SNN Sports’ CEO Lee Anderson speaks exclusively to Scots’ Charitable Society President Scott P. McKenzie about 369 years of Scottish heritage, community, sport and the future of Scottish identity overseas.

There are organisations that preserve history.

And then there are organisations that have lived through it.

For 369 years, the Scots’ Charitable Society has been doing both.

Founded in Boston in 1657 by Scottish immigrants who recognised the importance of looking after their fellow countrymen in a new land, the Society was born from a remarkably straightforward idea: Scots helping Scots.

More than three and a half centuries later, that principle remains at the heart of everything it does.

But the world around the Society has changed almost beyond recognition.

The America of 1657 was a collection of colonies. There was no modern social safety net, no instant communication with Scotland and none of the technology that now allows communities separated by an ocean to remain connected.

The need for community, however, has not disappeared.

Today, the Scots’ Charitable Society operates around three central pillars — Relief, Scholarship and Culture — providing financial assistance to those facing hardship, supporting students through scholarships and helping preserve and promote Scottish heritage.

At the helm is Scott P. McKenzie, a seventh-generation Scot living in America who has spent more than four decades involved with the organisation.

For McKenzie, this is far more than an organisation with an impressive historical record.

It is a living connection between generations.

It is a responsibility.

And it is a reminder that Scottish identity does not stop at the country’s borders.

Speaking exclusively to SNN Sports, McKenzie discusses what it means to lead an organisation founded in 1657, the importance of Scottish heritage in his own life, why sport can be such a powerful cultural connector, the role of Highland Games, the relationship between Scottish football and overseas communities, and his vision for ensuring the Society remains relevant for another 369 years.

A Society Built on Looking After One Another

To understand the Scots’ Charitable Society, you have to go back to the beginning.

Founded in Boston in 1657 — just 37 years after the arrival of the Pilgrims — the Society was created by Scottish immigrants who understood the difficulties of building a new life far from home.

There was no welfare state to fall back on.

If someone became sick, lost their livelihood or fell upon difficult times, there were limited resources available.

So the Scots created their own.

Members contributed to a common fund, known as the “poor boxes”, which could then be used to support Scots who needed assistance.

Nearly four centuries later, the circumstances may be different, but McKenzie believes the philosophy remains remarkably relevant.

“The Scots’ Charitable Society is a remarkable organization with a very simple purpose at its heart: Scots helping Scots.”

That simplicity is perhaps what makes the organisation’s longevity so remarkable.

“These Scots decided that they would take responsibility for one another.”

The Society has evolved considerably since those early days.

Its work now extends beyond direct relief, with scholarships and cultural preservation becoming major parts of its mission.

But McKenzie believes the underlying principle has never changed.

“What is extraordinary is that the basic principle has survived for more than 369 years. The circumstances have changed dramatically, but the idea hasn’t.”

And that, he believes, is what makes the Society’s mission as relevant today as it was in 1657.

“We still believe that if someone in the Scottish community needs help, we should be there.”

The Responsibility of 369 Years

There is something inherently daunting about taking leadership of an organisation that has existed for almost four centuries.

Presidents come and go.

Generations pass.

The organisation remains.

For McKenzie, that knowledge fundamentally changes the way he views his role.

“It is both an incredible honor and a tremendous responsibility.”

He is acutely aware that his presidency is only one chapter in a story that began in the seventeenth century.

“When you think about 369 years, you’re talking about generations and generations of people who came before us.”

Those generations experienced wars, economic depressions, social upheaval and enormous changes in American society.

Yet the Society survived.

That gives McKenzie a particular perspective on leadership.

“I’m not simply leading an organization that belongs to us today. We’re temporary custodians of something that was entrusted to us by previous generations, and we’re responsible for passing it on to the next generation.”

It is a powerful concept.

To McKenzie, the objective isn’t simply to maintain what already exists.

It is to ensure that the organisation is strong enough to survive long after his presidency has ended.

“You don’t want to be the person who presided over the end of something that lasted 369 years.”

Instead:

“You want to be the person who helped make sure it is here for another 369.”

Seven Generations of Scottish Identity

McKenzie doesn’t speak about Scottish heritage as an abstract concept.

For him, it is personal.

As a seventh-generation Scot living in America, Scotland has remained part of his understanding of family, identity and responsibility throughout his life.

