The Santa Barbara City College Foundation has announced that a large portion of a $20 million donation to the college in 2021 was incorrectly used to fund part of its landmark SBCC Promise program.
Foundation CEO Bobbi Abram said in a statement that part of the donation from billionaire MacKenzie Scott, who was formerly married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, was used to fund the program without permission from the SBCC Foundation Board, college Board of Trustees or the college administration.
“Following a leadership transition which resulted in an internal comprehensive review, the foundation identified legacy accounting misstatements that led to the discovery that funds from the unrestricted Scott gift had been effectively funding a portion of the SBCC Promise, despite the foundation and college board being told that other sources were funding the program,” the statement from Abram states.
The SBCC Promise pays for two years of SBCC tuition, books and supplies for eligible local high school graduates. The program has supported 9,800 students since it began in 2016 and has an annual cost of $2.5 million.
The SBCC Foundation says there is $13 million left of the $20 million gift from Scott. It has been the organization’s role to oversee investing the funds, and the $13 million will continue to be invested, according to Friday’s statement.
The organization said that upon discovering the error, it took steps to correct it and strengthen the internal controls that allowed it to happen.
“When MacKenzie Scott made this gift, she was clear she wanted to amplify even more giving. In that spirit, in the coming years, we will maximize efforts to partner with our community to make the SBCC Promise a sustainable program so that decades from now it continues to serve students just like it does today,” Abram said in the statement.
The SBCC Foundation has net assets of nearly $100 million, and has provided more than $20 million in student grants and aid during the past four fiscal years, foundation board chair Paul Menzel said in a statement.
SBCC Board of Trustees President Jonathan Abboud called it an unauthorized use of the money and issued a statement saying he was disappointed by the news but grateful it was discovered and that the foundation moved to correct the issue.
“The Board of Trustees has initiated its own investigation into what occurred, consistent with its commitment to sound governance and public trust,” Abboud said. “The use of the MacKenzie Scott gift will be on the February 19, 2026, Board of Trustees agenda for an initial discussion and to hear public comment.”
He added that the board would continue to work with the foundation to discuss how to address the matter with full transparency and accountability.
The gift was part of a $2.7 billion donation from Scott to 286 organizations and the $20 million was the single-largest donation in SBCC history.