Ballmer Group Welcomes New Grantees for January 2025

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

Multifamily Impact Council: The Multifamily Impact Council aims to increase the flow of impact capital to preserve and create more affordable, sustainable rental properties in the U.S. The Council has developed a framework to support organizations in meeting the return expectations for their investors while also delivering positive impact to their renters and communities.

Compton Community College District: Compton College, which serves one of the highest percentages (22%) of Black students in LA County, aims to prepare the workforce and provide clear pathways for completing programs of study, transitioning to a university, and securing living-wage employment. Our grant will enhance student transfer success through a replicable model, helping students successfully earn degrees and certificates, transfer to four-year colleges and universities, or enter careers in flourishing industries.

Treehouse: Through advocacy, programs, and partnerships, Treehouse improves educational outcomes and addresses systemic barriers for youth in foster care. Treehouse empowers these young people to achieve academic success by strengthening supports for foster care youth from pre-kindergarten until they achieve a degree or credential, living wage, and stable housing.

First Five Action Fund: First Five Action mobilizes and supports efforts to ensure all children from birth through age five have equal access to affordable, comprehensive, high-quality care and education. First Five Action drives policy solutions by educating Congressional offices on key policies and investments, connecting with campaigns on the importance of early learning and childcare issues, and demonstrating the need for greater federal investment in early learning and childcare.

Washington State Alliance of YMCAs: The collective goal of Washington YMCAs is to create safe, nurturing environments where young people can thrive. Our grant funding will empower YMCAs throughout Washington State to significantly expand their diverse and inclusive programs for low-income youth, enhancing their opportunities for personal growth, academic success, and social-emotional development.

Philanthropic Ventures Foundation: Philanthropic Ventures Foundation tests new approaches to creative grantmaking and to maximize the impact of the philanthropic dollar. Our grant supports their partnership with the California Department of Education to successfully implement and bolster the quality of universal Pre-K in California.

Teach for America Los Angeles: Teach For America is a diverse network of leaders who confront educational inequity by teaching for a minimum of two years and then working with unwavering commitment across all sectors of society to make educational equity a reality. Our grant supports Teach For America Los Angeles in finding, developing, and supporting these leaders who expand opportunities for children as teachers and lifelong advocates.

KIPP Public Schools: KIPP Public Schools is a network of 280 public charter schools with 15,000 educators and 175,000 students and alumni. Our grant supports the network’s growth.

Children Now: Children Now harnesses collective power to achieve transformational and systemic results for California’s kids. Our grant supports Children Now's work to build a California that leverages every funding source and political window of opportunity to advance universal access to child care for families and children aged 0-3.

BuildUS: BuildUS aims to leverage recent landmark federal investments (including the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act) to ensure that all communities—especially those that are often overlooked—experience their benefits. BuildUS is maximizing this historic opportunity to reshape how our economy supports American workers, healthy families, and clean air.

Hazel Park Schools: Situated in Oakland County, MI, Hazel Park Schools is a preK-12 school district that serves nearly 3,000 students, 78% of whom are considered economically disadvantaged. Our grant will assist Hazel Park Schools in expanding its successful Community School model across the district to tackle educational, social, and health disparities in a high-poverty community.

Washington Student Achievement Council: The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) is a cabinet-level state agency dedicated to improving educational attainment in Washington State. Our grant will assist WSAC in achieving its goal of having 70% of Washington adults obtain a postsecondary credential by enhancing regional partnerships aimed at dismantling structural barriers that hinder educational access and outcomes.

Michigan State University: The Michigan Political Leadership Program at Michigan State University is a bipartisan initiative aimed at identifying community leaders from across the state and uniting them to participate in a public policy and leadership curriculum. Our grant will support a comprehensive recruitment effort to bring new leaders into politics and establish a pipeline of skilled, knowledgeable leaders for Michigan's communities.

Black Leaders Detroit: Black Leaders Detroit seeks to address disparities by offering what has been missing: financial support. Recognizing that Detroiters of African descent have always been rich in creativity, effective economic strategies, entrepreneurial spirit, and innovative business models, our grant will enhance Black Leaders Detroit's operational capabilities to meet the increasing demand for services, supporting regional Black-owned businesses and emerging entrepreneurs.

National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform: The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) aims to reduce incarceration and violence, enhance outcomes for youth and adults involved in the system, and bolster the capacity and expertise of organizations that support these individuals. Our grant will support NICJR's collaboration with the State of Michigan in establishing a new statewide office to aid local initiatives aimed at reducing violence.

Urban Alliance Foundation: Urban Alliance works with schools and employers to address systemic barriers to economic mobility for young adults of color and to bridge the gaps between education and workforce development for all young people. Our grant will deepen and expand equitable, inclusive career pathways for young people in and around Detroit through paid work experiences, mentorship, and professional development.

