Ballmer Group Welcomes New Grantees for April 2025

Ballmer Group is pleased to share some of our recently announced grants:

Philanthropy Northwest is dedicated to growing the capacity of philanthropy in the Northwest to redistribute resources and power to underinvested communities, fostering resilient, equitable, and inclusive communities through training, consultancy services, and advocacy. Our grant supports Philanthropy Northwest in strengthening relationships between funders and community-led organizations, advancing participatory grantmaking practices, and expanding funding access for historically marginalized communities.

UNITE-LA advances equitable economic mobility and well-being by fostering collaboration that enhances systems, policies, and high-quality education and career pathways. Our grant supports UNITE-LA's efforts to educate and cultivate business leaders as early childhood education (ECE) champions, positioning them as powerful allies for young children and families. Additionally, our funding will help UNITE-LA build greater cohesion in ECE workforce pathways, from apprenticeships to associate and bachelor's degree attainment, ultimately strengthening California's early care and education sector.

Washington STEM is dedicated to advancing excellence, innovation, and equity in STEM education across Washington state, focusing on leveraging STEM for social change and creating pathways to economic security for systemically underserved students. Our grant supports Washington STEM's early childhood education (ECE) initiatives, specifically enhancing access to and use of data to inform policy decisions. This investment will help improve data tools and advocacy efforts, ultimately expanding access to high-quality early care and education for priority populations.

FIRST Legal Clinic is dedicated to preventing unnecessary family separation by providing early legal intervention to pregnant individuals and parents at risk of child welfare involvement, with a focus on reducing racial disparities in child welfare outcomes. Our grant will support FIRST's expansion efforts by funding key leadership positions, increasing contracted legal services, and enhancing data tracking systems. This investment will strengthen FIRST's capacity to serve more families, expand into Pierce County, and build a sustainable funding model, ensuring that more families receive the support they need to stay safely together.

The Mockingbird Society is dedicated to transforming the foster care system and ending youth homelessness by empowering young people with lived experience to lead advocacy efforts and drive systemic change. Our grant will support Mockingbird's efforts to expand youth-led advocacy, enhance policy implementation, and scale the MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ model statewide. This investment will improve placement stability, foster parent retention, and public funding integration, ensuring that young people in Washington's child welfare system have the resources, relationships, and opportunities to thrive.

The Community Redevelopment Corporation of South Los Angeles (CRCD)'s mission is to better sustain, coordinate, and improve local planning, development, and community services that address the needs of low-income and working-class residents and small businesses in South Los Angeles. Our grant will support CRCD in scaling up job placement efforts for South LA residents, enhancing capacity building for grassroots community-based organizations, and strengthening operational infrastructure.

NorthStar Advocates centers the leadership of young people who have lived experience of behavioral health crises and homelessness. The organization educates state and local policy leaders to ensure that any young person entering inpatient behavioral health treatment is discharged to the community with safe housing options and responsive, supportive services.