Local nonprofits get 'transformative' $2M gifts from Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott
Luther Knight was in a low place.
Addicted to drugs, eating out of the trash and sleeping in Maplewood Park in northwest Rochester, then arrested and taken to the Monroe County Jail.
It was there that he first connected with Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach, a small nonprofit with supportive transitional and permanent housing for men and women exiting prison and at risk of homeless and relapse.
He got out of jail and moved in on April 29, 2009, with no belongings but the clothes on his back.
"My loved ones had turned their backs on me because they thought I was too far gone," he said. "(Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach) was a ray of hope. They gave me a chance to change my life and I haven't looked back."
Knight now works as a case manager and kitchen manager for Nielsen House, the organization's 20-bed shelter for men. Thousands of people like him have gotten help from the outreach organization over the years. Now, the same opportunity is secured for years in the future.
Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach was one of four local organizations to get something recently that most nonprofits can only dream of: a seven-figure check with no strings attached.
The gifts, announced publicly this week, came from billionaire philanthropist and Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott through her Yield Giving foundation.
More than 6,000 organizations across the country applied for what they thought were $1 million grants. Of them, 361 organizations got funding — and most of them, including all those in Rochester, got $2 million. They are unrestricted gifts with no reporting requirements.
The three other local recipients are:
JustCause, which provides volunteer attorneys to low-income people in Monroe County.
The Center for Teen Empowerment, which provides leadership training and other services for teenagers, got a grant to be shared with its Rochester branch as well as two locations in Massachusetts.
Connected Communities, a community revitalization organization in the Beechwood and EMMA neighborhoods in Rochester.
"There's one word: transformative," said Lashunda Leslie-Smith, Connected Communities' executive director. She said much of the money will go toward renovating and opening two physical spaces: one a community hub with a fitness center and classrooms, among other things, and the other a "Connect Lab" where other small nonprofits and entrepreneurs can share space.
Another important effect of the grants is providing baseline financial stability to allow organizations to pursue ambitious projects without worrying about meeting payroll, JustCause Executive Director Tina Foster said.
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"Small organizations like ours are not always able to take on larger projects because you need a substantial amount of cash in the bank to outlay for them," she said. "This money will let us invest in a longer-term strategy to ensure there are quality lawyers available in Rochester to handle civil legal problems."
Yield Giving arrived in Rochester with a bang in 2020, giving $20 million to the United Way of Greater Rochester. Two years later it gave $4.2 million to the Urban League of Rochester and $3.75 million to Flower City Habitat for Humanity.
This year's gifts are smaller but no less significant to the small organizations that received them. The $2 million gift to Connected Communities nearly matches its annual budget of $2.2 million, Leslie-Smith said.
"One of the things that keeps most executive directors up at night is being able to meet payroll every two weeks," she said. "This will allow us to answer that question. ...
"Giving us the resources to do what needs to be done — well, it’s a gift."
— Justin Murphy is a veteran reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle and author of "Your Children Are Very Greatly in Danger: School Segregation in Rochester, New York." Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/CitizenMurphy or contact him at jmurphy7@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: MacKenzie Scott foundation donates millions to Rochester NY nonprofits
