NEBRASKA — Billionaire MacKenzie Scott gave $640 million to 361 non-profits across the country and three of the recipients were in Nebraska.

Since 2019, Scott has given away over $17.3 billion.

More than 6,000 non-profits submitted applications, creating a tough criteria for selection.

“Early March, I received an email that we were selected as one of the recipients," Bright Horizons Executive Director Linda Olson said. "Just unbelievable.”

Non-profits with budgets between $1 million and $5 million budgets were able to apply.

Bright Horizons, a non-profit that covers 10 counties in northeast Nebraska and raises awareness around domestic violence, is one of those recipients.

Receiving a $2 million gift and around 95% funded by grants, Executive Director Linda Olson said grants can be unstable.

“We lost over $100,000 in that grant alone," Olson said. "Just the inability of that, I’ve always felt that an endowment would give us that long-term sustainability."

Two other non-profits in Nebraska gained funds.

Nebraska Appleseed in Lincoln received $1 million and Ho Chunk Community Development in Winnebago was gifted $2 million.