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 Givings first round of donations is more than double what Scott had initially pledged to give away through the application process. Since she began giving away billions in 2019 , Scott and her team have researched and selected organizations without an application process and provided them with large, unrestricted gifts.

In a brief note on her website, Scott wrote she was grateful to Lever for Change, the organization that managed the open call, and the evaluators for their roles in creating this pathway to support for people working to improve access to foundational resources in their communities. They are vital agents of change.

The increase in both the award amount and the number of organizations who were selected is a pleasant surprise, said Elisha Smith Arrillaga, vice president at The Center for Effective Philanthropy. She is interested to learn more about the applicants experience of the process and whether Scott continues to use this process going forward.