Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has gifted $45 million to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that supports LGBTQ+ youth, after the federal government cut $25 million in funding to the organization.
“This extraordinary contribution — the single largest one-time donation in our 27-year history — comes at a pivotal moment for our organization and the LGBTQ+ young people we serve,” Jaymes Black, The Trevor Project’s CEO, said as he announced the donation on the organization’s website on Monday, Jan. 12.
Scott previously donated $6 million to The Trevor Project in 2020, the group said.
Founded in 1998, The Trevor Project provides 24/7 crisis care for LGBTQ+ young people on such issues as coming out, LGBTQ+ identity, depression and suicide. Other services from the nonprofit include peer support, public eduction and advocacy of policies to prevent suicide among LBGTQ+ youth.
The group estimates that 40 million LGBTQ+ youth around the world “seriously consider” suicide each year.
“Even at our highest reach, The Trevor Project has only been able to serve a fraction of those youth,” Black said. “That means that hundreds of thousands of young people each year still go without the life-saving support they deserve.”
The latest donation from Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, comes as the Trump Administration cut off $25 million to The Trevor Project last July — funding the organization needs to provide services to at-risk youth. The group said last June that the administration ordered the closure of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program.
“This is devastating, to say the least,” Black responded at the time. “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics. The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.”
In an interview with Associated Press published on Monday, Black said they were surprised by Scott’s donation.
“I literally could not believe it and it took some time. I actually gasped,” Black told the news service.
Black hailed Scott’s donation in the organization’s Monday blog post.
“This gift is a powerful step toward building on our sustainable capacity — but our organization will continue to face one of the largest public health crises of our time: LGBTQ+ youth suicide,” Black said in his announcement. “Research shows that LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers.”
The CEO also wrote that The Trevor Project will invest the $45 million with “great care,” focusing on strengthening the organization’s core crisis services and “accelerating our progress toward a world where every LGBTQ+ young person knows they are loved and supported.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7