Office 365 for Nonprofits Work with the world’s leading implementer for nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations can receive free or highly discounted licenses of Microsoft Office 365, a part of the Microsoft Cloud, thanks to Microsoft Philanthropies. It is the smartest nonprofit technology decision you could make. Microsoft 365 offers a few different free or discounted plans for nonprofits. In addition to the deeply discounted pricing models for nonprofits, Microsoft Azure offers a $3,500 credit to eligible organizations. For small to mid-sized nonprofits, pricing for basic applications like Exchange and Teams is free for up to 300 users. Microsoft 365 is an all-in-one solution for an operating system, Office 365, and next-level mobility and security features. And for nonprofits, there are a number of licensing options and support services available through TechSoup. This is a language selector to change the language of the content. Privacy & cookies; Terms of use; Trademarks. Getting Started with Office 365. Office 365 is designed for easy management. For nonprofits without IT staff, the Office 365 admin portal lets accidental techies configure settings and customize user licenses, permissions, and services according to their staff's needs.

1. Office 365 For Nonprofits Canada
2. Office 365 For Nonprofits Pricing
3. Office 365 For Nonprofits South Africa
4. Office 365 For Nonprofits
5. Office 365 For Nonprofits
6. Office 365 Enterprise E2 For Nonprofits

Nonprofits and other NGOs have to be able to coordinate with employees, partners, and volunteers from all around the globe at a moment’s notice. To help these companies follow through on their mission, Microsoft makes its Office 365 productivity suite considerably more affordable to qualified nonprofits.

Here’s everything you need to know about the various Office 365 Nonprofit plans available, and how to get one for your organization.

What organizations are eligible for Office 365 Nonprofit?

To qualify for any of the Office 365 Nonprofit plans, your organization needs to meet all five of these criteria:

1. Legal status: Must be legally recognized as a nonprofit or non-governmental organization in your respective country.
2. Mission eligibility: Must operate on a not-for-profit basis and have a mission to benefit your community.
3. User licensing: Only paid employees and certain non-paid executive staff can use donated Office 365 Nonprofit offers. Unpaid staff and volunteers can use discounted plans. (More on those account types below.)
4. License restrictions: Organizations can’t share their license with others, and umbrella organizations with a centralized IT system are only eligible for a single donation account.
5. Non-discrimination: Organizations that allow discrimination based on race, color, sex, and other identity markers (listed here) are not eligible. Religious organizations, which are exempt from non-discrimination laws, are the exception to this rule.

Checked all five boxes? Great—you have a few lucrative Office 365 Nonprofit offers to choose from.

Is there a real free nonprofit plan?

Yep. There are actually two free Office 365 Nonprofit plans—one for small to mid-sized nonprofits, and one for larger organizations. These are known as donation plans:

• Office 365 Nonprofit Business Essentials (up to 300 users)
• Office 365 Nonprofit E1 (up to 2,000users)

These plans are free forever, and grant nonprofits access to some of the same Microsoft tools used by Fortune 500 companies.

There are some limits to the free Office 365 offerings, but you still get a superb cloud-based productivity suite with guaranteed 99.9% uptime. All Office 365 apps are always up-to-date and compliant with HIPAA, FISMA, and EU regulations.

What comes with the donation Office 365 Nonprofit plan?

Office 365 Nonprofit plans include exactly the same features as the corresponding business plans. For example, Office 365 Nonprofit Enterprise E1 includes the same features as Office 365 Enterprise E1. The only difference is that eligible nonprofits don’t have to pay.

A few key features included with both free Office 365 plans are:

• Office for the Web: Browser-based versions of Microsoft Office apps. This includes familiar programs like Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, as well as Sway and Forms. These are integrated seamlessly with the other MS services, so it’s easy for staff to share and co-edit files from anywhere on the planet. All they need is an internet connection.
• Exchange: Hosted business-class email, calendar, contacts, and a 50GB inbox to ensure your staff can communicate securely. For organizations large enough to need Office 365 Nonprofit E1, the suite comes with Active Directory integration, so you can manage user credentials and permissions.
• Cloud storage: Each user gets 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage they can use to safely share information with colleagues, volunteers, and external stakeholders.
• Collaborative tools: Schedule unlimited online meetings (IM, audio, HD video, web conferencing) and broadcast meetings up to 10,000 people. Access to Planner, SharePoint, Teams, and Yammer means that your teams can work together in a platform that suits them.
• Groups: This memberships service lets anyone create teams and instantly provisions them with all of the tools they need to work together. For nonprofits with a global reach, Office 365 Groups lets folks on the ground control their ability to collaborate without having to check in with an admin every step of the way.
• Sway: Use this drag-and-drop storytelling tool to turn your content into a slick presentation or interactive report. Sway is included as part of Office for the Web, but important to highlight because nonprofits can use it to share their message without having to spend a ton of time in the editing room.

