Former Microsoft CEO’s philanthropy will donate up to $170M a year for free preschool in WA

The Ballmer Group on Wednesday committed hundreds of millions of dollars for free preschool in Washington, a massive philanthropic contribution amid state budget cuts and federal rollbacks.

The donation of up to $170 million per year for the next decade could fund 10,000 additional slots in the state’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, or ECEAP, for low-income families. The program currently has just over 14,000 slots statewide at over 460 locations.

The Ballmer Group was founded by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie.

Gov. Bob Ferguson called the funding “truly transformative.”

“It’d be hard to quantify how significant that investment will be for our state,” Ferguson said at a press conference Wednesday, announcing the news at the Denise Louie Education Center in Seattle.

As a condition of getting the gift, the state pledged no further budget cuts to the ECEAP program for the next 10 years.

Established in 1985, the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, open to kids ages 3 and 4, is similar to the federally-supported Head Start. Washington’s program offers free early learning child care or preschool, as well as support services.

Children who participate in ECEAP are more likely to be “kindergarten ready” and less likely to need special education services, according to a 2022 Washington State Institute for Public Policy report.

But as school goes on, it doesn’t necessarily correlate with better test scores or high school graduation rates.

“We at Ballmer Group have been inspired by Washington state’s commitment to ensure that every eligible kiddo has access to high-quality early learning, and Ballmer Group’s role is simple: To help that vision move faster,” said Andi Smith, the organization’s executive director for Washington.

The exact amount the Ballmer Group will give each year will be determined by demand for additional slots and whether providers are available. It’ll likely be a years-long ramp-up to fully realize the investment.

“But we are going to be moving heaven and earth to make that happen,” Ferguson said.

The governor wants to enroll an additional 2,000 children in the program next school year.

If the state raises ECEAP funding sometime in the next decade, the Ballmers would match that, leading to added philanthropic funding. Ferguson didn’t commit to taking that step, given the state’s ongoing budget challenges, but said, “I think we have to seize this opportunity and maximize it.”

State and federal headwinds

Facing a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall this year, state lawmakers targeted ECEAP to help fill the gap.

They postponed expansions of the preschool program that would extend it to all qualifying low-income families and child care subsidies. They slashed about 12% of slots, totaling about 2,000, many of which were unfilled due to staffing issues. They eliminated state funding for an ECEAP program for toddlers younger than 3, affecting nearly 200 families. And they decreased funding for the state’s Complex Needs grant fund that supports providers serving children with disabilities, developmental delays and behavioral issues.

The cuts to ECEAP focused on part-day slots that might not appeal to working families, while shifting toward more full school-day slots.

In total, the budget cutbacks amounted to around $60 million.

To save money this year, state lawmakers also capped enrollment in the separate Transition to Kindergarten program.

Meanwhile, the state program’s federal counterpart has faced months of Trump administration efforts to dismantle Head Start, which serves roughly 15,000 kids in Washington. And the government shutdown threatened federal funding for programs that serve more than 3,100 Head Start students in Washington, and led to cutbacks across the country.

The Ballmers give millions every year to various causes in Washington, many of which focus on education.

In 2023, the Ballmers gave $38 million to the University of Washington for scholarships to study early childhood education. At the time, the university said the money would provide more than 1,500 scholarships over the ensuing eight years.

State lawmakers will need to pass a bill in the upcoming legislative session to formally receive the Ballmers’ latest gift.

To be eligible for ECEAP, families have to earn less than 36% of the state median income. For a family of four, that’s around $50,000 a year. It’s also available to children who are homeless or who’ve previously participated in certain birth-to-age-3 programs, and those on individualized education programs, which are for students with disabilities.

This story was originally published by the Washington State Standard.