ACCESS: With 11 locations and over 120 programs serving metro Detroit, ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services) provides a broad array of social, economic, health, and educational services to a diverse community. Our grant enhances ACCESS's data capacity to assess the effectiveness of its family support programs.

Henry Ford Health: One of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, Henry Ford Health (HFH), is developing a talent and education strategy to prepare and hire youth and young adults in Southeast Michigan for a wide range of high-growth healthcare careers. Our grant will support HFH in employing young people in healthcare pathway jobs, eliminating barriers to sustained career opportunities at HFH, and creating stronger pipelines from high school and college into employment—making a generational impact for families and children in Detroit.

Enterprise Community Partners: Enterprise addresses America’s massive shortage of affordable rental homes through innovative solutions, capital investment, and community development. This approach transforms homes and communities into places of pride, power, and belonging, serving as platforms for resilience and upward mobility. Our grant connects Enterprise's partners, programs, and solutions within Place-Based Partnerships to meet housing needs, ultimately enhancing cradle-to-career outcomes.

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools: One of the largest and most successful public charter school networks in the country, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools works to close the opportunity gap for over 12,000 scholars attending its 26 middle and high schools in Los Angeles’ most underserved communities. Although students arrive at Alliance an average of three grade levels behind, nearly all Alliance seniors graduate, with 97% accepted to college and 84% admitted to a four-year college or university.

InnerCity Struggle: InnerCity Struggle aims to cultivate a vibrant, multigenerational, and civically engaged Eastside of Los Angeles that ensures racial justice, quality education, equitable economy, and a healthy built environment for residents most affected by systemic injustices. InnerCity Struggle builds power through community, training, and direct action campaigns to advance justice, life opportunities, and dignity in the Eastside.

Inner City Education Foundation: Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF) operates seven schools that educate over 2,500 students in grades TK through 12, welcoming a diverse student population (65% Black / 35% Latino) from culturally rich families seeking enhanced educational opportunities. ICEF has established itself as a leader in closing learning gaps for ​Black & Latinx/e students in California.

Southfield Public Schools: Located in Oakland County, MI, Southfield School District serves over 4,800 students, 66% of whom are considered economically disadvantaged. Our grant will support the expansion of its community schools model throughout the district, enhancing partnerships, boosting student and family engagement, and improving overall academic outcomes.

Camino Nuevo Charter Academy: Camino Nuevo Charter Academy (CNCA) operates on the belief that every student deserves the opportunity to attend a great school, changing the trajectory of students' lives and helping reverse educational and economic inequities in their communities. Currently, six CNCA schools across seven campuses in Los Angeles are educating 3,200 students from early childhood to high school, with graduates earning bachelor’s degrees at over three times the rate of low-income students nationwide.

Aspire Public Schools: Aspire Public Schools aims to transform the disproportionate outcomes for predominantly Black and Latinx students that are a product of a system that does not adequately educate everyone. Aspire operates 36 community-based schools, serving over 15,200 students in California, and teachers and parents work closely together to ensure students are ready to succeed in college, careers, and life.

Southern California College Attainment Network: The Southern California College Attainment Network (SoCal CAN) is an alliance of over 120 organizations collaborating to support the college and career aspirations of more than 350,000 students in the region and beyond. SoCal CAN believes that collective action is essential for achieving large-scale change and creates opportunities for its members to lead, collaborate, and advocate for increasing the rate at which underrepresented students access and complete post-secondary education.

Jobs to Move America: Jobs to Move America believes that public funds are our most powerful resource for shaping a better future for American workers. Through strategic research, policy advocacy, and coalition organizing, Jobs to Move America seeks to ensure that public funds foster a more inclusive democracy, equitable economy, and healthy environment for all communities.

Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative: Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative (NSI) distributes targeted capacity-building funds to ensure that the nonprofit leaders in Los Angeles County have access to the right tools, processes, and expertise needed to adapt during transformative periods. NSI promotes sustained collaboration and executive transitions within the nonprofit sector, motivating leaders to engage in due diligence for strategic partnerships and planning transitions for greater impact and resilience.

Los Angeles Philharmonic Association: A program of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) offers local youth free instruments, comprehensive music instruction, and opportunities to perform on stages in their communities and around the world. Our grant enhances the YOLA Center in Inglewood to reach more students through its after-school program and broaden access for high school students in South LA and Inglewood.

The Michigan Coalition for Community Schools: The Michigan Coalition for Community Schools is an emerging partnership with a shared vision: the people of Michigan collaborate to achieve educational equity by providing every young person and their families with what they need to grow and thrive. The Michigan State Coalition will support community school models by bringing together statewide partners to align resources and practices, organizing professional learning communities to share and enhance best practices, and advocating for educational policies that prioritize students and families. I AM ME: I AM ME provides wraparound support services for students and their families to increase post-secondary/college readiness, access to scholarship opportunities, and cross-cultural experiences. Our grant launches a pilot youth fellowship program for a cohort of selected students from Detroit Public Schools Community District.