Microsoft Donates $1.7 Million to Support Rebuilding of Gulf States

[Jimmy 2004]

NEW ORLEANS — Feb. 26, 2007 — The Gulf Coast region’s economic revitalization after Hurricane Katrina was boosted by an announcement today by Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer of $1.7 million in donations of cash, software and specialized curriculum to several nonprofit partners in Louisiana and Texas. Microsoft is supporting existing local government, academic and nonprofit organizations as they rebuild and establish community infrastructure, technology and work-force training centers. These centers support displaced residents in accessing the technology skills training they need to succeed in today’s technology-driven economy.

The grants Microsoft awarded to nonprofit partners in Louisiana and Texas today are part of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential 2007 program investments of $55 million worldwide. Unlimited Potential was started in 2003 to broaden digital inclusion and meet the need for computer literacy in society and the workplace. Microsoft’s goal is to provide, by the year 2010, a quarter-billion underserved people around the world with access to the technology and technology skills training they need to improve social and economic opportunities for themselves and their communities.

By working with local business and government representatives, who are the experts in their respective communities, Unlimited Potential provides the necessary training to help foster local economic growth. Toward this end, Microsoft has now invested $255 million in more than 800 projects around the world.

Making a Difference in the Gulf Coast Region

Speaking at the Jefferson County Workforce Center — a work-force training and resource center for New Orleans residents, supported in part by Delgado Community College — Ballmer and Xavier University president Norman Francis, who is also chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, discussed the continued economic needs in Louisiana and Texas and the potential that training and technology have to help these citizens achieve economic and social empowerment.

“In a post-Katrina world, retaining and rebuilding a skilled work force is critical to the future of the Gulf Coast economy,” Ballmer said. “Microsoft is committed to working with our Gulf Coast partners to help expand opportunity for people and businesses throughout this fantastic region.”

U.S. Sen. Mary L. Landrieu joined Ballmer and Francis on stage to discuss the region’s economic growth and how Microsoft’s $1.7 million donation will help equip the work force for employment in the information economy.

“Public-private partnerships such as that between Microsoft and the communities of Louisiana are prime examples of what can be done to move our state forward and to make Louisiana even more competitive as we recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” Landrieu said. “I thank Microsoft for its help with this innovative initiative. Its technological expertise will provide important tools for our recovery and will help our workers — young and old alike — develop the skills they need to gain employment in the growth industries of the future.”

In addition to the commitments outlined by Ballmer today, the company and its employees invested more than $11 million in cash contributions and technology solutions in the months immediately following Hurricane Katrina. This included donations to the United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund to assist faculty and students impacted by Hurricane Katrina, as well as the development of KatrinaSafe.org, a Web site designed to consolidate data on missing persons and evacuees to help families locate and register missing relatives. KatrinaSafe.org provided a foundation for the American Red Cross’s Safe and Well Web site, a tool that will be the standard for exchanging welfare information in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. In recent months, Microsoft joined a number of other major American corporations in an unprecedented effort to channel long-term, private-sector funding to the Gulf Coast as part of the $1 Billion Gulf Coast Rebuilding Challenge.

Prioritizing Work-Force Development and IT Skills Training

In addition to direct contributions, Microsoft is advancing the important issue of work-force development by engaging with other businesses, work-force investment boards and government representatives who are taking a leadership role in providing the computer skills essential to employability in today’s economy. The company is a sponsor and participant in the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) Forum 2007, which wraps up in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 27. At last year’s NAWB Forum, Microsoft entered into a two-year alliance with the U.S. Department of Labor to further advance technology skills and training programs by funding One-Stop Career Centers around the country.

Source: Microsoft

[LiNKiN]

Last-minute Tax break???? J/K Good for Microsoft. Its the only way theyll be getting rid of Vista. J/K again.

[Alec§taar]

See my subject-line/title-line above first, & this second:

SEE? Microsoft is not "all bad", contrary to 'popular belieft' (lol, especially @ SLASHDOT!)...



* Let's see the OpenSource community do the same I say...

APK

[Jimmy 2004]

Originally Posted by Alec§taar

See my subject-line/title-line above first, & this second:

SEE? Microsoft is not "all bad", contrary to 'popular belieft' (lol, especially @ SLASHDOT!)...



* Let's see the OpenSource community do the same I say...

APK

It's true, people forget that M$ and Bill Gates have donated an enourmous amount of money to various causes over the years (does Gates still hold the record for the largest individual contribution to charity? Admittedly it was his own charity, but having his own charity just shows even more than he isn't simply a selfish git as many people perceive him to be!).

