Microsoft celebrates $1 billion in giving

Microsoft is celebrating 30 years of giving, a huge milestone for the Redmond-based software company. At a press conference Thursday, the company also announced that it has given $1 billion in donations to more than 31,000 non-profit groups. In celebration of the milestone, Microsoft is giving a $25,000 grant to the four groups that have received the most donations from employees over the course of the program – United Way of King County, World Vision International, Seattle Children’s Hospital Foundation and the American National Red Cross. “When I heard, I kind of got teary because it means that we are reaching families where it matters to them,” said Helen Sernett, Director of Development at Seattle Children’s.