Microsoft will donate $1 billion of Microsoft Cloud Services, measured at fair market value, to 70,000 nonprofits and university researchers over the next three years as part of a new corporate philanthropy initiative.

In his announcement, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella writes, "Philanthropy is a start, but to truly harness the public cloud for public good, businesses, governments and NGOs must come together with a shared vision and relentless passion to improve the human condition and drive new growth equally."

The three-part initiative aims to serve the broad needs of the nonprofit community, expand access to cloud resources for faculty research in universities, and reach new communities with last-mile connectivity and cloud services. Stating with $350 in market-value donations this year, the goal is to serve 70,000 nonprofits and 900 university researchers, while expanding broadband for 20 communities in 15 countries, writes Brad Smith, Microsoft president.

In a video announcement, Mary Snapp, head of the recently-formed Microsoft Philanthropies, explains, "Our approach reflects the unmet need we see in communities around the world, the confidence we have in the ability of nonprofits and researchers to solve these challenges, and the ambition we have for Microsoft Philanthropies to drive digital inclusion and empowerment programs around the world."

Nadella will discuss the new initiative during a panel appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. For more information, read Microsoft's press release.