MacKenzie Scott’s gifts come with no strings—but the four biggest donors to democracy programs put $189 million into institutes bearing their names

MacKenzie Scott, a prominent philanthropist, has given away over $26 billion since 2019, but her approach differs from many others in the field. While some of the biggest donors to democracy programs have named their gifts after themselves, Scott typically provides unrestricted funds, allowing recipients to decide how to use the money.

For instance, Democracy Works, a nonprofit focused on voter engagement, received an unrestricted gift from Scott in 2023, marking the largest single donation in its history. This hands-off approach allows organizations to use the funds as they see fit, without being tied to a specific program or project named after the donor.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently identified 18 gifts of $1 million or more to democracy programs since 2006, with a combined total of $369.2 million. About 72% of this money, or $266.5 million, was given between 2021 and 2025, with peak giving in 2024 at $84 million. The four largest gifts, totaling $189 million, were directed to university institutes named after the donors. This contrasts with Scott's method, which involves giving unrestricted funds to organizations that can decide how to allocate the money.

Among the biggest donors to democracy programs are Leonard Schaeffer, who gave $59 million in 2024 to launch the Leonard D. Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service at the University of Southern California. Schaeffer, the founder of health insurer Wellpoint, and his late wife Pamela established the institute in 2009, and it now houses the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.

The second-largest gift was $55 million from Francis and Kathleen Rooney to the University of Notre Dame in 2025 to endow the Rooney Democracy Institute, previously called the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy. Francis Rooney, a former Republican congressman, and his wife, both UVA Law alumni, made a $50 million gift in 2021 to establish the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia, with UVA pledging to match the donation.

These four largest gifts make up nearly 50% of the total funds given to named institutes on the Chronicle's list.