$110 million new gift from Steve and Connie Ballmer strengthens youth mental health workforce, raising their philanthropic giving above $7 billion

Steve and Connie Ballmer are stepping up as two of the most consequential champions of young people’s well‑being in America, committing $110 million to expand the youth mental health workforce in Los Angeles County.

Their latest commitment, announced through the Ballmer Group, is a characteristically ambitious effort to tackle one of the most pressing challenges facing children and families today: the shortage of qualified mental health professionals in the very communities where they are needed most. Over five years, their investment will fund scholarships and build training pipelines at three public universities so that more social workers, school‑based counselors, and youth‑focused clinicians can serve children and families in under‑resourced neighborhoods across the region.

It is a large‑scale, systems‑minded intervention that reflects the Ballmers’ belief that every child deserves both opportunity and support, not just in theory but in the daily reality of their schools and communities.

The funding will support the University of California, Los Angeles, California State University, Los Angeles, and California State University, Dominguez Hills — institutions whose missions and student bodies closely align with the diverse communities they serve.

At Cal State LA, a $48 million grant — the largest philanthropic gift in the university’s history and one of the largest in the Cal State system — will enable the campus to prepare more than 1,000 new social workers and family counselors through its Master of Social Work and School‑Based Family Counseling programs. The university plans to expand its accelerated one‑year MSW program, significantly increase enrollment in its two‑year MSW track, and double the size of its school‑based counseling program, all while deepening partnerships with K–12 school districts and community agencies in East Los Angeles and surrounding communities.

Most of the Ballmer funding there will flow into student scholarships, easing financial pressures so that graduates are better able to choose careers in public schools, community clinics, and nonprofits rather than being pulled away by higher‑paying private practice opportunities.

UCLA and CSU Dominguez Hills will use their shares of the $110 million to strengthen and expand their own youth‑focused behavioral health pipelines, with the same core aim: training more professionals who look like, understand, and are committed to the communities they will serve.

At UCLA, leaders see an opportunity to build out programs in psychology, social welfare, and child and adolescent behavioral health, including new and expanded pathways that connect undergraduates and graduate students to school‑ and community‑based practice.

CSU Dominguez Hills, which educates many first‑generation and low‑income students from South Los Angeles and the South Bay, is framing its portion of the gift as a transformative chance to launch hundreds of locally rooted social workers and counselors who will stay in and strengthen the communities where they grew up.

Across the three campuses, the Ballmers’ investment is expected to do more than add numbers to the workforce; it is designed to improve cultural relevance, continuity, and trust in neighborhoods that have long struggled to attract and retain licensed professionals.

This new initiative is fully in keeping with the Ballmers’ broader philanthropic approach, which has grown into one of the most impactful giving programs in the country. Through the Ballmer Group, launched after Steve Ballmer stepped down as Microsoft CEO, the couple has focused on improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States, consistently directing their support to areas where they believe strategic philanthropy can change life trajectories at scale.

As of the end of 2022, the Ballmer Group reported more than $850 million in giving and 380 active grants, backing organizations that range from small community‑based nonprofits to large national networks.

Their giving is notably place‑based, with particularly deep commitments in regions that matter personally to the family — Los Angeles County, Washington state, southeast Michigan, and Oregon — and a strong emphasis on listening to local partners and adapting to on‑the‑ground needs.

Recent years have underscored just how willing the Ballmers are to make big, long‑term bets when they see an opportunity to reshape systems for children and families. In Washington state, Ballmer Group has pledged up to $170 million per year over the next decade — likely more than $1 billion in total — to expand the state’s public preschool program for low‑income families, an extraordinary vote of confidence in the power of early childhood education to change lives.

Climate and environmental issues have also emerged as a major priority, with at least $431 million in new multi‑year climate‑related commitments announced in 2023, placing the Ballmers among the nation’s leading climate philanthropists.

A 2025 profile noted that more than $7 billion in grants had been made over roughly a decade, reflecting the couple’s determination to move resources out the door and into communities rather than letting capital sit on the sidelines.

Across education, economic mobility, public health, and disaster response, their philanthropy is increasingly recognized for its scale, its urgency, and its insistence on measurable, community‑level impact.

In Los Angeles, the $110 million youth mental health commitment is widely seen as a powerful expression of that philosophy.

California faces significant shortages of mental health professionals in nearly every county, and the gap is especially severe for child and adolescent services in low‑income urban districts.

By focusing on scholarships, expanded degree programs, and stronger partnerships between universities, schools, and community agencies, the Ballmers are helping to build the human infrastructure that will sustain better care for years to come, long after the headlines have faded.

University leaders have described the investment as “transformational” and “game‑changing,” emphasizing that its impact will be felt in classrooms, clinics, and community centers across Los Angeles County as new cohorts of trained counselors and social workers move into roles that previously did not exist.

For Steve and Connie Ballmer, it is another example of a philanthropic style that is both bold and deeply grounded in community needs — a long‑term commitment to ensuring that young people not only have access to opportunity, but also the mental health support they need to seize it.