Cal State LA received the single largest donation in the university’s history with $48 million from the Ballmer Group over the next five years to expand the Masters of Social Work (MSW) and School-Based Family Counseling (SBFC) programs by providing student scholarships, reducing financial barriers and enhancing mental health services for youth in K-12 schools and community organizations in the LA region. 

One Cal State LA student, Katharine Smith, who is in her fourth year in the social work undergraduate degree, is graduating this May, and recently got accepted to the MSW at the school. Like many, Smith had delayed college and a master’s program because of the prohibitive costs. 

“This means so much to me that it’s hard for me to even articulate,” Smith said in reaction to the grant. “I was going to grad school regardless. But a grant like this makes it so much easier.” 

But this grant is transformative for the entire social work program, and allows for them to grow the one and two-year MSW by 50% and accommodate more students into their masters degree programs and “prepare more than 1,000 new social workers and family counselors,” the school said in a press release. 

However, for Hermila Melero, the director of field education for the School of Social Work at Cal State LA it isn’t just about the money. It is about first generation students being able to go back into their communities with these skills. 

“Having a masters degree for them is life-changing, but it’s also having it paid for,” Melero said. “Most students defer their hopes in higher education because of financial reasons. So to have that covered, it’s amazing.” 

Most of the students across the School of Social Work are first generation college students, and come from East LA and other areas close to the school, Melero added. 

The Ballmer Group is a philanthropic organization that focuses on “improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States, funding leaders and organizations that have demonstrated the ability to reshape opportunity.” The organization was co-founded by philanthropist Connie Ballmer and her husband Steve Ballmer, who was the former CEO of Microsoft, the founder of USAFacts and current chairman of the Los Angeles Clippers.

“Cal State LA has a proven record of preparing diverse, community‑rooted graduates who go on to make a meaningful difference,” Director of Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships for Ballmer Group Los Angeles Kim Pattillo Brownson said in the press release. “This investment expands pathways into the field and supports the vital work of delivering high‑quality, culturally responsive care where it is needed most.”

Cal State LA wasn’t the only one to receive a grant from the Ballmer Group in the LA area. CSU Dominguez Hills and University of California, Los Angeles were also beneficiaries to separate donations to their social work programs, which totaled $110 million across the three schools. 

“I recognize that they [referring to Ballmer Group] have values that are aligned with focusing on LA and on the youth and those things are also so important to me and that is very much my intention in my future work as a social worker,” Smith said. “And so it is especially meaningful to see that those things matter to them and this massive grant they’ve given.” 

The donation made by the Ballmer Group to Cal State LA is the sixth largest all-time across the Cal State System, according to the press release from the school.

“We deeply appreciate Ballmer Group for this grant, which will change lives across Los Angeles by preparing a new generation of counselors and social workers who reflect and understand the communities they serve,” Cal State LA President Berenecea Johnson Eanes said in the same press release. 

Students looking to possibly attend the Graduate MSW program can apply through April 15, Cal State LA Spokesperson Erik Hollins said.