The Scott Foundation is a left-of-center grantmaking foundation that provides funding to various left-of-center organizations including Media Matters for America, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, and NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. ¹

The organization was founded in 2014 by the current chief technology officer of Microsoft Kevin Scott and his wife Shannon Hunt-Scott, who sits on the board of directors for NARAL Pro-Choice America. ^{2 3}

Background

The Scott Foundation is a left-of-center grantmaking organization that focuses on providing funding to primary education sources in California. The organization was founded in 2014 by Kevin Scott, the chief technology officer and executive vice president of artificial intelligence at Microsoft, and his wife, Shannon Hunt-Scott, who is a member of the board of directors for various left-of-center organizations including NARAL Pro-Choice America. ^{4 5}

People

The Scott Foundation’s president, Shannon Hunt-Scott, is a board member of various left-of-center organizations. Hunt-Scott sits on the board of directors for NARAL Pro-Choice America, formerly the National Abortion Rights Action League, a social-liberal organization that engages in political action and advocacy efforts to expand access to abortion across the United States. ⁶

She also sits on the advisory board for the Zinc Collective, a left-of-center organization that creates projects that enhance the election campaigns of the Democratic Party and is the board chair of Hillbrook School located in Los Gatos, California. ^{7 8}

Hunt-Scott was also a board member of Educare California at Silicon Valley from June 2017 until June 2022, and a board member and advancement chair of Breakthrough Silicon Valley from November 2016 until October 2018. ⁹

She was also a member of the peninsula breakfast committee for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, an affiliate of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the largest reproductive health and abortion provider in the United States. According to its 2014-15 annual report, it carried out 323,999 abortions and generated over $1.1 billion in revenue during that time. ^{10 11}

Kevin Scott, co-founder of the foundation, became the chief technology officer of Microsoft in January 2017 and holds that position as of July 2023. He is the author of Reprogramming the American Dream, is a board member of the computer science nonprofit Code.org, and was appointed a non-executive director of the automobile manufacturer Stellantis in January 2021. Scott was a trustee of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology between October 2015 and October 2017. ¹²

Financials

The Scott Foundation’s main revenue comes from contributions and grants given by Kevin Scott and Shannon Hunt-Scott. The foundation had a total revenue of just over $2.1 million in 2021, slightly less than $1.3 million came from contributions and grants, and approximately $830,000 from the sale of assets. Its total expenses amounted to around $1.2 million, most of which was spent on grantmaking. ¹³

Grantmaking

The Scott Foundation provides funding to various left-of-center organizations. According to the organization’s 2021 tax return, the Scott Foundation granted $100,000 to Media Matters for America, $50,000 to Human Rights Watch, $20,000 to the Center for Reproductive Rights, $50,000 to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, and $125,000 to the NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, the legal and educational branch of NARAL Pro-Choice America. ¹⁴

The Scott Foundation, according to its 2019 tax return, granted $270,000 to the American Council on Education, $25,000 to Code for America, $5,000 to the Feminist Majority Foundation, $20,000 to the Voter Registration Project, and $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation. ¹⁵

1. Suozzo, Andrea. “Scott Foundation, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464644295/202233199349108023/full.
2. “Kevin Scott.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkevinscott/details/experience/.
3. “Shannon Hunt-Scott.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonhuntscott/details/experience/.
4. “Shannon Hunt-Scott.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonhuntscott/details/experience/.
5. “Kevin Scott – Stories.” Microsoft. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://news.microsoft.com/exec/kevin-scott/.
6. “Shannon Hunt-Scott.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonhuntscott/details/experience/.
7. “Shannon Hunt-Scott.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonhuntscott/details/experience/.
8. “Our Story — Zinc Collective.” Zinc Collective. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://zinccollective.com/our-story.
9. “Shannon Hunt-Scott.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonhuntscott/details/experience/.
10. “Shannon Hunt-Scott.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonhuntscott/details/experience/.
11. “PP-AR-r1 PR8.indd.” December 23, 2015. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/2114/5089/0863/2014-2015_PPFA_Annual_Report_.pdf.
12. “Kevin Scott.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkevinscott/details/experience/.
13. Suozzo, Andrea. “Scott Foundation, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464644295/202233199349108023/full.
14. Suozzo, Andrea. “Scott Foundation, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464644295/202233199349108023/full
15. Suozzo, Andrea. “Scott Foundation, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Accessed June 29, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464644295/202033219349103093/full.