Virginia State University just received a gift of $30 million, the largest private donation since its founding 138 years ago.

Norfolk State University also received a record-setting gift of $40 million.

The two Virginia schools are benefiting from the largesse of MacKenzie Scott, a published novelist who is the billionaire ex-wife of the world’s richest man, Amazon founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. “Jeff” Bezos.

On Tuesday, Ms. Scott, already widely known for her philanthropy, announced she has awarded a total of $4.2 billion to 384 organizations, including 23 historically Black colleges and universities and the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship and United Negro College funds.

Her latest gifts represent a $2.5 billion increase from the $1.7 billion in charitable giving she announced in July and has been distributing during the past four months.

She stated she accelerated her giving due to the “wrecking ball” of the coronavirus that has boosted billionaires like herself, a beneficiary of the boom in online sales by global retailer Amazon.

“I asked a team of advisers to help me accelerate my 2020 giving through support to people suffering the economic effects of the crisis,” Ms. Scott stated. “They took a data-driven approach to identifying organizations with strong leadership teams and results.”

She stated that she started with a list of nearly 7,000 organizations and whittled it down to those she felt had a “high potential for impact.”

The beneficiaries of her giving also include food banks, nonprofit food delivery services, United Way and YMCA chapters and other people-helping charities.

VSU President Makola M. Abdullah, in a statement typical of the overjoyed recipients, enthused that “Ms. Scott’s generosity will touch the lives of students for years to come.”

“Thanks to her investment,” Dr. Abdullah continued, “students who are living through the challenges of a pandemic, a social justice movement and reduced scholarship funding will have additional resources as they continue to pursue their dreams of a world-class education.” VSU Rector Huron F. Winstead lauded Ms. Scott as “a shining example of how allies can leverage their wealth to create change.”

Ms. Scott, whose wealth has jumped by $24 billion to $60 billion, according to Forbes magazine, also sent huge checks this month to HBCUs ranging from Bowie State and Morgan State universities in Maryland to Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina and Clark Atlanta University in Georgia.

In her July announcement, gifts of tens of millions of dollars were sent to Hampton, Howard, Tuskegee and Xavier universi- ties and Morehouse and Spelman colleges.

Other beneficiaries in this latest round include Alcorn State, Claflin, Delaware State, Dillard, Lincoln, North Carolina A&T, Prairie View A&M and Winston-Salem State universities as well as the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and Tougaloo and Voorhees colleges.

Ms. Scott also donated to schools and educational organizations that serve Native Americans and Latinos, as well as community colleges and private schools.