In case you missed it, author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, continues to share generously with organizations serving unmet needs. Scott recently pledged more than $4 billion in donations to 384 charities nationwide to support their work. Those gifts included several local organizations led by a $20 million gift to the United Way of Greater Nashville.

"We are so incredibly grateful to MacKenzie for this generous gift and are humbled by the trust she has shown in us to be good stewards of these funds," said Brian Hassett, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Nashville. "This funding will allow us to not just continue to fulfill our mission but to expand and grow our work to make large, meaningful investments that, we believe, will create extraordinary, lasting change in the lives of our community members. Our hope is that this gift will serve as an inspiration to others to dig deep and make transformational donations so we can truly make Greater Nashville the strong, thriving region we all hope for, and a model for communities of the future."

Gifts were also made to Easterseals Tennessee, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, YMCA of Middle Tennessee and YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee.

Scott's ex-husband Bezos also shared resources with a local nonprofit, donating $1.25 million to Safe Haven Family Shelter as part of his Day 1 Families Fund. Nashville's Safe Haven, a shelter-to-housing program for families, will use the funds to address homelessness.

In a year that has seen so many struggle locally - from the tornado in February to the emotional, physical and financial toll of COVID - these gifts are certainly a bright way to end the year.