The Daily Populous

Wednesday March 20th, 2024 night edition

image for MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million, more than doubling her planned gifts to nonprofit applicants

Billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott announced Tuesday she is giving $640 million to 361 small nonprofits that responded to an open call for applications.

Yield Giving’s first round of donations is more than double what Scott had initially pledged to give away through the application process.

She is interested to learn more about the applicants’ experience of the process and whether Scott continues to use this process going forward.

The 279 nonprofits that received top scores from an external review panel were awarded $2 million, while 82 organizations in a second tier received $1 million each.

Megan Peterson, executive director of the Minnesota-based nonprofit, Gender Justice, said the application was a rare opportunity to get noticed by Scott.

The awardees were selected through a multilayer process, where applicants scored fellow applicants and then the top organizations were reviewed by a panel of outside experts.

Scott has given away $16.5 billion from the fortune she came into after divorcing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. »

Man banned from Buc-ee’s ‘for life’ after bringing service duck to store

Authored by clickorlando.com
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SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – A man was banned from all Buc-ee’s stores “for life” after bringing his service duck into the chain’s Tennessee store, according to Fox News on Saturday.

In the Buc-ee’s video, Wood is shown bringing his duck, named Wrinkle, to the chain’s largest location near Sevierville, Tennessee.

During the video, an employee comes over to tell Wood that pets aren’t allowed in the store, though Wood explains that Wrinkle is a service animal. »

Donald Trump says he won’t quit NATO — if Europe pays its way

Authored by politico.eu
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But speaking to Farage — the former leader of the U.K.'s Brexit Party — Trump softened his rhetoric while maintaining that Europe must pay "its fair share" of defense costs.

"NATO has to treat the U.S. fairly, because if it's not for the United States, NATO literally doesn't even exist," Trump said.

Asked directly if the U.S. under his presidency would come to the aid of NATO countries under attack, Trump said it would. »

MacKenzie Scott donates $640M -- more than double her initial plan -- to nonprofits

Authored by abcnews.go.com
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Billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott announced Tuesday she is giving $640 million to 361 small nonprofits that responded to an open call for applications.

Yield Giving’s first round of donations is more than double what Scott had initially pledged to give away through the application process.

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. »

Final Fantasy 14 on Xbox gets its own currency for microtransactions and subscriptions

Authored by videogameschronicle.com

The Xbox Series X/S version of Final Fantasy 14 will introduce an Xbox-only currency this week.

It has since been confirmed that this full launch will take place on March 21, at which point players with existing Final Fantasy 14 accounts on other platforms will be able to log into the Xbox Series X/S version and continue their progress there.

However, as revealed on the game’s official website, the Xbox version will include its own currency called FFXIV Coins, which players will have to buy with real money to make purchases on the Final Fantasy 14 Online Store and the Mog Station. »