.”
Family Services of Central Mass., located at 799 West Boylston St. and an affiliate of Seven Hills Foundation, received $150,000 this year from UWCM, according to Leslie Baker, program director of the Center for Child Care Careers. The money funds Project Flourish, a professional development support program for 15 family child care educators who operate their businesses out of their homes. Each is newly licensed and speaks Spanish. Project Flourish prepared the educators to earn a credential called, ‘Child Development Associate.”
The educators attended 150 hours of classes and received 2,000 hours of on-the-job training to build their skills. Those skills helped them remain employed as a family child care licensor by helping them offer high quality, appropriate care for children.
The 15 educators support 128 families in the Worcester area.
UWCM asked local organizations to submit 90-second videos explaining what they did and how they’d use the money. About 100 videos were received and the top 30 made presentations in front of a panel. The best 11 shared $980,000 this year.
“We wanted to change lives and change organizations,” Garvin said, “and I believe we have.”
Scott donated $5 million to the United Way of Central Mass. even though the organization didn’t seek it. Garvin asked Scott’s staff how they heard about the UWCM, but he never got an answer.
However, Scott’s online announcement of her various donations explained that she sought out organizations that produced results, authentic engagement and leadership in the community.
“I think we had it,” Garvin said. “That was almost as important, maybe even more important – that credibility – as the money.”
News of the Scott’s donations spread throughout the nation. Garvin pointed out that his father read about the donation to the UWCM in the Wall Street Journal while living in Arizona at the time.
Through the Worcester Community Challenge, local organizations received trust-based funding to accelerate projects centered on youth opportunity, financial literacy, resiliency, health, employment, culture, and community collaboration. Unfortunately, the UWCA has already spent all of Scott’s donation. Garvin will seek to find funding from other sources.
“We are really hoping,” he said, “that people will say, ‘When we invest with, in and through the United Way, that it makes a substantial difference in a community and we’re willing to do it more.’”.
Family Services received funding from UWCM in 2022 and 2024, but not in 2023. So the program for family child care educators was put on hold for a year. Baker said Family Services will seek private funding in the future for family child care educators. The organization expects a grant from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, but Baker said that will fund group child care educators and not family child care educators.
Scott’s $5 million gift was the largest UWCM has received in its 105-year history.
“I’m waiting for somebody to say, ‘We’ll give you $10.5 million to celebrate your 105 years,” Garvin said.
Garvin said the gift allowed UWCM to invest in new ways and hand out the money much faster than the usual three-to-four month process for distributing funds.
The other local organizations who received funding from the United Way’s Worcester Community Challenge were: American Antiquarian Society, Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester, Crocodile River Music, Our Story Edutainment, Regional Environmental Council, Ryken Scholars Program, Technocopia–Hector Reyes House Collaboration, Urban Parks Program, Worcester Community Action Council Resiliency Center and Yes, Credit is Everything.
“These programs reflect what’s possible when philanthropic trust meets community insight,” Garvin said.
“MacKenzie Scott’s gift was not just generous—it was transformational. It allowed us to invest directly in the organizations and individuals shaping a stronger community through education, collaboration, and compassion.”
Bill Doyle has been a professional journalist for 47 years, most of them as a sports writer for the Telegram & Gazette. He covered the Boston Celtics for 25 years and has written extensively about golf, boxing and local high school and college sports. He also worked for the campus newspaper when he attended UMass-Amherst. He can be reached at billdoyle1515@gmail.com
