Mackenzie Scott, the philanthropist and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has pioneered a new kind of giving that has proved transformative for nonprofit organizations.

Since 2019, Scott, who is estimated by Forbes to be worth more than $32 billion, has given away $19 billion in no-strings-attached gifts to more than 2,000 nonprofits, meaning the recipients of the donations were permitted to spend the funds however they saw fit. The median gift size was roughly $5 million. She identified organizations she deemed worthy of support through "quiet research," or a discreet vetting process, and didn't accept solicitations for donations.

That's according to new research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) which found that the uncommon size and lack of restrictions of Scott's charitable gifts have not only helped those nonprofits become more financially stable but has enabled them to increase the scope of their impact.

"There is much to learn from the experiences of nonprofits who received grants using Scott's approach," CEP vice president of research Elisha Smith Arrillaga said in a statement. "These organizations have managed large gifts in strategic ways that have impacted thousands of lives — whether doubling or tripling the number of individuals receiving food from food banks, or increasing the number of houses being built in towns across the country, or countless other examples."

For the report, which is the culmination of a three-year study, CEP surveyed roughly 800 organizations that received gifts from Scott on how the donations affected their efforts.

Organization leaders surveyed said they managed the grants with an eye toward long-term sustainability, and most — 90% — said the gifts from Scott strengthened their financial positions, compared with organizations that did not receive such grants. Half of nonprofit heads also said that Scott's gift made fundraising easier, and many said they the gift attracted new contributions. Only a few — 7% — said they lost funders because of the grant.

Read the full article about the effectiveness of unrestricted gifts from MacKenzie Scott by Megan Cerullo at CBS News.