Microsoft To Grant $50,000 to 50 Nonprofits For Its 50th Birthday

Microsoft turns 50 next April, and the software giant wants to celebrate.

The company will make 50 grants of 50,000 apiece to 50 local “changemakers” across the Puget Sound region “who are making a difference in the lives of their neighbors.”

In a letter titled “Thank you, Puget Sound,” Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said the grants focus on organizations that protect civic “jewels and iconic places,” as well as those that help people in need. Microsoft launched its first employee giving campaign in 1983, which raised $17,000 for nonprofits.

Over the past five decades, Microsoft and its employees have donated a total of $1.3 billion, including $114.2 million in 2024, to more than 23,400 organizations across Washington state. Globally, employees this year donated $250 million and volunteered 1 million hours in support of 35,000 nonprofits.

Microsoft is also using its 50^th anniversary to identify opportunities for its AI for Good Lab, which seeks to leverage AI and data science to “create new opportunities” across the region. Partners in that effort include the University of Washington and Fred Hutch Cancer Center.

“We may not know what the next decade has in store,” Smith wrote, “but we’re excited to tackle the opportunities that lie ahead, together.”