Part of larger gift from billionaire
Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County received $1.25 million this month and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh was given $2 million as part of a $436 million gift to the national nonprofit by MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Scott received $38 billion plus a 4 percent stake in the company when the couple divorced in 2019. She has so far given away $12 billion, including $3.8 billion to 465 organizations in the past nine months.
Founded in Georgia in 1976, Habitat for Humanity constructs homes for lower-income families. Five New York affiliates received a portion of Scott’s gift, including those in Buffalo, Suffolk County and Rochester. Dutchess Habitat is based in Wappingers Falls.
