Connie Ballmer is an American philanthropist and the wife of billionaire former Microsoft CEO and Steve Ballmer. The Ballmers are major donors to Democratic politicians and left-of-center causes. Connie and Steve Ballmer were listed as “Titans” under TIME100 Philanthropy’s 2025 list of most influential people for “wildfire relief.” ¹ The couple founded and support the Ballmer Group, a left-of-center grantmaking institution. ¹

Wildfire relief efforts supported by the Ballmers came under scrutiny amid claims that wildfire victims were not receiving support. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) would ask the Department of Justice for an investigation. ²

Philanthropy

In 2015, Connie and Steve Ballmer created the Ballmer Group. The Ballmer Group is a philanthropic fund that supports organizations that provide social services for left-progressive racial interest and Black empowerment groups. ³

Connie and Steve Ballmer were described by Inside Philanthropy as among the 100 most powerful people in philanthropy. ⁴ Connie Ballmer tends to fund local organizations. From the time Ballmer moved to Los Angeles in 2016 through August 2021, the Ballmers were reported to have given over $110 million to organizations in the Los Angeles area. ⁵

The Ballmer Group supports left-of-center organizations that provide social services for African American communities in response to alleged systemic racism. The group has asserted, “We’ve come to understand that structural racism is built into all the systems that govern our lives and does disproportionate harm to Black people and communities. Racism is present in policing. It is also present in education, housing, health, workforce, criminal justice, and other public systems. 400 years after the start of the horrendous system of slavery, Black Americans still face and must overcome extra barriers in nearly every aspect of their lives.” ⁶

In August 2024, Connie Ballmer, Steve Ballmer, and their son Sam founded the Rainier Climate Group to support their climate change philanthropy. The group announced a goal of “net zero emissions globally by 2050 and even earlier in wealthy nations.” From 2022 to 2024, the Ballmers had donated just over $1 billion to climate-related environmentalist causes. ⁷

By October 2024, the Ballmers had donated over $500 million in grants during the 2024 fiscal year alone. ⁸

Controversy

In January 2025, the Ballmers gave $15 million towards Los Angeles wildfire relief. That same month, the Ballmers turned Intuit Dome, home court of the NBA’s L.A. Clippers, which Steve Ballmer owned, into a stage for musical artists Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Billie Eilish, and others as part of a two-venue mega-concert titled FireAid which raised about $100 million for wildfire relief. The Ballmers then matched each dollar raised and donated it for wildfire relief. ⁹

In July 2025, journalists reported that money raised during FireAid had not gone to help victims of the wildfire after those victims complained that they did not receive any money from the relief effort. Instead, they alleged the money had been given to dozens of nonprofits connected to the Annenberg Foundation, which helped the Ballmers setup the FireAid concert. In February 2025, FireAid released the first $50 million which went to 120 nonprofit groups. Two other distributions of $25 million each were planned to be released to nonprofit groups. FireAid later admitted that direct payments to fire victims were never planned and would not be made. U.S. Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) asked the Department of Justice to investigate FireAid, alleging the group donated money to nonprofits which had nothing to do with fire relief. Kiley later claimed that FireAid pledged to be more transparent with how it spent the money. Critics of FireAid alleged that donors were deceived into donating because they believed that their money was going to fire victims, not to nonprofits they may not agree with politically. ²

Political Activity

In July 2021, Connie Ballmer made a $1 million donation to the campaign of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) to avoid a gubernatorial recall. Ballmer’s donation was the campaign’s second largest at the time she made it. ¹⁰

In July 2020, Ballmer, alongside her husband Steve, made a $7 million donation to Everytown for Gun Safety, a lobbying group that supports gun control. ¹¹

In October 2020, Ballmer donated $1,000,000 to House Majority PAC, a Super PAC supporting House Democrats, and followed it up with another $1,000,000 donation in December 2021. ¹²

In April 2021, Ballmer donated $3,500,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund. She followed up that donation with a $1,500,000 donation in May 2022. ¹²

In November 2024, Ballmer donated $250,000 to the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which is an environmentalist political action committee founded by actress and left-wing activist Jane Fonda which endorses Democratic candidates. In September 2024, she donated $1,000,000 to the One for All Committee, a left-of-center super PAC which tries to persuade women to support Democratic candidates. In May 2024, she donated $250,000 to the Harris Victory Fund supporting then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. In June 2023, she donated $100,000 to the Democratic Majority Fund. In June 2023, she donated $88,400 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Also in the 2024 election cycle, she donated to nearly every state Democratic Party, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Democratic National Committee, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), and U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ). ¹²

Connie Ballmer is a board member of the Obama Foundation, being appointed in August 2020. ¹³

1. “Our Grants.” Ballmer Group. Accessed September 2, 2025.  https://ballmergroup.org/our-grants/
2. Symon, Evan. “$100 Million in FireAid Relief Funds Went to Non-Profits Instead of Fire Victims.” California Globe, July 25, 2025. https://californiaglobe.com/fr/100-million-in-fireaid-relief-funds-went-to-non-profits-instead-of-fire-victims/.
3. Davies, Megan. “Black Lives Matter. Always.” Ballmer Group. September 18, 2020. https://www.ballmergroup.org/news/black-lives-matter.
4. IP Staff. “The inside Philanthropy Power List.” Inside Philanthropy. July 29, 2021. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2021/7/21/the-inside-philanthropy-power-list.
5. Rojc, Philip. “How the Ballmer Group Became One Of L.A.’s Most IMPORTANT FUNDERS.” Inside Philanthropy. December 17, 2019. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2019/12/5/how-the-ballmer-group-became-one-of-las-most-important-funders.
6. Ballmer, Connie and Steve Ballmer. “Black Lives Matter. Always.” Ballmer Group, June 8, 2020. https://ballmergroup.org/black-lives-matter-always/
7. Ballmer, Connie, and Steve Ballmer. “Ballmer Family Launches Rainier Climate Group to Address Global Climate Crisis.” Ballmer Group, August 22, 2024. https://ballmergroup.org/ballmer-family-launches-rainier-climate-group-to-address-global-climate-crisis/.
8. Croxton, Will. “How Steve and Connie Ballmer Are Giving Away Billions.” CBS News, July 6, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-steve-and-connie-ballmer-give-away-billions-60-minutes/.
9. Friess, Steve. “Time100 Philanthropy: Steve Ballmer and Connie Ballmer.” Time, May 20, 2025. https://time.com/collections/time100-philanthropy-2025/7286089/steve-ballmer-connie-ballmer/.
10. Thomson, Grady. “Washington State Resident Gives $1 Million to Fight Recall.” Capitol Weekly, August 13, 2021. https://capitolweekly.net/washington-state-resident-gives-1-million-to-fight-recall/.
11. Bishop, Todd. “Steve and Connie BALLMER Give $7M to National Gun Control GROUP Co-Founded by Michael Bloomberg.” GeekWire, July 16, 2020. https://www.geekwire.com/2020/steve-connie-ballmer-give-7m-national-gun-control-group-co-founded-michael-bloomberg/.
12. “Browse Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed August 18, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Connie+Ballmer.
13. “Obama Foundation Announces Addition of Connie Ballmer and Demond Martin to the Board of Directors.” Obama Foundation, August 7, 2020. https://www.obama.org/press-releases/connie-ballmer-demond-martin-board-directors/.