His mother gave him a piece of advice that stayed with him.

“If you want to have an understanding of where you’re going, you need to understand where you came from.”

For someone whose Scottish ancestry stretches across seven generations in America, that sense of history carries enormous significance.

His ancestors didn’t simply leave Scotland behind.

They carried parts of it with them.

“They brought traditions, values, stories, music, a sense of community and, perhaps most importantly, the idea that you have an obligation to help the people around you.”

That final point is particularly important.

Because for McKenzie, Scottish heritage is not simply about the outward symbols of Scottishness.

The tartan.

The kilt.

The clan.

The music.

All of those things matter.

But they are only the visible expression of something deeper.

“For me, Scottish heritage isn’t simply about wearing a kilt or knowing your clan tartan. Those things are wonderful, but they’re the visible part of something much deeper.”

What lies beneath them?

“It’s about identity, family, resilience, generosity and community.”

And those are the values he has tried to carry forward.

More Than Celebrating the Past

McKenzie has been involved with the Scots’ Charitable Society for more than 44 years.

So what has kept bringing him back?

His answer is revealing.

“I think it’s the combination of heritage and purpose.”

There are countless organisations where people can celebrate their ancestry.

The Society, however, offers something different.

“We’re not just looking backward. We’re taking the values we’ve inherited and putting them to work.”

That distinction sits at the centre of McKenzie’s vision.

He describes seeing the Society change over the decades, but says the fundamental purpose has remained intact.

“We are here to help people and strengthen our community.”

There is also an emotional element to belonging.

The experience of being around people who understand the same cultural references without explanation can create an immediate connection.

The music.

The tartans.

The accents.

The stories.

The shared history.

But McKenzie says the most important part comes afterwards.

“Then you see people roll up their sleeves and volunteer, raise money, help students, or assist someone going through a difficult period.”

That, ultimately, is what kept him involved.

“It’s not just about where we came from. It’s about what we do with what we’ve inherited.”

What Does “Scots Helping Scots” Mean in 2026?

The Society’s motto could easily sound like something belonging to another era.

McKenzie sees it differently.

He believes its meaning has simply evolved.

“To me, it means that having pride in our shared Scottish/Celtic community still matters.”

Importantly, he stresses that the phrase isn’t about helping somebody simply because they have a Scottish surname.

It is about inheriting a tradition of community responsibility and choosing to continue it.

In 1657, that might have meant helping an immigrant who was sick or destitute.

Today, it could mean financial assistance for a struggling family, educational support for a student, backing Scottish cultural organisations or simply creating opportunities for people to reconnect with their heritage.

The world has changed dramatically.

Human needs, McKenzie argues, have not changed nearly as much.

“People still need a helping hand. Young people still need opportunities. Communities still need connection.”

That is what the motto means to him.

Almost $3 Million in Scholarships — and More Than $500,000 in Relief

Behind the history is tangible charitable work.

The Society has awarded almost $3 million in scholarships over the years, helping young people pursue education and build their futures.

It has also distributed more than $500,000 in relief funds, providing assistance to people experiencing genuine financial hardship.

For McKenzie, those figures aren’t simply statistics.

They represent moments in people’s lives when support can make a real difference.

“A scholarship might be the difference between a young person being able to pursue an educational opportunity or not.”

Likewise, relief can provide a lifeline at exactly the moment someone needs it.

“Relief might help someone get through a difficult period without losing hope.”

That is charity at its most direct.

But there is another pillar.

Culture.

McKenzie believes preserving Scottish heritage and bringing people together around it is itself a form of community building.

And that is where the Society’s modern mission becomes particularly interesting.

“We’re Not a Museum”

One of the most striking observations McKenzie makes is about perception.

The Society’s greatest strength — its extraordinary history — can also create a misunderstanding about what it actually is.

“When you say that an organization was founded in 1657, people naturally think of history.”

They might imagine an old institution.

Perhaps ceremonial.

Perhaps something that exists primarily to preserve the past.

McKenzie is emphatic:

“But we’re not a museum.”

That sentence arguably sums up his presidency better than anything else.

The Society is a living organisation.

It is still supporting people.

It is still awarding scholarships.

It is still providing relief.

It is still promoting Scottish culture.