All of that, for qualified nonprofits, is totally free. For some organizations, this will be all the help they need to focus on what matters: accomplishing their mission.

Other groups need additional functionality, and that’s when you’ll want to look at Microsoft’s premium apps—accessible to nonprofits at lower price points.

Discounted Office 365 Nonprofit plans

There are three paid options of Office 365 Nonprofit that Microsoft makes available at a considerable price break. One is for small businesses and the other two can accommodate larger orgs. These are known as the discounted plans:

• Office 365 Nonprofit Business Premium (up to 300 users)
• Office 365 Nonprofit E3 (unlimited users)
• Office 365 Nonprofit E5 (unlimited users)

The key features included with discounted nonprofit plans only:

• Desktop versions of the Office apps: Users have access to premium versions of all apps with full offline access.
• Office for tablets and smartphones: Users can edit Office documents with Apple, Android, and Windows mobile devices. Up to five tablets and five phones per user.

Discounted plans have more robust service offerings than come with the donation plans. Just how much more depends on which plan you pick.

How to choose the right nonprofit plan for you

Start with what you need and work backward. If you’re in the beginning stages of launching your nonprofit, see how far you can get with the donation version. Office 365 Nonprofit E1 supports up to 2000 users, which is big enough for most organizations to get off the ground.

At the same time, some small nonprofits, charities, and NGOs are never going to have a large user base, but they still need some of the function or security they can only get through a discounted plan.

To give you a quick snapshot of how these plans compare, we’ve stacked them below with their prices and features included.

Need more info on any of these features to make your decision? Here’s the complete feature availability across all Office 365 Nonprofit plans.

How to get Office 365 Nonprofit for your organization

To take advantage of a nonprofit offer, you need toregister your organization through Microsoft.

On the registration page, review the information and click “Register” at the bottom.

From there, you give Microsoft basic information about your nonprofit.

Expect to need to prove your legal status as a nonprofit—for US companies, this would be a copy of your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter.

Typically, it takes Microsoft up to 20 business days to determine a nonprofit’s eligibility, and you may be asked for more information to prove it.

Once you’re all confirmed, your offer will be available through the Office 365 admin portal.

Note that if you’re approved for nonprofit offers, you can still buy commercial offers too whenever needed.

What about a G Suite nonprofit plan?

G Suite for Nonprofits is free in much the same way as Office 365 Nonprofit. Register with Google, and once confirmed, you get access to G Suite Basic.

Google also makes advertising grants available to nonprofits to help them raise awareness and drive traffic to their site. And they leverage YouTube and Google Maps to help organizations spread their message and be found by local resources in their community.

G Suite Basic can’t do everything that Office 365 Nonprofit can, but the opposite is also true. G Suite Basic provides offline access across all your devices, for example, whereas the donation versions of Office 365 Nonprofit don’t.

Another thing to remember about G Suite Basic is that it’s fully extensible and there are always new and useful additional functions available through Google Play.

But, if we’re talking about out-of-the-box functionality, right now Office 365 Nonprofit is a bit more full-bodied. Teams, especially when combined with SharePoint, offers a lot more functionality than Google Hangouts.

Still—whether you end up going with Office 365 Nonprofit or G Suite, I wouldn’t leave those free Google Ad bucks lying around. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get G Suite for free as a nonprofit.

Not all organizations aim to earn a profit—some work selflessly to help people or communities that are in dire need. However, nonprofits often lack adequate resources to cover operational and IT costs. In particular, they have a limited budget to maintain staff, buy devices/equipment, and install and upgrade software. If you’re a non-profit (NPO) or a non-governmental organization (NGO), there’s some good news: Microsoft offers many donated and discounted products like Office 365 Nonprofit, Azure, and Dynamics 365 to help you expand your work. In fact, over the years, Microsoft has donated its products and services to various organizations in 236 countries and territories.

Learn how to tailor your Office 365 sales pitch to your prospect’s vertical.

Let’s look at why non-profit organizations should consider using Office 365 Nonprofit for their work.

Reduced Costs

Budgeting for nonprofits is not an easy job, so investing in IT infrastructure, subscriptions, and upgrades may prove difficult. Fortunately, Microsoft provides Office 365 Nonprofit and a host of other products to nonprofits as a donation and at discounted prices. The size of your nonprofit and the tools you regularly use will determine the plan that is suitable for you. You can then buy other important products and services at a nominal fee.

Office 365 Nonprofit can be used by both paid and unpaid nonprofit employees who are involved in the day-to-day functions of your organization. These subscriptions cannot be used by organization members, trustees, volunteers, etc. For these people, your nonprofit will have to purchase other subscriptions at discounted rates.

The two free donated plans that are available are:

• Office 365 Nonprofit Business Essentials (maximum 300 users)
• Office 365 Nonprofit E1 (unlimited users)

These are free plans that do not provide the full installed version of Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and so on).

