MacKenzie Scott Charitable Gift Fund Update

May 21, 2025

Dear Chaffey Community,

As we close out the 2024–25 academic year and begin our end-of-year celebrations, I’m pleased to share the important progress made by the District’s 39-member MacKenzie Scott Charitable Gift Fund Advisory Group. This dedicated group—comprised of faculty, students, classified professionals, managers, and two members of our Governing Board—have worked throughout the spring semester to lay the groundwork for distributing this transformative gift.

Guided by the Governing Board’s established parameters, the team met monthly and completed the following:

Reviewed:

• The MacKenzie Scott designation of $20m to the Chaffey College Endowment Fund, $1M to the UndocuSuccess Program, and $5.5M to the Student Support Fund
• The Governing Board’s Parameters document
• A presentation by Student Services outlining existing student resources (including financial aid, ZTC/LTC, Panther Essentials pantry, Foundation scholarships and emergency grants, Chromebook and WiFi rentals, Undocu Fellowships, and more)
• A gap analysis and “Outcomes and Challenges for Students” presentation prepared by Institutional Research

Completed:

• An initial visioning session to guide the group’s work
• The creation of the MacKenzie Scott Funding Application Form
• The establishment of a fall timeline for application submission
• The development of an evaluation rubric for reviewing Funding Application submissions

All related documents, along with meeting minutes, are available at this  link—to support communication, planning, and transparency.

If you are interested in submitting a MacKenzie Scott Funding Application, please note that all the information will be shared again in the Fall, with the application window opening on August 18, 2025, and closing on October 31, 2025. The advisory group will make funding recommendations to the Board in November 2025. Funding decisions will be made and announced by the Board in early 2026.

Thank you for your continued commitment to student success and equity at Chaffey College.

Dr. Deana Olivares-Lambert, Governing Board President

Gloria Negrete-McLeod, Governing Board Vice President

Gary C. Ovitt, Governing Board Clerk

Lee C. McDougal, Governing Board Member

Kathleen Brugger, Governing Board Member

Dr. Henry D. Shannon, Superintendent/President