Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has awarded Neighborhood Health Center of WNY a $5 million
gift through her charitable foundation, Yield Giving. Scott’s unrestricted gift will help
Neighborhood advance its mission of impactful healthcare, provided by kind people, so Western
New Yorkers can achieve their dreams and goals. This is the largest single gift in
Neighborhood’s history.

“This was a completely unexpected, and wonderful, surprise,” said Neighborhood Health Center
President and CEO Joanne Haefner, FNP. “I am incredibly grateful to Ms. Scott and her team
for recognizing the important work we’re doing and the need for each person in the community
to be able to access high quality healthcare. This grant speaks volumes about her belief in our
work and desire to invest in our long term impact.”
Neighborhood has begun the process of determining the best use of the gift to achieve the most
benefit in the community.

“It’s not every day you find out someone wants to give your organization $5 million and trusts
you to make decisions on how to use it. We will carefully consider our options,” said Haefner.
Neighborhood has served as the region’s leading primary care safety-net provider for 36 years
and provides access to high quality comprehensive healthcare services to Western New
Yorkers, regardless of ability to pay.

MacKenzie Scott has emerged as one of the nation’s preeminent philanthropists. She was
previously married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. She has pledged to give away much of her
fortune, and since 2019 has donated billions to a variety of nonprofit organizations that are
addressing important social challenges. Organizations that have been selected by Scott for gifts
have strong track records of serving under-supported needs, and are selected through a
rigorous evaluation process.

Neighborhood Health Center thanks Ms. Scott for her generous gift which will benefit Western
New Yorkers!