If needed, your nonprofit can request the following latest versions of Office through TechSoup:

• Office Standard is available for an admin fee of $29
• Office Professional Plus is available for an admin fee of $40

If your organization is eligible, Microsoft also provides the following three discounted plans, which include desktop Office applications and other additional features:

• Office 365 Nonprofit Business Premium ($3 per user per month)
• Office 365 Nonprofit E3 ($4.50 per user per month)
• Office 365 Nonprofit E5 ($15 per user per month)

Many Bundled Benefits

Even if you’re a non-profit organization, it is imperative that you have an online presence. Usually, when starting an organization, you’d buy a domain name, online storage, design a website, and create email accounts. But this is far too much work if the services you use come from different vendors (and at exorbitant prices). Office 365 Nonprofit lets you design and host your website as well as create email accounts for that domain.

There are a host of other services that you can choose to include when selecting a suitable Office 365 plan, such as Microsoft Exchange and Lync. All versions of Office 365 Nonprofit include useful apps like Yammer that can be used by members and volunteers of your organization to stay in touch, update events, share information, conduct polls, and so much more.

Office 365 For Nonprofits Canada

If your organization needs to create and share lots of training materials or documentary videos, you can use Office 365’s Microsoft Stream app; it comes with some very useful features for audio transcription, face detection, closed captions, and smart search options.

Mobility and Scalability

Office 365 Nonprofit gives you and your organization the mobility you need to stay connected and work productively. Your organization members can be in different locations and using different devices to access files, but they will all be connected through Office 365 Nonprofit products. Even if you forget to carry certain documents on your devices, you can still access them through cloud storage services like OneDrive Pro, work on them, and then share them with others.

Another big advantage of Office 365 Nonprofit is scalability. When the need arises, you can increase the number of subscriptions and storage space your organization uses to meet your requirements. You can also subscribe to additional resources on the go. This helps you operate within your budget, since you likely have a fixed amount set aside for licensing.

Office 365 For Nonprofits Pricing

Ease of Collaboration

A non-profit organization functions by networking and collaborating with its staff, members, and volunteers. Thus, tools that facilitate collaboration are essential to productivity. Office 365 Nonprofit comes with Skype for Business, a great app for engaging in voice and video calls, web conferencing, and instant messaging. Office 365 Nonprofit also lets you share data remotely. For example, SharePoint allows you to create an intranet to make sharing easy and store all reports, videos, charts, documents, and files in one place.

Since a non-profit organization has many things going on at once, it’s important to have tools that can help you keep track of everything you need to get done, be it projects or daily tasks. In this department, Office 365 Nonprofit can help you:

• Track meetings and events through individual and group calendars
• Organize projects and work across your organization with Microsoft Teams
• Create individual and group email alerts and notifications
• Create business workflows to meet sensitive deadlines
• Take notes during (and after) conference calls
• Consolidate shared data to save time

User Rights and Security

Since data is important to every organization, even nonprofits need to implement permission and security controls to protect against accidental data loss. You can use the web-based admin center of Office 365 Nonprofit to assign user-level permissions to your staff; this lets you control who can view or edit certain documents, web pages, and libraries. Office 365 email accounts also come with built-in malware and spam protection.

Also, you can rest assured that your data is safe in the cloud, as Microsoft is considered one of the most secure cloud platforms. Microsoft provides features like records management, legal compliance, improved threat protection, tracking of unusual activities, and information rights management.

Office 365 For Nonprofits South Africa

Training and 24/7 Support

Microsoft holds trainings in its local offices to teach non-profit staff how to use Office 365. Microsoft does so in association with TechSoup, an organization involved with 65 other partners in helping fund and train NPOs and NGOs all over the world. Once you fulfill certain eligibility criteria, Microsoft’s non-profit partners like TechSoup can help you access and migrate to Microsoft products, as well as train your staff to use them.

Office 365 Nonprofit Eligibility Criteria

Let’s now understand the Office 365 Nonprofit eligibility criteria. Your organization needs to fulfill all five criteria listed below:

1. You must be a recognized non-profit (NPO) or a non-governmental organization (NGO) in the country in which you operate.
2. Your organization must work to provide education to the needy, help the poor, fight for preserving human rights, protect and improve the environment, promote your culture, and enhance social welfare.
3. You will use Office 365 Nonprofit subscriptions for both paid and unpaid nonprofit employees who are involved in the day-to-day functioning of your organization. You will need to purchase additional discounted subscriptions for volunteers and members.
4. You cannot share, resell or transfer these subscriptions to your independent sister organizations or other non-profit partners. You can only share your subscriptions with your umbrella or subsidiary organizations that have shared or centralized IT systems with you.
5. Your organization cannot participate in this donation and discount program if it has the policy of discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training or services, promotion, termination, and/or retirement based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, political affiliation, union membership, or veteran status. If your organization is a religious one that is exempt by law for such discrimination in the country of operation, you are eligible for it.

For more information on the criteria, check out this page from Microsoft.

Office 365 For Nonprofits

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