Overview

• 10,000 Degrees announced the $42 million award on Oct. 10, a month after its CEO learned of the gift in a surprise Sept. 10 call shared only with the board.
• The grant, made through Scott’s Yield Giving, is the largest in the Marin-based organization’s 45-year history.
• Leaders plan to hire staff, widen the nonprofit’s Bay Area reach, increase scholarships, and pilot artificial intelligence tools to support college success.
• The group reports serving about 12,000 high school students and 4,300 college students across eight counties, with an 80% four-year graduation rate and a student body largely low-income, first-generation, and from communities of color.
• Scott’s move extends a pattern of large, trust-based education giving that recently included $70 million to UNCF and $50 million to Native Forward, contributing to roughly $19 billion she has donated in recent years.