NEW
YORK, June 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Basta, a
New York-based nonprofit
supporting first-generation college students of color seeking first
jobs, announced a major investment from MacKenzie Scott to support an extensive national
expansion plan. Scott's one-time gift of $4
million comes through her special purpose investment
vehicle, Yield Giving, validating Basta's "social capital first"
approach to career success.
MacKenzie
Scott's unique approach to philanthropy enables nonprofits
to be expansive in how to solve complex problems.
"When we launched almost a decade ago, the zeitgeist was 'talent
and skills,' but social capital wasn't a big part of the discourse
about what drives social mobility for young job seekers," says
Basta founder and CEO Sheila
Saremzadeh. "Now, things have shifted. We have great
organizational results, and the broader field is starting to think
about leveling the playing field for who does not traditionally
have access to blue-chip jobs."
That work is more critical than ever. In the coming weeks
millions of first-generation college graduates will enter the job
market; without significant interventions, more than half of them
will be underemployed, leading to not just lost individual income,
but a dampening of national GDP.
That doesn't have to be the case. Since 2016, more than 1,500
young people have completed Basta's flagship program, alumni from
which get jobs twice as fast as their peers, often at the blue-chip
companies in Basta's network of employer partners. Working with
colleges and universities, Basta also equips more than 10,000
students with tailored career roadmaps. Using this new investment,
Basta will work with colleges and nonprofits nationally to make its
student-centered, data-driven programming available to hundreds of
thousands more job seekers.
Scott's unique approach to philanthropy enables nonprofits to be
expansive in how to solve complex problems. While most gifts have
more prescriptive reporting requirements that make it difficult to
pivot, Scott's trust-based approach allows for nonprofits to
"learn out loud," ultimately leading to more impactful
solutions.
"In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I
have a disproportionate amount of money to share," Scott noted in a
recent interview, "My approach to philanthropy will continue to be
thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won't
wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty."
With annual giving averaging around $3.3
billion in the last five years, Yield Giving isn't just
changing the trajectory of individual organizations, but of
philanthropy more broadly. "MacKenzie
Scott is the only player, at her level of giving, affording
this level of trust and respect to founders," says Basta's
Saremzadeh. "Our path to scale has been validated by experts across
sectors. If more donors shared her vision and guts, organizations
like ours could thrive at a level that is currently
unimaginable."
For media inquiries, please contact:
Soumountha Keophilavong
Senior Director of Marketing and Communications
Basta
soumountha.keophilavong@projectbasta.com
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SOURCE Basta