GE Announces $50 Million in Philanthropic Contributions in Greater Boston Area

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General Electric announced $50 million in philanthropic contributions to the Boston area over the next five years, ahead of the multinational corporation’s move to Fort Point.

GE has pledged $25 million to Boston Public Schools, $15 million to Boston Community Health Centers (BCHC), and $10 million toward creating a more diverse workforce. The announcement comes hours before GE’s welcome party at 60 State Street, where Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will join more than a dozen GE executives and hold a 15-minute Q&A with reporters.

“Together GE and Boston will lead the digital transformation of industry,” GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said in a release Monday. “To build a global digital company and community, we must invest to further educate our children in science and math and improve health care in underserved communities. GE’s investments will create thousands of new jobs and support Boston’s regional and economic activities.”

GE said its BPS contribution will help fund “career labs, computer science courses, and high school design experience,” along with assistance for “100-percent” of STEM high school teachers. The company also announced physical and virtual “GE Brilliant Career Labs” offering hands-on manufacturing experience. No details related to these labs’ whereabouts were given in Monday’s release.

The $15 million earmarked for BCHC will initially support 22 community health centers in underserved communities, GE said, while the remaining $10 million will be aimed at offering manufacturing experience to those in Lynn and Fall River at “GE Garages.”

GE announced in January it would move its global headquarters from Fairfield, Connecticut to Boston. While the move has been heralded as a boon by elected officials and business pundits in town, questions regarding the $145 million deal crammed with state and local tax incentives it received remain.

Among the 800 GE employees who will occupy the new HQ in Fort Point, 200 will be corporate leadership, while the remaining 600 will be digital industrial project managers, designers, and developers. GE will also construct a “Digital Foundry” at the former Necco site, and invest in “Boston’s Industrial Internet ecosystem.”

GE said these employees will occupy a temporary location this summer, but did not indicate where.