Central Washington community investments

Microsoft invests in local programs that benefit people of all ages. In Washington, our collaborations are organized by our focus areas of Skills for Jobs, Enabling Sustainability, and Empowering Communities.

The following program list contains a sample of the investments Microsoft makes on an annual basis.

Skills for Jobs

Microsoft believes everyone should have access to the skills, technology, and opportunity they need to succeed in a changing economy.

Wenatchee Valley College Foundation provides equitable access to education and invests in student success through philanthropy. Its key goals are to remove barriers to academic success, strengthen environments of learning, and encourage investment in an educated community. key goals are to remove barriers to academic success, strengthen environments of learning, and encourage investment in an educated community.

WWC IT Networking Scholarship is a full-time scholarship available to students pursuing a degree and certification in Computer Technology – Network Administration. The scholarship is intended to support students, particularly those living in and around our datacenter communities, who have historically been underrepresented in STEM and IT fields. The scholarship covers tuition, books, fees, and supplies.

NCW Tech Alliance brings people and technology resources together. It is passionate about ensuring rural Washington is not left behind as technology accelerates. Since 1999, it has built a proven track record of delivering high-quality programs that engage, inspire, and connect community.

Skilling and Developing the Workforce for Tomorrow is committed to using its extensive network to forge innovative career pathways for students, connecting them with tech industry professionals and opportunities. This initiative focuses on realigning local workforce training and credential paths, meeting candidates where they are in terms of skill level, location, and language proficiency, to ensure they become competitive candidates for technology-dependent roles.
North Central Washington – Apple STEM Network with Microsoft TechSpark are working to expand access to digital and technology skilling programs. They work together to establish a regional workforce development strategy for datacenters in North Central Washington, inspire middle school girls through STEM activities, and build capacity for multigenerational digital skilling in rural and remote communities through community learning clinics.
gener8tor Skills Accelerator supports learners in obtaining high-quality employment in diverse, professional workplaces where the skills they gain from the accelerator can be applied. In alignment with Microsoft, gener8tor Skills focuses on building technical skills to help under- and unemployed individuals who fall under the category of hidden talent such as people of color, women, veterans, and others. The accelerator helps them secure meaningful employment across a variety of sectors (such as technology, insurance, finance, and professional services) in professional, technical, and administrative services roles. The accelerator increases access to technology and supports local employers in their hiring needs as well as their ability to adapt to digital transformation as learners are prepared for digitally-enabled jobs at these companies.
Inclusionary Workforce Development for Technology and Computer Science – Apple STEM Network hosted the launch of a professional networking and career-connected learning community in 2022 to take advantage of the mandated implementation of SHB 5088 which requires all comprehensive high schools to offer one or more computer science courses for students. Youth from rural and remote communities, low-income, and students of color are recruited to engage in a series of kick-off activities aimed to expand their awareness of career opportunities in technology and catalyze a network of professional connections to college and career professionals. Regional activities and connections ensure that place-bound youth from rural and remote communities have the support, encouragement, and resources that they need to turn career-connected learning into career success.

Big Bend Community College Foundation actively and visibly supports the mission of Big Bend Community College, which is a government supported community college.

Datacenter Academy Scholarship is a full-time scholarship available to students pursuing a degree and certification in Systems Administration and Manufacturing & Process Technology (Mission Critical Operations Emphasis) on a Data Center Track. The scholarship is intended to support students, particularly those living in and around our datacenter communities, who have historically been underrepresented in STEM and IT fields. The scholarship covers tuition, books, fees, and supplies.

Columbia Basin Foundation (CBF) inspires and strengthens charitable giving for the vibrant CBF communities that it serves. It is a gathering place for generosity, and works closely with individuals, families, businesses, and other nonprofit organizations to ensure that philanthropic pathways are achieved. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves communities throughout rural communities in eastern Washington, CBF strives to be a catalyst for change and an entity that creates programs for progress.

Microsoft Microgrant Program and Community Technology Fund allows the Columbia Basin Foundation to execute micro-grants for tech impact across the region. These funds support the technological needs of grassroots and medium-sized organizations around Grant County.
The Greater Community Strategic Visioning Project is managed by the Quincy Valley Chamber and Port of Quincy to develop a long-range strategic plan, area visioning, traffic, and environmental scanning. Funds will also be allocated to facilitate a housing forum which will be part of the visioning process to address the affordable housing issue in the area.

