Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated more than $1.2 billion to historically Black colleges and universities, including over $700 million in the most recent year, the latest in a string of large, unrestricted gifts. Scott’s grants—often delivered without conditions—have funded endowments, chairs and operational needs at multiple HBCUs, and some gifts have seeded named positions honoring Toni Morrison. Scott’s approach—large, flexible capital without donor mandates—has shifted donor expectations for Black higher education, offering institutions discretion to allocate funds to pressing needs such as student aid, faculty recruitment, and facilities. University leaders have publicly credited the gifts with short‑term stabilization and long‑term strategic flexibility. The scale and modality of the donations also raise questions for institutional advancement offices about stewardship, donor relations, and how to integrate major, unrestricted gifts into multi‑year budget planning.