FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
The MacKenzie Scott gift represents a historic and transformational opportunity in support of Cal Poly Pomona’s mission to cultivate success through a diverse culture of experiential learning, discovery and innovation. The funds are being strategically used to benefit students now and for generations to come.
No. Ms. Scott believes in adding value by empowering the organizations she supports and allowing those on the front lines of challenges to spend the funds as they see fit for the benefit of others. In her essay announcing the gift, Ms. Scott reports that trusting grantees has increased the impact of her philanthropy. Cal Poly Pomona has committed to using the funds in the spirit in which they were given, emphasizing the power of higher education as “a proven pathway to opportunity.”
Building from the principles and priorities developed university-wide as part of the Cal Poly Pomona Strategic Plan, the President’s Cabinet worked closely with each of the university’s deans to develop recommendations on where the funds could provide the most impact for Cal Poly Pomona students. The university president selected projects and programs for support based on these recommendations.
Cal Poly Pomona’s University Advancement team developed our three philanthropic priorities (Future Paths, Emerging Technologies, and Campus Modernization) in order to communicate the ways Cal Poly Pomona empowers our students for a lifetime of success and to catalyze philanthropic support for the university’s short- and long-term success. The three priorities arose from a year-long process drawing on insights from across university leadership.