Ballmer Group - Grant Information & Application Details

Quick Stats

Annual Giving: $767 million (2024)
Success Rate: Not applicable (by invitation only)
Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
Grant Range: $5 million - $170 million+ annually (varies widely based on initiative)
Geographic Focus: National with deep regional investments in Washington State, Los Angeles County, and Southeast Michigan

Contact Details

Website: www.ballmergroup.org Email: info@ballmergroup.org Phone: 425-324-1600 Location: Redmond, WA Social Media: @ballmergroup (X/Twitter), LinkedIn

Important Note: Ballmer Group does not accept unsolicited grant proposals or inquiries. The organization identifies and approaches potential grantees proactively.

Overview

Founded in 2015 by Steve and Connie Ballmer following Steve's retirement as Microsoft CEO, Ballmer Group has rapidly become one of the largest anti-poverty funders in the United States. The organization has distributed over $3 billion in the past five years, with $767 million given in 2024 alone. Structured as a limited liability company (LLC), Ballmer Group focuses exclusively on improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States. Under CEO Terri Ludwig's leadership since 2019, the organization has developed a distinctive approach combining large-scale, multi-year unrestricted funding with significant data-based due diligence. The group supports two complementary strategies: direct services that strengthen communities in the present and systems-level interventions designed to transform opportunities long-term. In 2024, Steve and Connie Ballmer were recognized in TIME100 Philanthropy for their transformative approach to funding economic mobility initiatives. Their commitment to flexible funding and trust-based philanthropy has positioned them as leaders in efforts to advance racial equity and eliminate systemic barriers to opportunity.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Ballmer Group does not operate traditional grant programs with application cycles. Instead, they proactively identify and approach organizations. Their funding typically includes:

Multi-Year Flexible Funding: Grants typically last at least three years and are unrestricted, allowing organizations to use funds as they determine most effective. In 2019, they invested $260 million of flexible funding into 18 organizations, later renewing support totaling over $284 million to the same organizations.

Major National Initiatives:

Communities in Schools: Up to $165 million to expand student support to 1,000 new majority-low-income schools
StriveTogether: $175 million to expand economic-mobility programs to reach 4 million more young people
University of Oregon: $425 million to create the Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health
Blue Meridian Partners: Over $500 million pledged

Regional Investments:

Washington State ECEAP Expansion: Up to $170 million annually over 10 years to expand early childhood education
YWCA's in Washington State: $12.1 million over three years
Various housing and homelessness initiatives: $15 million in flexible multi-year support

Black-Led Nonprofit Initiative: $42.5 million over five years to support more than 100 Black-led nonprofits through partnerships with Echoing Green and New Profit, addressing the funding gap where Black-led nonprofits' unrestricted assets are 76% smaller than white counterparts.

Priority Areas

Core Impact Areas:

Early Childhood and Families: Supporting family formation, early learning programs, and early childhood education access
Child Welfare: Transforming child welfare systems to improve prevention and reduce racial disparities
K-12 Education: Wraparound student support services and educational equity initiatives
College and Career Readiness: Career pathways and economic mobility for young people
Criminal Justice Reform: Transforming adult and youth justice systems, community violence intervention, automatic record expungement
Housing and Homelessness: Increasing housing supply, reducing homelessness, addressing systemic racism in housing
Behavioral Health: Mental health services and systems transformation, particularly for children
Public Safety: Community-led approaches to violence intervention
Technology and Data: Data infrastructure and technology solutions for social sector outcomes

Strategic Priorities:

Organizations with demonstrated ability to reshape opportunity and reduce systemic inequities
BIPOC-led organizations and those serving BIPOC communities
Racial equity advancement across all work
National and regional scale organizations
Public-private partnerships and systems transformation initiatives

Regional Focus:

Washington State: Public systems transformation with deep investments in child welfare, behavioral health, and education
Los Angeles County: Building equitable public systems, focusing on education, criminal justice, and community-led vision of safety
Southeast Michigan: Cross-sector collaboration bringing philanthropy, government, and business together for economic mobility through education and community development

What They Don't Fund

Individual applicants
Unsolicited proposals (all funding is by invitation)
Organizations without demonstrated scale and impact
Single-year or short-term projects
Organizations outside the United States
Restricted or project-specific funding (they provide unrestricted support)

Governance and Leadership

Co-Founders:

Steve Ballmer: Former Microsoft CEO (2000-2014), hired by Bill Gates in 1980, retired from Microsoft in 2014. Co-founded Ballmer Group with wife Connie in 2015. Also founded USAFacts in 2017, a nonpartisan data transparency organization. Owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Connie Ballmer: Co-founder who has been a consistent advocate for flexible, multi-year funding and trust-based philanthropy. Stated that their grants "represent Ballmer Group's commitment to long-term partnerships, to flexible funding, and to trust in our grantees."

