Alliance for Hope International, a San Diego-based nonprofit advocacy organization that focuses on helping sexual assault, abuse and trafficking victims, announced a $2 million grant from MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Tuesday.
The money will be used to increase the number of Camp HOPE America affiliates across the United States, said Casey Gwinn, Alliance president and cofounder.
Alliance officials said the organization “was named one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees making a profound difference in the lives of those experiencing the greatest need in the United States — children and youth impacted by domestic violence.”
Founded by Scott, a novelist, philanthropist and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Yield Giving is a community-led charitable organization.
In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an open call for organizations “whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.”
Scott announced Tuesday that she is giving $640 million to 361 small nonprofits that responded to the open call, more than double the amount she initially pledged.
Alliance CEO Gael Strack, former director of the San Diego Family Justice Center, thanked Scott for her “generosity and commitment to supporting highly respected and effective organizations is changing the world for millions of people in need.”
Camp HOPE America is a year-round camping and mentoring program focused on children affected by domestic violence. It operates in 26 states, with a goal to expand to 50 states within the next 10 years.
Catherine Johnson, he group’s national director, said the grant “recognizes the lifesaving work of Camp HOPE America and our team, volunteers, and affiliated programs across the United States. We are helping tens of thousands of children to grow up without repeating the generational cycle of family violence in so many communities across the country.”
Gwinn described Camp HOPE America as true criminal justice reform.
“Criminal justice reform is not getting people out of jail or prison, it is keeping people out of jail and prison, and that starts with not criminalizing trauma-impacted children and youth,” he said. “If we invest the money to help traumatized youth find pathways to hope and healing we can prevent them from ending up incarcerated or in mental health facilities as adults. Camp HOPE America children grow up to attend college or vocational schools and become powerful hope-givers for other kids just like them.”
