iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
American novelist, billionaire philanthropist and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, Mackenzie Scott, has made an announcement that she has donated $2.7 billion to 286 chosen nonprofits, each receiving a significant donation as a “signal of trust and encouragement”.
“People struggling against inequities deserve center stage in stories about change they are creating,” Scott tweeted on Tuesday. “This is equally — perhaps especially — true when their work is funded by wealth. Any wealth is a product of a collective effort that included them.”
One of the beneficiaries of Scott’s donation is India’s The/Nudge Foundation which announced it has received a grant from American philanthropist and novelist and husband Dan Jewett, in recognition of their work against social and economic inequities in India. The/Nudge has been selected by MacKenzie through a rigorous process of research and impact evaluation as one among the world’s 286 high-impact organizations, the non-profit said in a press release.
The grant comes at a time when the organization is scaling up its livelihood and skill development program across urban and rural India, promoting social entrepreneurship and ambitious public-private partnerships to strengthen the development sector and its collective impact. Mackenzie’s support will enable The/Nudge to focus on longer-term interventions, it said.
“We are extremely grateful to MacKenzie Scott for her support and trust in our capabilities and plans for scaling up. We are at a point in our journey where we feel confident in our potential to meaningfully contribute to India’s development. In the aftermath of the pandemic, we have increased our focus on rural livelihoods and on strengthening the capacity of government system, said Atul Satija, Founder, The/Nudge Foundation.
The/Nudge will utilize this grant towards building its three impact streams all of which together tackle the complex problem of poverty alleviation viz: Centre for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Centre for Rural Development and Centre for Social Innovation.
The/Nudge Centre for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has developed scalable models that have enabled over 10,000 underprivileged youth in becoming employment-ready and finding a place in the skill-based job market.
The/Nudge Centre for Rural Development has worked with over 1,200 ultra-poor families since 2019 to access economic opportunities and has a target of impacting 5 lakh lives by 2025 with a focus on rural livelihoods, working in tandem with the government and civil society.
This grant will enable The/Nudge to invest further in its centers, build new capabilities and partner with governments and civil society organizations, a press statement said.