[mysticjon]

microsoft contributing to the katrina cause is like actors and actresses pretending to have a cause in ending world hunger and having peace lol

its for publicity lol

[Alec§taar]

Originally Posted by mysticjon

microsoft contributing to the katrina cause is like actors and actresses pretending to have a cause in ending world hunger and having peace lol

its for publicity lol

Oh, I won't debate that much, because you're probably @ LEAST PARTIALLY, correct!



* Still, the monies raised, spend JUST THE SAME, on both accounts!

APK

P.S.=> & hopefully, unlike many charities that are only required to spend 10% (of actual contributed dollars) on the actual thing they are fighting's, actual fix?

(I.E.-> Having the rest goes to 'administrative costs' in other words profit for those that work for it, in their payrolls for one thing, lol - this I have seen in charities' contributors that I worked for, & in non-profits I worked for in the past too!)

HOPEFULLY, most of it goes to helping those poor folks who lost a lot down their in their material belongings (stuff in homes or vehicles, etc.) that insurances did not cover, or just to help them out in general... apk

[killatia]

Originally Posted by mysticjon

microsoft contributing to the katrina cause is like actors and actresses pretending to have a cause in ending world hunger and having peace lol

its for publicity lol

publicity or not microsoft is doing the right thing helping out the gulf coast.

[WarEagleAU]

1.7 million really wont help much at all. but I guess each little bit helps. I live in a gulf state, but Im not down in Mobile and all that that really got hit hard by Katrina and Rita.

[Zero Cool]

Hes the richest man on earth... I mean what would you do with the money? Hes got too much of it on his hands imo.

[tony929292]

it was a nice thing to do 2 million is a small percent in a billion dollar damage zone but it does close the gap on what the feral goverment is having problems with, remember this isn't his first nor his biggest donation

just cause he rich doesn't mean he has to care about anyone else

[kakazza]

Originally Posted by Jimmy 2004

does Gates still hold the record for the largest individual contribution to charity?

I think Warren Buffet holds the records with 37.5 Billion Dollars

[Jimmy 2004]

Originally Posted by kakazza

I think Warren Buffet holds the records with 37.5 Billion Dollars

Ahh, ok.

Checked in my Guiness Book of Records 2002 and back then he had the largest contribution of $6 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

[ktr]

Originally Posted by WarEagleAU

1.7 million really wont help much at all. but I guess each little bit helps. I live in a gulf state, but Im not down in Mobile and all that that really got hit hard by Katrina and Rita.

You dont want a single company having to pay for this cause...other major corps should follow...

[ghost101]

As good as $1.7m is. Youve gotta have perspective. Consider the profits Microsoft as a company make and then look at the sum of $1.7m. Its probably something like the average person donating $20.

However, i do have a lot of respect for Bill Gates whos donations even in context are very big.

[overclocker]

I think its great. i went to New Orleans a week ago to help rebuild house and stuff with a church group they really need all the help they can get!

[Jimmy 2004]

Originally Posted by ghost101

As good as $1.7m is. Youve gotta have perspective. Consider the profits Microsoft as a company make and then look at the sum of $1.7m. Its probably something like the average person donating $20.

However, i do have a lot of respect for Bill Gates whos donations even in context are very big.

To be fair, I bet a lot of people don't donate $20 in a year.

[Alec§taar]

Originally Posted by Jimmy 2004

To be fair, I bet a lot of people don't donate $20 in a year.

For tax purposes I might & have before (but, I am not so well set I can do what men like Mr. Gates has done, & NOT BY A LONG SHOT)!

I have also worked for these companies, charitable contributors (when I was 22 or so, after I just finished school for Leukemia) & also non-profit organizations later... not TOO long ago, w/ in last 5 yrs. iirc!

(& it's where I saw what I personally interpreted as their 'dark side' (in that they are only required in some cases, to actually GIVE 10% only of the total monies they collect, & rest went to paying the staff... me being one of them, & trust me, it was "no great shakes" as far as the pay imo @ least!))

However, I do TRY to give in other ways, to others:

E.G. -> Online, I try to help folks, & in real life, if my buddies are down on cash, I lend them some IF I have it to give (but, only those I know will pay back, even if after a LONG time), or even if folks ask me for a smoke & I am down to my last couple.

* It usually all comes back to me, eventually, & sometimes in other ways, every time... sometimes money "from heaven", OR, just getting the same as I gave out in return payment, & w/out asking.

APK

P.S.=> I give @ the church too, & I am pretty confident they do & have done good things for folks that are hurting... but, I haven't been much of a churchgoer the 4-5 yrs. either, this really is something I ought to do more often again... apk

[Alcpone]

Good old Bill, atleast hes giving money to the poor buggers that had their lives wrecked over night! The government isnt putting enough into rebuilding! 18 Months+ down the line and it still looks like baghdad, not the american baghdad though