Only 20% of the overall U.S. philanthropic funding is unrestricted. In contrast, 100% of Scott’s grants are entirely unconditional. Even more notably, she is reshaping entire sectors that had been underfunded for too long. In particular, Scott is part of an emerging trend in supporting early childhood education and care. This trend is both new and welcome, given the urgency and magnitude of the early childhood education and care crisis.

Even where donor dollars have gone to education, money has tended to go to K-12 or higher education. According to a study by Grantmakers for Education, only 4% of education grant dollars were going to early care and education in 2019. The same applies to education technology funding, with only 6% edtech funding going to early childhood education and care.

A recent report by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Whiteboard Advisors, with a foreword by Priscilla Chan, reports that only 15% of surveyed philanthropic donors in California give to early care and education. Encouragingly, the same report notes that nearly half of donors would be interested in giving more to early care and education. This is good news, as more funding toward a range of diverse solutions is critically needed for little learners and their families to thrive.

It is money well spent.

MacKenzie Scott is not alone. Connie Ballmer, Jackie Bezos, Susie Buffett, Priscilla Chan, Melinda French Gates, Lisa Mennet, Pam Omidyar, Signe Ostby, Laura Overdeck, Liz Simons, to name a few, are all supporting early childhood education and care. They are pushing the boundaries of philanthropy to transform the face of early childhood education and care. They are all remarkable leaders. Most are part of the Giving Pledge, with a commitment to give away a majority of their wealth during their lifetime. They are also all women. They are all mothers (some are also grandmothers). And this is unlikely a coincidence. They understand the potential for outsized impact investments in early childhood education and care can make on children, mothers and families.

Five ways women billionaires are moving the needle in early childhood education and care include:

  • Pushing the boundaries of philanthropy
  • Incubating new early childhood education and care models
  • Partnering for greater change
  • Advancing research and evidence
  • Supporting communities

Read the full article about education philanthropy by Isabelle Hau at Forbes.