Executive Leadership:

Terri Ludwig, CEO: Joined Ballmer Group in 2019 as President of Philanthropy, became CEO. Previously served as CEO of Enterprise Community Partners (2010-2019), where she facilitated over $35 billion in capital for affordable housing and community development. Brings deep understanding of systems change and commitment to addressing systemic inequities affecting economic mobility. Under her leadership, Ballmer Group has strengthened its focus on racial equity in both external grantmaking and internal processes.
Nicole DeCario, Chief of Staff: Works cross-functionally with and on behalf of the CEO
Kevin Bromer, Executive Director, Head of Technology and Data Strategy: Leads approach to increase economic mobility through data and technology
Joe McNulty, Senior Manager of Strategic Finance: Advises grantmaking team with financial insight and due diligence
Andi Smith, Executive Director of National Behavioral Health and Washington Team

The organization employs 59 staff members across multiple teams including Communications & Policy, Government and Advocacy, Community Impact, and regional teams.

Key Leadership Quotes:

Connie Ballmer on funding approach: "To have the most impact without making a million grants, re-granting is the key."

Steve Ballmer on unrestricted support: Most of Ballmer Group's giving consists of no-strings operating support, "as opposed to trying to impose our goals on top of them."

Connie Ballmer on simplicity: "We try to keep it simple."

Terri Ludwig on systems change: "During my time at Enterprise Community Partners, we recognized that housing was an essential part of helping families move up economically. But to truly enable families to thrive, we realized that we couldn't stop there. We needed to partner with other systems like health and education, ensuring that government and nonprofit services integrated seamlessly so that our families experienced a well-connected network of support."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Critical Information: Ballmer Group does not accept unsolicited grant applications or inquiries. There is no open application process or direct avenue for submitting proposals.

Alternative Approach: Grantseekers may wish to network with specific team members working in a region or area of interest via social media platforms like LinkedIn or X (Twitter). The organization's team page at ballmergroup.org/our-team/ lists staff members by focus area and region.

How They Identify Grantees: Ballmer Group proactively identifies and approaches organizations that demonstrate the ability to reshape opportunity at scale. Before providing grants, they perform significant data-based due diligence on organizations, tracking their commitment and ability to deliver results.

Decision Timeline

Decision timelines are not publicly disclosed as the organization operates through invitation-only processes. The organization announces new grantees on a rolling basis throughout the year, typically publishing monthly or bi-monthly cohorts of new grantees on their website.

Success Rates

Not applicable - the organization does not accept unsolicited applications. All funding is by invitation based on the organization's proactive identification of potential grantees.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable due to invitation-only model. However, the organization demonstrates strong commitment to multi-year partnerships, with many organizations receiving renewed support. Their 2019 cohort of 18 organizations all received renewed funding commitments totaling over $284 million, demonstrating a preference for sustained partnerships over one-time grants.

Application Success Factors

While Ballmer Group does not accept applications, their publicly stated priorities and funded organizations reveal key factors that attract their attention:

Demonstrated Scale and Impact:

Organizations must show proven ability to reshape opportunity at meaningful scale
National or regional reach preferred
Track record of systems-level change, not just direct service delivery

Data-Driven Approach:

Strong data infrastructure and ability to track outcomes
Willingness to undergo rigorous data-based due diligence
Kevin Bromer, Executive Director of Technology and Data Strategy, leads this evaluation
In 2018, invested $59 million in Social Solutions, demonstrating commitment to data infrastructure in social sector

Alignment with Economic Mobility Mission:

Clear connection between work and improving economic outcomes for children and families
Focus on breaking cycles of poverty
Addressing systemic barriers and inequities

Racial Equity Commitment:

BIPOC-led organizations or those primarily serving BIPOC communities
Demonstrated commitment to advancing racial equity
Organizations led by people representative of communities served
Public advocacy for policies advancing racial equity

Systems Transformation Focus:

Working to transform public systems (education, criminal justice, child welfare, behavioral health)
Public-private partnerships
Policy advocacy alongside service delivery
Long-term sustainable change versus short-term fixes

Examples of Recently Funded Organizations:

