MacKenzie Scott donates grant to Bengaluru-based The/Nudge Foundation

(Image: Reuters)

Bengaluru-based The/Nudge Foundation is one of the 286 organisations to receive a grant from American philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and her husband Dan Jewett.

A total of $2.7 billion was donated by Scott to the chosen nonprofits. Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, made the announcement in her blog on Tuesday. In 2020, Scott donated $6 billion for COVID-19 relief, gender equity, and historically Black educational institutions.

The/Nudge will utilize this grant towards building its three impact streams all of which together tackle the complex problem of poverty alleviation, it said in a statement.

This includes centres for skill development and entrepreneurship, rural development, and social innovation. This grant will enable The/Nudge to invest further in its centres, build new capabilities and partner with governments and civil society organisations across the country to deliver collective impact.

“We are extremely grateful to MacKenzie Scott for her support and trust in our capabilities and plans for scaling up. We are at a point in our journey where we feel confident in our potential to meaningfully contribute to India’s development. In the aftermath of the pandemic, we have increased our focus on rural livelihoods and on strengthening the capacity of government systems,” said Atul Satija, Founder, The/Nudge Foundation, in a statement.

In the centre for skill development and entrepreneurship, the foundation has developed scalable models that have enabled over 10,000 underprivileged youth in becoming employment-ready and finding a place in the skill-based job market.

The/Nudge Centre for Rural Development has worked with over 1200 ultra-poor families since 2019 to access economic opportunities and has a target of impacting 5 lakh lives by 2025 with a focus on rural livelihoods, working in tandem with the government and civil society.

The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation has nurtured over 100 social entrepreneurs to solve critical developmental challenges faced by the country, drawing talent, capital and resources to underserved problems, serving over 10 million people in under 4 years.