Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $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 in a statement posted 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, including support related to coming out, LGBTQ+ identity, depression, and suicide. The nonprofit also offers peer support, public education, and advocacy focused on suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth.
The organization estimates that 40 million LGBTQ+ young people worldwide “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.”
Scott’s latest donation comes after the Trump Administration cut off $25 million in funding last July—money the organization said it needs to continue providing services to at-risk youth. The group also said the administration ordered the closure of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program last June.
“This is devastating, to say the least,” Black said 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 Scott’s donation came as a shock.
“I literally could not believe it and it took some time. I actually gasped,” Black told the news service.
Black added that the organization plans to invest the $45 million “with great care,” prioritizing the strength and reliability of its core crisis services while expanding its ability to reach more young people.
“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. “Research shows that LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers.”
He said the goal is to accelerate progress “toward a world where every LGBTQ+ young person knows they are loved and supported.”
