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MacKenzie Scott donates $15 million to the Health Foundation for regional health

October 6, 2022

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation recently received a $15 million gift from philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott. The one-time, unrestricted gift will support the Health Foundation’s mission to lead, leverage and invest in initiatives, programs and policies that promote health and prevent disease for the residents of our binational, tri-state region.

Since its inception in 1995, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation has granted more than $230 million to over 300 nonprofit, academic and community partners to improve health outcomes in El Paso, southern New Mexico and Cd. Juárez. The Health Foundation has collaborated with community stakeholders through the El Paso Behavioral Health Consortium, Diabetes Alliance, A Smoke-Free Paso del Norte, School Health Coalition, Borderland Out-of-School Time Network, Opportunity Youth Consortium, and REALIZE Board and made key leadership investments to support health infrastructure from the Paso del Norte Trail to the Texas Tech Hunt School of Dental Medicine.

“We are so grateful to MacKenzie Scott for believing in our organization and investing so significantly in the health of our region,” said Tracy J. Yellen, Chief Executive Officer of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation and Paso del Norte Community Foundation. “This extraordinary gift will further our collaborative work with community organizations on the frontlines of health education and disease prevention.”

The MacKenzie Scott gift comes at a critical time as the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the urgent need to address the challenges associated with good health.

“The pandemic has driven home the need to prevent the onset of and complications from disease. This gift will supplement the resources the Health Foundation has available to invest in our network of community partners to improve health – from diabetes and mental health to access to information and care,” said Charles de Wetter, Chair of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation Board of Directors.

The Health Foundation is grateful to Ms. Scott for investing so generously in health across the U.S. and to ensure the residents of our binational, tri-state region have the knowledge, resources, environment, and support to live happy, healthy, and productive lives.