And McKenzie accepts that the organisation has not always been as effective at communicating that work as it could have been.

“We have made tremendous accomplishments, but we’re often better at doing the work than talking about the work.”

That is something he wants to change.

The challenge is making sure Scottish organisations, younger Scottish-Americans and people in Scotland understand that the Society is not simply an institution with a remarkable past.

It has a remarkable past and a present-day purpose.

“It’s an organization with an impressive history that is still making a difference.”

Sport: One of the Great Connectors

For SNN Sports, perhaps the most fascinating aspect of McKenzie’s philosophy is the role of sport.

Sport has an extraordinary ability to create belonging.

You don’t necessarily need to know somebody’s background to stand beside them and support the same team.

You don’t need to share a surname.

You simply share something.

McKenzie describes sport as:

“One of the great connectors.”

He has a particular passion for lacrosse, which itself carries a deep cultural history in North America.

But his broader point is about what sport teaches.

Teamwork.
Loyalty.
Perseverance.
Pride.
Belonging.

Those are also values that McKenzie believes are important to Scottish communities.

And sport has another advantage.

It creates memories.

A child attending a Highland Games with their parents might not fully understand the historical significance of what they are experiencing.

They hear bagpipes.

They see tartan.

They watch athletic competitions.

They see people celebrating a culture that may be part of their own family history.

Perhaps they don’t understand it all at the time.

But years later, they remember.

“Those experiences become part of their identity.”

What Scottish Football Can Teach Us About Belonging

The parallels between Scottish football and Scottish communities overseas are obvious to McKenzie.

In Scotland, football clubs are rarely just football clubs.

They can represent:

• Family
• Community
• History
• Tradition
• Generations

The same thing can happen in Scottish-American communities.

A grandparent introduces a child to a Highland Games.

Parents teach them about their Scottish ancestry.

That child eventually introduces their own children to the same culture.

That is how identity survives.

“You don’t preserve culture simply by putting historical artifacts in a museum. You preserve it by giving people an emotional connection to it.”

And that is something football clubs understand instinctively.

Sport creates emotional connections.

Which leads to a fascinating question for Scottish football itself: could clubs do more with the Scottish communities that exist far beyond Scotland?

McKenzie believes the answer is unequivocally yes.

“There are enormous Scottish communities outside Scotland, and I think Scottish football has an opportunity to build much stronger relationships with them.”

He doesn’t believe it necessarily requires anything complicated.

Clubs could engage with supporters’ groups overseas, Scottish societies, Highland Games, cultural organisations and youth programmes.

For McKenzie, the potential goes beyond commercial opportunity.

“That creates something much bigger than a commercial relationship.”

It creates recognition.

A sense that Scottish clubs understand their supporters and that their communities exist beyond Scotland’s borders.

“Scottish clubs have passionate supporters all over the world. I think there is an opportunity to turn that passion into deeper community relationships.”

“I See the Future”

If you want to understand why Highland Games matter so much to McKenzie, ask him what he sees when he looks around one.

His answer comes instantly.

“I see the future.”

Not the past.

The future.

He sees grandparents introducing grandchildren to something important to them.

Parents putting kilts on their children.

People who may never have visited Scotland discovering their Scottish connection.

And importantly, he sees people without Scottish ancestry enjoying the culture too.

That openness is one of the great strengths of Scottish culture, he believes.

“You don’t have to be Scottish to enjoy the music, the dancing, the athletic competitions, the history or the camaraderie.”

For the Scots’ Charitable Society, the Highland Games provide another opportunity.

Not simply to tell people their clan name.

But to explain the values behind Scottish culture.

“We don’t just want people to know their clan’s name. We want them to understand the values and traditions behind the culture.”

That is a significant distinction.

Heritage isn’t simply something to display.

It is something to understand.

And, ultimately, something to live.

Tradition Without Becoming Prisoners of the Past

For an organisation approaching its fourth century, modernisation could be seen as a threat.

McKenzie sees it as a necessity.

But he draws a clear distinction between traditions and methods.

The traditions are worth protecting:

Service.
Charity.
Scottish heritage.
Community.
Looking after one another.

The methods, however, can change.

“If the founders of the Society had access to email, social media and digital communications in 1657, I’m quite sure they would have used them.”

It is a wonderfully simple way of explaining his philosophy.

