Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $45 million to The Trevor Project, marking the largest gift in the LGBTQ youth crisis organization’s history.
Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, gives away millions of dollars each year to nonprofit organizations focused on education, climate change, environmental protection, racial and social justice, and LGBTQ rights.
According to Forbes, Scott’s 2025 philanthropy brought her total lifetime giving to $26 billion, placing her among the three most generous donors in the United States, behind only Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. She has also donated more than five times the amount given by her ex-husband, despite his status as the world’s third-richest man.
The donation comes as the LGBTQ nonprofit has faced mounting financial strain, driven by staffing shortages amid rising demand for its youth crisis hotline and a decline in individual donations. As a result, the organization has been forced to restructure and lay off large numbers of employees.
Last July, The Trevor Project lost $25 million in federal funding after the Trump administration eliminated LGBTQ-competent support services from the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, ending the option for callers to reach trained counselors by pressing “3.”
Despite the loss of 988 support services, The Trevor Project continues to operate an independent hotline for LGBTQ youth facing depression, isolation, and suicidal ideation. Jaymes Black, the organization’s CEO, told the Associated Press that the hotline serves about 250,000 youths each year — roughly half the number the organization previously reached when combined with the 988 Crisis Lifeline.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that more than 1.5 million contacts were routed through the 988 Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ support services between September 2022 and July 2025.
After losing the 988 funding, The Trevor Project launched an emergency fundraiser to continue offering counseling and support to LGBTQ youth — a campaign Black said he hoped Scott saw as evidence of the organization’s determination to keep its services running.
“I actually gasped,” Black told the AP of his reaction to Scott’s donation.
With Scott’s donation, the organization could rehire staff and counselors, expand its hotline services, and gain longer-term stability to better weather future periods of reduced funding.
“MacKenzie Scott’s folks were clear — this gift was made for long-term impact,” Black said, noting that the organization would take time to decide on how to best use the funds, which he called a “powerful validation” of The Trevor Project’s mission. “We’re calling this our turnaround story.”
As one of his final acts in office, outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to distribute $2 million in "emergency funding" to roughly 20 organizations serving transgender, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary New Yorkers.
The grants are intended to counter federal budget cuts and Trump administration efforts to block LGBTQ organizations -- particularly those serving transgender people -- from receiving federal funding, reports Gay City News.
The funding, the first of its kind in the nation, will be administered by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The money is intended to support community organizations providing services to gender-diverse communities, including "health and wellness, legal advocacy, youth and family support, safety and crisis response, community building, and economic empowerment," according to the release.
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