Microsoft for Nonprofits

Microsoft for Nonprofits can be a powerful option for eligible organizations that need a structured productivity, collaboration, security, and cloud platform. Use this page to decide whether Microsoft fits your nonprofit’s operations, what to verify before applying, and where to be careful with licensing, setup, security, and file organization.

Azure for nonprofits: the sponsorship credit

Microsoft’s nonprofit program includes an Azure sponsorship credit, separate from the Microsoft 365 grant. The amount was reduced, and organizations that budgeted against the older figure have been caught out by it.

Microsoft’s update page states that the Azure grant, “previously offering USD $3,500 in sponsorship credit, has been revised to provide USD $2,000 in sponsorship credits,” and that the change “applies to all Azure grant renewals with a sponsorship end date falling on or after October 1, 2023.” Microsoft adds that the update “only impacts the total value of Azure Sponsorship credits” and that other aspects of existing credits are unchanged.

Two things follow. The credit is an annual sponsorship amount, not a standing discount, so an Azure workload that outgrows it moves to paid rates rather than stopping. And because the reduction applied at renewal, two organizations reading the same documentation can be on different amounts depending on when their sponsorship period ends.

Before sizing a workload, price it against the credit you actually hold rather than a figure quoted in an article. Checked 2026-09-01; Microsoft’s update page was last updated 2025-12-17. Check the current Microsoft for Nonprofits pages for what applies to your organization.

Hosted Exchange for nonprofits: what the grant covers

Organizations arriving here from a search for hosted Exchange are usually asking one question: does the nonprofit grant give us real business email, or only a stripped-down version? The grant is Microsoft 365 Business Basic, and Business Basic runs on Exchange Online.

Microsoft describes Business Basic as including “Host email with a 50-GB mailbox and custom email domain address,” along with “1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user” and online meetings “for up to 300 users.” That answers the OneDrive question too — the storage comes with the same licence as the mailbox, not as a separate purchase.

The mailbox size is worth comparing directly, because it is the number most people assume they are giving up. In Microsoft’s Exchange Online limits documentation, Business Basic and Business Standard are listed with a 50 GB user mailbox and a 50 GB archive mailbox. Standalone Exchange Online Plan 1 is listed with the same 50 GB user mailbox and 50 GB archive. Exchange Online Plan 2 is listed with a 100 GB user mailbox and an archive that reaches 1.5 TB.

So on primary mailbox size, the granted Business Basic seat and a standalone Plan 1 seat are documented at the same figure. The differences sit elsewhere. Microsoft lists Business Basic with the web versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote; the installed desktop applications appear on Business Standard, described as “Get desktop versions of apps in Microsoft 365.” And an organization that needs a large archive, rather than a large inbox, is looking at the Plan 2 row.

Two practical notes. Microsoft states that “the mailbox type and the user’s subscription license determine the amount of mailbox storage available” and that “administrators can reduce maximum mailbox sizes per user or globally” — so the figure your own tenant enforces can be lower than the published one. And the nonprofit discount list Microsoft publishes names Microsoft 365 offers; whether a standalone Exchange Online plan carries nonprofit pricing is a question for the current offer list rather than something to assume from the grant.

Checked 2026-09-01. Mailbox figures are from Microsoft’s Exchange Online limits documentation and plan descriptions on Microsoft Learn. Limits and offers change; confirm against Microsoft’s current pages before you migrate mail.

Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit: what it is, and what it is not

People search for “cloud for nonprofit” expecting a product to switch on. It is better understood as a set of solution templates that sit on top of Microsoft platforms you license separately, and the documentation is explicit about which platform each one uses.

Microsoft’s overview states that “Microsoft for Nonprofits harnesses the power of Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Azure.” Its solution tables carry a “Powered by” column, and that column is the most useful thing on the page for planning purposes. Of the eleven solutions listed, four are powered by Power Apps (Fundraising, Grant Management, Volunteer Management, Outcome Management), one by a Power Apps portal (Volunteer Engagement), two by Power BI (the fundraising performance and program impact dashboards), one by Azure (Azure Landing Zone for Nonprofits), and one by Fabric (Nonprofit data solutions, which Microsoft listed as entering public preview in November 2025).

Two are powered by Microsoft 365: the Volunteer center SharePoint template and the Manage volunteers Teams template. Those two are the ones that sit on the same platform as the grant seats most organizations already hold. The rest reach into Power Platform, Azure, or Fabric, which are budgeted separately from a Microsoft 365 licence.

There is also a retirement to plan around. Microsoft’s documentation carries the notice that “Fundraising and Engagement is being retired” and that “support for Fundraising and Engagement will end at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on December 31, 2026.” The notice does not name a replacement product, so an organization currently running it should treat finding a successor as its own project rather than as an upgrade.

One naming point that causes confusion when you search: Microsoft’s current documentation is titled “What is Microsoft for Nonprofits?” and uses that name throughout, while the older “cloud for nonprofit” wording still appears in the documentation URLs. Both names lead to the same set of pages.

Checked 2026-09-01 against Microsoft Learn’s nonprofit documentation. Solution lists and availability change; check the current pages before scoping a deployment.

Best for nonprofits that want Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, security tools, device management, Azure credits, or discounted Microsoft business applications. It works well for organizations that need stronger admin controls, file governance, staff accounts, and security than a lightweight tool stack can provide.

• Access Microsoft 365 nonprofit plans for Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, Office apps, and collaboration
• Use Teams and SharePoint to organize staff communication, program files, board materials, and internal workflows
• Apply available Azure credits or cloud discounts where they fit your nonprofit’s infrastructure needs
• Strengthen account security, permissions, device management, and identity controls as your team grows
• Support a more formal IT environment for staff, volunteers, programs, and distributed teams

Microsoft's nonprofit grant offering changed in 2025, and the change is easy to miss because it does not happen to everyone on the same day. Microsoft's documentation states that the Microsoft 365 Business Premium grant and the Office 365 E1 grant have been discontinued, and that existing licenses expire on each organization's next renewal date and do not renew. If your organization still has those seats, the date that matters is your own renewal date.

Microsoft describes the current grant as up to 300 granted licenses of Microsoft 365 Business Basic, along with discounts of up to 75 percent on many Microsoft 365 nonprofit offers.

One difference worth planning around: Microsoft lists Business Basic with the web versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. The installed desktop versions are listed on Business Standard and Business Premium, not on Basic. A team that relies on desktop Office should price a paid plan rather than assume the grant covers it.

Microsoft also warns that moving users off a discontinued grant is a manual step in the Microsoft 365 admin center, not an automatic migration.

Checked 2026-09-01 against Microsoft's own update page, which was last updated 2025-12-17. Offers, seat limits, and availability vary by country and organization type. Check the current Microsoft for Nonprofits pages before you plan a move.

Eligibility is decided by Microsoft, not by the type of work an organization does. Organizations must meet Microsoft's nonprofit eligibility requirements and complete its verification process, which can involve a third-party validation partner. Availability varies by country, legal status, and organization type, and some products or grants require additional setup or approval.

Verification is a separate step from choosing a plan, and approval is not immediate. Check the current Microsoft for Nonprofits eligibility page for what applies to your organization. Checked 2026-09-01.

• Whether your organization is eligible in your country and which Microsoft nonprofit offers are currently available
• Which Microsoft 365 plan fits your staff, volunteers, security needs, file storage, and collaboration workflow
• Who will manage the Microsoft tenant, domains, licenses, admin roles, security settings, and departing user accounts
• Whether your team needs migration help from existing email, file storage, or collaboration tools
• How Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, board files, program folders, and permissions should be structured before rollout