The Society doesn’t need to abandon its identity to become modern.

It needs to use modern tools to communicate an identity that has already survived for 369 years.

“We need to respect the past without becoming prisoners of the past.”

Speaking the Language of the Next Generation

For younger generations, the first point of contact with Scottish heritage may no longer be a formal society meeting, a history book or even a family gathering.

It might be a video on a phone.

A podcast.

A social media post.

A story shared online.

McKenzie doesn’t see that as a threat.

He sees it as an opportunity.

“We can use video, social media, podcasts, digital storytelling and online communities to tell the stories of Scottish-Americans and the Society in ways that are accessible to younger people.”

But he believes the content has to be human.

Not simply history.

People.
Stories.
Experiences.

“We can show them the history, but we can also show them the people behind the history.”

That matters because younger people aren’t necessarily going to respond to being told that they should care about their heritage.

They need a reason to care.

And McKenzie believes social media can provide that doorway.

“We need to give them a reason to care and social media is their language.”

The Next 20 Years

So what does McKenzie want the Scots’ Charitable Society to look like two decades from now?

His answer is ambitious.

“I’d like it to be larger, younger, more connected and even more impactful; while still being recognizably the same Society that was founded in 1657.”

He wants young Scottish-Americans to know the organisation exists.

He wants Scottish organisations across America to view the Society as a partner.

He wants stronger connections with Scotland.

And he wants the organisation to expand its charitable work in new and creative ways.

Perhaps most importantly, he doesn’t want the Society sitting back and waiting for people to discover it.

“We should be finding them.”

That means going where the Scottish community already exists:

• Highland Games
• Cultural events
• Universities
• Sports organisations
• Social media
• Online communities

The objective isn’t simply to preserve an organisation that is almost 400 years old.

It is to strengthen it.

“If we do that successfully, then 20 years from now we’ll be able to look back and say that we didn’t simply preserve an almost 400-year-old organization. We strengthened it.”

“You May Be Surprised by How Much of It Feels Like Coming Home”

Perhaps the most important question is the final one.

What do you say to a young person of Scottish descent living in America who feels disconnected from their heritage?

McKenzie’s answer is not to demand expertise.

It is to encourage curiosity.

“You don’t have to know everything about Scotland to begin.”

You don’t need to know your entire family tree.

You don’t need to speak Gaelic.

You don’t need to own a kilt.

Start with one thing.

Find out where your family came from.

Go to a Highland Games.

Listen to Scottish music.

Learn about your clan.

Speak to your grandparents.

Visit Scotland if you have the opportunity.

But, above everything else, McKenzie believes heritage is not simply something handed down.

It is something that has to be consciously carried forward.

“Heritage isn’t simply something you inherit. It’s something you choose to carry forward.”

That responsibility becomes particularly important as generations become further removed from Scotland.

You can be several generations removed and still have a meaningful connection.

But somebody has to choose to keep that connection alive.

“If your generation doesn’t carry it forward, the connection can disappear.”

And his final message is perhaps the most powerful of the entire interview.

“Don’t worry about being Scottish enough. Just start exploring where you came from.”

Because what begins as curiosity can become something much deeper.

“You may be surprised by how much of it feels like coming home.”

369 Years — And the Story Is Still Being Written

The Scots’ Charitable Society has survived for 369 years because its founders understood something remarkably simple.

People need people.

Communities need one another.

And leaving Scotland does not necessarily mean leaving Scotland behind.

For Scott P. McKenzie, Scottish identity is not defined by geography alone.

It lives in families.

In stories.

In music.

In sport.

In Highland Games.

In football clubs.

In scholarships.

In charitable acts.

In people choosing to help other people.

And perhaps most importantly, it lives in the decision of each generation to carry something forward.

That may be the greatest challenge facing the Scots’ Charitable Society today.

Not surviving.

It has already demonstrated that it can survive.

The challenge is making sure the next generation understands why it matters.

McKenzie doesn’t want the Society to become a relic of a remarkable past.

He wants it to become an even stronger part of the future.

A larger Society.

A younger Society.

A more connected Society.

A Society that embraces modern technology without abandoning centuries-old values.

And above all, a Society that continues to live by three words that have endured since its earliest days:

Scots Helping Scots

369 years on, the work continues.