Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott just donated $45 million to the Trevor Project, an organization that runs a crisis line for LGBTQ+ youth. It is the largest single donation that the organization has ever received and comes as its government support has been reduced by the current administration.

“I literally could not believe it, and it took some time,” Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black told the AP. “I actually gasped.”

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A CDC study in 2024 found that 41% of LGBTQ+ youth had considered suicide in the previous year and that one in five LGBTQ+ young people had attempted suicide.

The Trevor Project used to get some federal funding for operating LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services for the federal 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. But the current administration cut funding to that initiative in July. The funding cut came after Trevor Project was targeted for years by the right with accusations of “grooming” children that had no basis in reality. Conservatives claim that the organization is somehow making kids become LGBTQ+, which is not possible. Instead, the organization provides support for LGBTQ+ youth.

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The Trevor Project continues to run its own independent hotline that reaches 250,000 LGBTQ+ youth annually. Black said that the organization used to reach another 250,000 young people when they had the option to call 988 and press 3 for LGBTQ+ services.

Scott previously donated to the organization in 2020, giving them $6 million. In 2023, the Trevor Project underwent a round of layoffs after depleting reserve funds.

“We are a smaller organization than we were before,” Black said. “And we will continue to be really intentional and really mindful around growth and what growth really means for the organization.”

Black said that Scott’s donation could help the organization survive this difficult period in its history.

“MacKenzie Scott’s folks were clear, like this gift was made for long-term impact,” they said.

Scott is an early contributor to Amazon and was married to co-founder Jeff Bezos from 1993 to 2019. She is the third-wealthiest woman in the U.S.

In 2019, she signed the Giving Pledge, a promise created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett to encourage wealthy people to give away most of their wealth before they die or in their wills.

Editor’s note: This article mentions suicide. If you need to talk to someone now, call the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860. It’s staffed by trans people, for trans people. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

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