Ballmer Group to donate $1 million to negate impact of coronavirus
A philanthropic group founded by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie, will donate a total of $1 million to community groups in Los Angeles combating the ripple effect left by the novel coronavirus.
Los Angeles County’s Office of Education and the Los Angeles Unified School District both announced Thursday that they had received $250,000 donations from the Ballmer Group.
Debra Duardo, the county office’s superintendent, said in a statement that she was grateful for funds that will be used to distribute food and items such as diapers, formula, and cleaning and medical supplies to students and families in need while also providing access to online learning with schools across the region closed.
The donation to Los Angeles Unified Schools is part of a larger fundraising effort by the district that it said will be used to provide meals and urgent supplies to students and families.
The Ballmer Group is also donating $100,000 to Brilliant Corners to help the immediate needs of the homeless in Los Angeles in the wake of the coronavirus and $150,000 to the California Community Foundation to support low-income and low-wage workers. The Ballmer Group said it is still deciding how to direct another $250,000.
The donations in Los Angeles follow Ballmer’s $3-million pledge last week to a fund created by the Seattle Foundation to help those affected by the novel coronavirus.
Ballmer, the longtime Microsoft executive, became the wealthiest owner of a North American sports team when he purchased the Clippers for an NBA-record $2 billion in 2014. Two years later, his philanthropic group began working in Los Angeles with organizations largely focused on poverty. The group also operates in Seattle, where he lives, and Detroit, where he grew up.
