Ballmer Group is a philanthropy founded by Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, who is among the richest people in the world. It was co-founded by his wife Connie Ballmer. Organizations funded by the Ballmer Group include Color of Change, Equal Justice Initiative, PolicyLink, The Bail Project, and the Obama Foundation. ¹

The group is not organized as a nonprofit foundation and operates as a corporate philanthropy. It has donated hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to left-of-center organizations that fund social services and educational programs, many designed to provide economic support in response to alleged systemic racism. Ballmer has stated that makes these grants because he believes racial inequities at all levels are a result of all “public systems” being racist, making reparations necessary. The Ballmer Group also funds left-of-center organizations that advocate for ending alleged racism in public systems and establishing racial equity as defined by critical race theory and similar ideologies. ²

Background

The Ballmer Group was founded in 2015 by Steve Ballmer and Connie Ballmer. The group has multiple funding areas, including teams focused on “national impact” and “community impact” and teams of staff members focused on giving programs in Washington state, where the Ballmers live, Steve Ballmer’s childhood home of Southeast Michigan, and the Los Angeles area, where Steve Ballmer owns the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Clippers. ³

Activity

The Ballmer Group has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars since 2015 to a variety of left-of-center advocacy groups, community organizations, educational groups, and schools. The group is not organized as a nonprofit foundation but rather operates as a corporate giving arm for Steve Ballmer’s personal fortune, which included a net worth of nearly $90 billion as of 2023, making him one of the ten richest people in the world. ^{4 5}

Major gifts from the Ballmer group have included a $60 million pledge to left-of-center nonprofit StriveTogether to fund the group’s “efforts to reduce racial and socioeconomic disparities nationwide.” ⁶

In 2022, the Ballmer Group announced a gift of $425 million to the University of Oregon to establish the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health. Connie Ballmer graduated from the University of Oregon and had previously sat on the university’s board of trustees. ⁷

Also, in 2022, the Ballmer Group awarded $18 million to fund “community violence intervention ecosystems in areas hardest hit by gun violence.” Which funded groups including the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (the HAVI), the Community Based Public Safety Collective (CBPS), Cities United, and the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR). ⁸

In October 2022, the Baller Group announced a $400 million grant to “four organizations focused on Black investment managers and Black businesses.” The program was designed to provide support to “Black-led venture capital and private equity funds, and at least 30% of the underlying portfolio companies will be led by Black entrepreneurs/founders. The partnerships include a commitment from Goldman Sachs and Fairview Capital to amplify the impact of the funds with additional capital.” The program also worked with JPMorgan Chase, GCM Grosvenor, and Ariel Alternatives’ Project Black. ⁹

Organizations Funded

Groups that have received grants from the Ballmer Group include the Alliance for Safety and Justice Action Fund, the Center for Black Educator Development, Center for Employment Opportunities, Color of Change, Equal Justice Initiative, PushBlack, Bail Project, the Justice Collaborative, the Obama Foundation, Urban Teachers, the Vera Institute of Justice, Woke Vote, and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition. ¹⁰

1. “Grantees Supporting Racial Equity in Predominantly Black Communities.” Ballmer Group. Accessed March 30, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220309061910/https://www.ballmergroup.org/news/black-lives-matter
2. Davies, Megan. “Black Lives Matter. Always.” Ballmer Group. September 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20220309061910/https://www.ballmergroup.org/news/black-lives-matter
3. “Work.” Ballmer Group. Accessed March 30, 2023.  https://www.ballmergroup.org/work
4. “Steve Ballmer.” Forbes. Accessed March 31, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/profile/steve-ballmer/?sh=3e0f71724818
5. “Work.” Ballmer Group. Accessed March 30, 2023.  https://www.ballmergroup.org/work
6. “Ballmer Group pledges $60 million to StriveTogether.” StriveTogether. Accessed March 31, 2023. https://www.strivetogether.org/news/ballmer-group-pledges-60-million-strivetogether/
7. “A Transformational Gift.” The Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health. Accessed March 31, 2023. https://childrensbehavioralhealth.uoregon.edu/ballmer-gift
8. “Ballmer Group Awards $18 Million to Support Community Violence Intervention.” The Health Alliance for Violence. https://www.thehavi.org/ballmer-group-awards-18million-for-community-violence-intervention
9. “Steve and Connie Ballmer Invest $400 Million Into Black Investment Managers.” Ballmer Group. Accessed March 31, 2023. https://www.ballmergroup.org/blog/Black-Investment-Managers
10. “Grantees supporting racial equity in predominantly Black communities.” Ballmer Group. https://web.archive.org/web/20210421015855/https://www.ballmergroup.org/black-lives-matter