Moonshot Receives $1 Million From MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving!

We are incredibly honored to share today that Moonshot is a recipient of a $1 million grant by MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Open Call and Lever for Change!

In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources. The Open Call was managed in partnership with Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, access to economic opportunity and climate change. 

"We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations," said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. "In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”

The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount. We are deeply grateful to be one of those organizations today. 

The application asked, “Why now?” 

Moonshot is at a critical point in its evolution. Last year, we hit a milestone by reaching 100 Moonshot Fellows, and we were able to use the past fiscal year to pause our Fellowship to take a larger step back and redesign our curriculum and structures, with the end goal of beginning an improved program in 2024 and codifying our curriculum.

A collage highlighting the work of some Moonshot Fellows, from left to right: In’Lakech Denver Arts, Lo-Fi Language Learning, YEBO Media, Words Beyond Walls, Asian Girls Ignite, and Montessori on Wheels, as well as a photo from our Showcase to represent the 100 Moonshot Fellows and Impact

We reviewed, researched, and reflected on our impact to date. We found that the Denver ecosystem needs more than just new schools and programs. In addition to leaders hungry to actualize their visions via new organizations, we also found leaders interested in catalyzing change in existing systems and ensuring policies work to support equitable outcomes for youth and communities. So, we’ve evolved our programs to more formally and comprehensively support multiple pathways, with a renewed focus on not only launching but also sustaining both our leaders and the solutions they’ve designed. 

We have just launched the application for our recently redesigned program, the Moonshot Innovation Space. To receive this grant from Yield Giving at this time is incredibly validating. This kind of investment not only honors the work that we’re doing but that of our Fellows.

MacKenzie Scott wrote in her last Giving Update in December 2023 how she is “inspired by all the ways people work together to offer each other goodwill and support.”  She added in a new update, “Grateful to Lever for Change and everyone on the evaluation and implementation teams for their roles in creating this pathway to support for people working to improve access to foundational resources in their communities. They are vital agents of change.”

Moonshot Fellows and Team Visiting Indigenous Farm Hub | One Generation in New Mexico

The $1 million gift will be transformational in giving us the security to pilot and scale new strategies, ultimately broadening our impact by sharing the Moonshot model and curriculum across the nation. As a small, local, community nonprofit, a $1 million gift will be the difference between Moonshot staying in startup mode and becoming an established nonprofit that can sustain itself for decades. Furthermore, it will help empower us to support our 40 alumni ventures with coaching, funding, and connections so they can move from start-up to sustaining over the next three years.

We want to share a heartfelt thank you to everyone at Yield Giving and Lever for Change, and we’re honored to get to share this exciting news with our community.