Microsoft donates $1.5M in software to local Long Island non-profits

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

Microsoft giving back

Good guy Microsoft. They open a new retail Store in the heart of busy Long Island but also worked heavily with the community. Members of the Huntington and Melville business councils were on hand as were a few charity and support groups. 

GG Ballmer

Those groups were there because as a tradition when Microsoft opens these stores they do out-reaches to the community for support. In turn, they donated $1.5 million in software licenses to three major groups in the area:

  • The Children's Aid Society ($250K)
  • The Mentoring Partnership of Long Island ($250K)
  • Junior Achievement ($1M)

The money will go a long way in helping those group build up and maintain necessary infrastructure with Microsoft software. We only point this out because Apple rarely gives to charity (estimated to be 0.1 percent of the company's cash holdings) and they never really work with communities on such a level. Meanwhile as of 2011 (opens in new tab), Microsoft has donated $3.9 billion worth of software to non-profits. And while Apple has recently donated $100M to two organizations, Microsoft's own employees matched that in 2011 (opens in new tab).

Look, charity is charity so in the end, it's nice to see any company doing anything. But as someone who actually lives in this local community where Microsoft just opened for business, it feels nice to have a company offering their assistance. And I don't remember Apple doing anything similar.

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

16 Comments
  • Go Microsoft!!! :D
  • I work for a non-profit and simply want to point out that MS's generosity far exceeds most other tech companies (all?) when it comes to offering productivity software at low cost.  To get an idea, visit TechSoup and see the prices MS offers to 501(c)3s (e.g., Office Professional for $31 and OSs for $12).  When you are done, compare it to the other vendors.  Some, like Adobe, are great (CS6 Production Studio for $150).  Others, like Apple (via Filemaker), not so much ($179).  Also, a huge plus about MS purchases is that you get software assurance with them.  This means if an upgrade to the software becomes available within two years of purchase, you get the upgrade at no additional cost.  Kudos to MS!
  • I think it helps when Bill (and Melinda?) Gates are on board with giving away 90% of their wealth to charity. I don't believe any Apple execs have made this commitment, but correct me if I'm wrong. Its obvious MS was built with philanthropy in mind while Apple wasn't.
  • So true.  I worked 2 years at an NPO near here back in 2007 and saw the same low prices for Microsoft products ... and not just office tools, but also VS, TFS and MSSQL Server.
  • This is why I love MS. Always giving!
  • Caption that picture as "I wonder what these software $ will get on ebay"
  • This is something you don't Apple do that is one of the reason I like MS. 3.9 Billion to 100 million.... pathetic from the most valuable company in the world!
  • Most valuable in NA...
  • Microsoft has always seemed more sincere, as much as a huge company can be. Apple is such a shallow bitch! Haha :D
  • Microsoft does so much more than this and rarely gets the credit it justly deserves. Bill Gates gives away millions to advance medical science and help people feed themselves. Microsoft is heavily involved with R&D efforts around the world geared towards helping others but people only think of PC, XBOX, and Kinect when they hear the name. They should make a TV series that explains the good things their doing! Patent pending - no stealing my idea Apple =)
  • Remember that time Apple gave that local community free software???....... Yeah me neither..
  • Microsoft's always giving, but yet, people call them the "evil company."
  • Jilted developers who used to work for the company or part of a company that MSFT bought is who I used to hear that from the most. In reality though actions speak louder than the words of a few angry ex-employees.
  • /personal opinion/
    Most people who still have axes to grind with Microsoft do so because it was cool 10 years ago and they can't stop, or they worked with or for a company Microsoft stomped back when they were stomping around like a listless herd of elephants over the IT landscape. I've been here for a good many years since then, and the Microsoft I work for does a lot of good (both corporately and via employee giving and time donations of their own free will), and most of it is silent with little to no fanfare. Corporations aren't evil or good, they're capitalist and generally out to make the most profit with the least risk for as long as possible. I understand the sentiment, but it's really a relic of (old) days gone by when it was cool to bash "M$" because they were rich and powerful (legally or otherwise). People still do this today to people and companies that do well for long periods of time. I don't know if it's jealousy, anger, envy, or something else, but it appears to be fairly consistent human nature.
    /end personal opinion/
  • I honestly do not know why Apple had to be included in this article. Why compare them in this case? I fail to understand the relevance of the comparison... Now if you were talking Lumia, iPhone then I'd understand...
  • Thank you Microsoft.