FAMILIES FORWARD LEARNING CENTER RECEIVES HISTORIC $2 MILLION GIFT FROM MACKENZIE SCOTT'S YIELD GIVING

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Mar 19, 2024, 11:45 ET

PASADENA, Calif., March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving announced Families Forward Learning Center as one of the Yield Giving Open Call's awardees working with people experiencing the greatest need in the United States. Families Forward Learning Center received $2 million.

Families Forward Learning Center is a pioneer in Two-Generation Early Childhood Education that provides free education and social services to low-income families with children from birth to five years old in Pasadena and surrounding communities.

Families Forward Learning Center, recipient of a $2 million gift from MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving, is housed in a LEED Gold facility featuring open space classrooms and an expansive children's outdoor play yard. Here, Tyler Zengler playing with toddlers.

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.

"This is a transformational gift that will be used to expand vital onsite services and seed new initiatives that will not only impact our children and families directly, but also broaden our reach," said Elva Sandoval, executive director.

The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to the applicants' cause, and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.

"MacKenzie Scott's unrestricted giving is a breath of fresh air for non-profits," said Sandoval. "Her approach gives us the flexibility to invest in both short-term projects and long-term strategies. We are honored and humbled to be recognized among so many equally worthy organizations that create so many opportunities for families of meager or modest means."

About Families Forward Learning Center
Serving Pasadena since 1961, Families Forward Learning Center is a pioneer in Two-Generation Early Childhood Education (2Gen) that provides free education and social services to low-income families with children from birth to five years old in Pasadena and surrounding communities. Its 2Gen approach builds family well-being by intentionally and simultaneously working with children and the adults in their lives together. The outcome is success in school and in life that passes from one generation to the next. To learn more, visit www.familiesforwardlc.org.

About Yield Giving
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield's network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.

SOURCE Families Forward Learning Center