We Help Build Our Communities Microsoft employee Njideka "Jiji" Ugwuegbu had a vision: to help young, bright Nigerian students gain access to technology. But she knew that even a generous donation of computers and software wouldn't be enough. With the help of Microsoft Nigeria general manager Gerald Ilukwe, Ugwuegbu founded a program that provides equipment and software, plus the skills development and job preparedness education these students also need. In Seattle, Young Kim, program director for Sharehouse, a nonprofit organization that helps homeless families reestablish households, was struggling with tracking and managing the furniture pickups counted on by the agency's clients. Help came from NPower, a Seattle-based agency funded with $25 million in cash and software from Microsoft. NPower created a scheduling program specifically for Sharehouse's needs. For single parents like Shelia Williams, the Working Connections program at Omaha's Metropolitan Community College offered an opportunity to transition to a higher-paying job in the technology industry. Working Connections is supported by Microsoft to help develop a diverse IT workforce.

Unlocking potential

These stories are examples of how amazing things can happen when the right people, tools, and resources come together. At Microsoft, our employees and our technology help unlock this kind of potential every day, through our corporate giving program and through donations of personal time and resources by our employees. Since 1983, Microsoft and our employees have donated more than $100 million in cash, $100 million in software, and thousands of volunteer hours in our communities around the world.

Our corporate giving is focused in four main areas:

Providing access to technology. In partnership with organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America through Club Tech, Microsoft helps provide technology access to underserved communities around the world.

Strengthening nonprofits. Microsoft partners with nonprofit organizations like the Eastmont Tech Academy and Sharehouse to provide technology to assist them in becoming more effective and efficient in serving their clients and meeting their missions.

Diversifying the IT workforce. Through programs such as Working Connections, a partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges, Microsoft supports technology training and education for underserved people around the world.

Building communities. Through the generous gifts of our employees around the world, we support many diverse nonprofit programs and projects that strengthen the communities where we live and work.

Through our Employee Giving Program, employees make personal financial contributions, volunteer time, and/or donate other resources such as technical expertise. We also support acts of individual giving by matching qualifying charitable donations dollar-for-dollar up to $12,000 per employee annually.

At Microsoft, we've always believed in sharing our success. Our giving efforts — as a company and as individuals — are part of how we help strengthen our communities every day.

Interested in learning more about Microsoft giving?