Enabling sustainability

Climate change requires swift, collective action and technological innovation. We are committed to meeting our own goals while helping communities to do the same.

Community Foundation of North Central Washington grows, protects, and connects charitable gifts in support of strong communities in North Central Washington. It works with families, businesses, and individuals to create permanent charitable endowments to benefit the needs of North Central Washington for generations.

Malaga Community Park Phase 2 will enable the installation of a well and modern water-efficient irrigation system, bathroom facilities to improve waste management, and shade trees and turf grass in the active recreation area. The project will also purchase tools and equipment to support efficient operation and maintenance, and remove debris and plant native plants to restore sagebrush steppe plant communities.

Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) advances the science, practice, and policy of ecological restoration to sustain biodiversity, enhance resilience in a changing climate, and re-establish an ecologically healthy relationship between culture and nature. SER’s goals include building the knowledge base needed to implement effective ecological restoration, supporting on-the-ground (and in the water) standards-based ecological restoration implementation, and ensuring ecological restoration delivers beneficial outcomes for both nature and people, including addressing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Malaga Community Park Improvement Project will support the sustainable use of water and human resources to improve park operation and maintenance, transforming the current park into a community resource that provides a range of recreation opportunities for Malaga residents. The project will also restore a section of sagebrush steppe plant community, a fragile and endangered ecosystem.

Growing Quincy is a Community Tree Program done in collaboration with the City of Quincy, Quincy Chamber of Commerce, and Berger Partnership. The program will provide High Impact tree planting and Community Tree Planting events and work with the city to initiate a tree enhancement program and a homeowner initiated street tree program.

Empowering communities

Microsoft is committed to strengthening communities and empowering the organizations that help them thrive. Whether affected by a recent emergency or decades of challenges, we use data, technology, and strategic investments to restore and support them for future generations.

Chelan-Douglas County Community Action Council works to end poverty by helping people and changing lives. Its purpose is to facilitate federal, state, and local resources and engage local communities and businesses in meeting the needs and interests of the economically disadvantaged. Since 1965, Chelan Douglas Community Action Council (CDCAC) has been helping low-income and marginalized people help themselves and each other. It supports community neighbors with housing, utilities, education, job training, volunteering, food, family and community needs, and much more.

Food Distribution Center will combine Microsoft funds with other funding for the purchase of a larger distribution center to meet the needs of the community. CDCAC has identified a compelling need to expand and update its Food Distribution Center to provide for the ongoing support of community memebers experiencing food insecurity. A larger facility will assist in meeting the nutritional needs of people throughout Chelan and Douglas County for the next 30 years.

Better Block Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that educates, equips, and empowers communities and their leaders to reshape and reactivate built environments to promote the growth of healthy and vibrant neighborhoods.

Quincy Better Block II is a follow up to a 2021 project where the Foundation worked with the community in Quincy, Washington to rethink B Street by painting a giant mural in the middle of the street and activating it with digitally fabricated furniture. For this project, it is going to work with the community to build upon the foundation started last year. The project is a 120-day process, ending with the transformation of an area that happens in just four days, with multiple community workshops and volunteers.
Quincy Better Block made strategic infrastructure investments through a partnership with Microsoft to improve prosperity in Quincy. The Better Block Foundation invests in works such as mini-parks, pop-up community gathering spots, bike lanes, and other solutions to provide communities with needed infrastructure.

Quincy Valley Historical Society & Museum exists to provide cultural and historical facilities and events for the NCW area. The well-maintained grounds provide a treasured heritage site in the center of Quincy, and the buildings, which include the 1904 Reiman-Simmons House (National Register of Historic Places), the Pioneer Church (Washington Heritage Register), and newer Community Heritage Barn are used for a variety of functions and gathering events.

Change and Learn in Quincy will provide two much-needed electric vehicle charging stations at a centrally located place in Quincy, and will fund six outdoor interpretive signage stands around the campus. While charging, the interpretive trail will impart information about the region, the agricultural base, and the newer data farms that are a big part of the community infrastructure.

ChangeX International helps to create thriving communities everywhere by democratizing change, ensuring proven innovations and finance are accessible to everyone, everywhere. ChangeX is a community engagement platform that, with Microsoft’s support, has funded more than 500 groups in communities across Europe and the United States since 2015. Funds are repeated often throughout the years.

ChangeX Quincy is a community fund program across the Grant County area in Washington. These programs are locally developed and delivered by citizens in cities around Grant County.

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