WATERTOWN, Wis. — Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $5 million to the Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation, the organization announced Tuesday.
In a news release, foundation officials said the money will help it accelerate the work of its Every Child Thrives initiative, which brings together dozens of groups from Dodge and Jefferson counties to help promote kindergarten readiness and early classroom success once students get to school.
“We are humbled and honored to accept this incredible gift on behalf of our partners across Dodge and Jefferson County,” Tina Crave, the foundation’s president and CEO, said in the release. “This spring, we were interviewed by a consulting firm representing an anonymous donor who wanted to learn more about our Every Child Thrives partnership. We were asked how regional partners align resources to shared goals and how the partnership utilizes data to ensure all children have the opportunity to be as healthy as possible. To be selected through such a rigorous vetting process is confirmation that our work is on the right track.”
The announcement came on the same day the Girl Scouts of the USA said it and more than two dozen local branches received $84.5 million from Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
In March, Scott also donated $281 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. At the time, the Dane County chapter declined to provide an exact dollar amount of how much it would receive but said it was a seven-figure gift.
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