Microsoft plans to donate $1B in cloud services to nonprofits

By Matt Day
Seattle Times Technology Reporter

In a major expansion of its corporate philanthropy efforts, Microsoft announced plans Tuesday to donate about $1 billion worth of cloud-computing services to nonprofits during the next three years.

 The program, which goes well beyond Microsoft’s current software donations, will make many of the company’s next-generation Web tools available to select nonprofits. It also extends Microsoft’s existing donations that support academic projects and Internet connectivity initiatives. 

 The philanthropic push comes as the company works to grow its businesses of selling the Web-based computing power and data storage, collectively termed the “public cloud.”

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