Black Economic Alliance Foundation: $31 million over 2024-2027 for Center for Black Entrepreneurship
Children's Funding Project: Implementation and spreading learnings from successful local ballot measures for children's funds
National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform: Development of SafeStat safety measurement system for community violence intervention
Partnership for Los Angeles Schools: Managing 20 LA Unified schools serving 13,500 students
The Marshall Project: Nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization on criminal justice reform
Jobs to Move America: Strategic research, policy advocacy, and coalition organizing
Children Now: Advancing universal access to child care for families with children aged 0-3 in California

Geographic Connections: Organizations operating in or serving Washington State, Los Angeles County, or Southeast Michigan receive particular attention, though national organizations are also funded.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

Invitation-Only Model: Ballmer Group does not accept unsolicited proposals. Organizations cannot apply directly but can work on building visibility and networking with team members through professional channels.
Think Big and Long-Term: Ballmer Group favors large, multi-year commitments over small grants. Minimum grant terms typically span at least three years. Their approach is "large-scale, flexible funding" with individual grants ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Demonstrate Systems-Level Impact: Direct service alone is insufficient. Organizations must show how their work transforms systems and creates sustainable, long-term change in economic mobility outcomes for children and families.
Lead with Data: Strong data infrastructure, clear metrics, and willingness to undergo rigorous evaluation are essential. The organization invests heavily in understanding organizational capacity and tracking outcomes.
Center Racial Equity: BIPOC-led organizations and those demonstrably advancing racial equity receive priority. Organizations should clearly articulate how their work addresses systemic racism and inequities.
Unrestricted Support Philosophy: Ballmer Group provides unrestricted, flexible funding based on trust in grantee expertise. They don't impose specific programmatic requirements, preferring to support organizations' own strategic priorities.
Partnership Over Transactions: The organization seeks long-term partnerships, frequently renewing support to existing grantees. Building relationships and demonstrating results over time is valued over one-time funding requests.

References

Ballmer Group Official Website - Our Grants. https://ballmergroup.org/our-grants/
Ballmer Group Official Website - Our Team. https://ballmergroup.org/our-team/
Ballmer Group Official Website - Our Work. https://ballmergroup.org/our-work/
Ballmer Group Official Website - "Five Years Later: Renewing Our Commitment to Large-Scale, Flexible Funding" (2024). https://ballmergroup.org/five-years-later-renewing-our-commitment-to-large-scale-flexible-funding/
Ballmer Group Official Website - "Terri Ludwig: New Beginnings" (2019). https://www.ballmergroup.org/blog/new-beginnings
Ballmer Group Official Website - "Ballmer Group Welcomes New Grantees for December 2024" (2024). https://ballmergroup.org/ballmer-group-welcomes-new-grantees-for-december-2024/
Ballmer Group Official Website - "Ballmer Group Invests in WA Early Childhood Education Expansion" (2025). https://ballmergroup.org/ballmer-group-eceap-expansion/
Inside Philanthropy - "Ballmer Group" Grant Profile. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/find-a-grant/grants-b/ballmer-group
Inside Philanthropy - "Steve and Connie Ballmer" Donor Profile. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/guide-to-individual-donors/steve-ballmer.html
Inside Philanthropy - "On the Ground with the Ballmer Group, One of LA's Leading Antipoverty Funders" (May 2023). https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023-5-22-on-the-ground-with-ballmer-group-one-of-las-leading-anti-poverty-funders
Chronicle of Philanthropy - "Power Couple Giving: The 10-Year Journey of Steve and Connie Ballmer" (2025). https://www.philanthropy.com/news/power-couple-giving-the-10-year-journey-of-steve-and-connie-ballmer/
Chronicle of Philanthropy - "Ballmer Group Awards $42.5 Million to Help More Than 100 Black-Led Groups Expand" (May 2023). https://www.philanthropy.com/article/ballmer-group-awards-42-5-million-to-help-more-than-100-black-led-groups-expand
Chronicle of Philanthropy - "Ballmer Group Commits $175 Million to StriveTogether for Youth Economic-Mobility Programs" (2024). https://www.philanthropy.com/article/ballmer-group-commits-175-million-to-strivetogether-for-youth-economic-mobility-programs
Candid Foundation Directory - "Ballmer Group" Grantmaker Profile. https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/fdo-grantmaker-profile?key=3752542
Wikipedia - "Ballmer Group." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballmer_Group
TIME - "TIME100 Philanthropy: Steve Ballmer and Connie Ballmer" (2025). https://time.com/collections/time100-philanthropy-2025/7286089/steve-ballmer-connie-ballmer/
Communities in Schools - "Ballmer Group" Funder Profile. https://www.communitiesinschools.org/funders/ballmer-group/
LinkedIn - Terri Ludwig Profile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/terriludwig/

All sources accessed November 2025.