Bezos Day One Fund
/OVERVIEW: The Bezos Day One Fund supports local organizations working to end homelessness and runs a signature initiative to create tuition-free Montessori preschools in low-income areas.
IP TAKE: Since its founding, the Bezos Day One Fund has given away about $400 million to local nonprofits working to end homelessness and, through a signature initiative, has launched and operated 20 tuition-free Montessori preschools in low-income areas in Florida, Texas and Washington. Although Bezos and Makenzie Scott established the fund together prior to their divorce, grantmaking shows no signs of slowing; the fund has given away almost $100 million a year for the past several years.
The fund is not accessible and does not run an open application program, choosing instead to remain a proactive funder that conducts its own internal grantee searches. Grantseekers could reach out via social media to get on the Day One Fund’s radar, but it may be better to network with previous grantees to get on this funder’s radar.
PROFILE: Established in 2018, the Bezos Day One Fund was established by Jeff Bezos and his former partner, MacKenzie Scott. The Day One Fund represents the former couple’s $2 billion commitment to support “existing non-profits that help families experiencing homelessness, and creating a network of new, non-profit tier-one preschools in low-income communities.” It makes grants through two programs, the Day One Families Fund and the Day One Academies Fund.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Community Development
The Day One Families Fund awards grants to “organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families.” Since 2018, the fund has given away over $500 million to organizations operating in 38 states, including an announced $123 million in late 2022.
Recent grantees include the Alabama Rural Coalition for the Homeless, the Homeless Action Network of Detroit, California’s Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance and the Texas Homeless Network, among others.
Grants for Early Childhood Development
The Day One Academies Fund is a structured initiative to create and operate “a network of tuition-free, Montessori-inspired preschools in underserved communities.” The initiative aims to use the business principals that led to the success of Amazon Inc., specifically those related to customer satisfaction. Locations for preschools are chosen based on various measures of local income levels and lack of quality early childhood education and care. Twenty Bezos Academies have been established so far, including locations in Houston Orlando, Florida and Tacoma, Washington.
Important Grant Details:
The Bezos Day One Fund makes almost $100 million a year in grants to organizations working with homeless populations and its signature Bezos Academy preschools. The foundation’s grants range from $750,000 to $5 million, with an average grant size of about $1 million. For information about past grantees, see the fund’s Day One Families Fund and Bezos Academies web pages.
Neither Bezos nor Scott has indicated that grantmaking from this fund will change because of their divorce, but the Bezos Day One Fund does not run a formal application program or provide a direct avenue for getting in touch. Social media handles are provided on the fund’s website.
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