Microsoft 365 is one of the most popular and successful business software suites in the world, and it is used by millions of companies worldwide, both large and small. It provides popular cloud-based productivity and collaboration applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, along with communication platforms such as Teams and products for businesses such as hosted Exchange Server and SharePoint. Many people across the globe are already familiar with several of the applications included in the Microsoft 365 package. This is because desktop applications from Microsoft Office, including Excel and Word, are the de facto standard for everyone. Microsoft 365 is a tiered subscription service that is made available to a wide variety of enterprises. This means that you only pay for the capabilities you use, and you have the flexibility to scale up or down depending on your company’s needs. The prices for businesses start at £3.80 per user per month and go up to £48.10 for the solution that has everything.
Nevertheless, Microsoft provides its Microsoft 365 Business Premium solution for no cost (or at a significant reduction) to eligible charitable, community, and not-for-profit organisations. Furthermore, the company provides substantial discounts on its other business and enterprise solutions. It means that nonprofit organisations can reap the benefits of the technology and applications provided by Microsoft 365 at free or very little expense.
A free version of Microsoft 365 Business called Microsoft 365 Nonprofit is provided to charitable organisations, churches, community groups, and other nonprofit organisations meeting certain requirements. This cloud service is available on a subscription basis, and it was developed to provide small to medium-sized organisations with access to popular tools and applications developed by Microsoft Office, as well as advanced security and device management, to assist employees and volunteers in working from any location, using any device of their choosing. It comes with online or desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access, all of which are compatible with personal computers (PCs), Apple computers (Macs), tablets, and mobile devices (mobile phones). It also has business-level email and calendaring, data protection controls, file storage and sharing capabilities, and protection against online threats. Every subscription comes with a guarantee of uptime of 99.9 per cent and is backed by round-the-clock customer service that can be reached online and by phone. In the United Kingdom, nonprofit organisations registered with the applicable authorities as registered charities or recognised by the relevant authorities as HMRC-exempt charities or churches can apply for a free or discounted Microsoft 365 plan.
To be eligible, the organisation must be run not-for-profit and have a mission to benefit the local community. Some examples of such missions include providing aid to the needy, advancing education, improving social welfare, preserving and restoring culture and the environment, promoting human rights, and assisting in establishing civil society.
Financial assistance for Charities and Nonprofits
Microsoft recognises that nonprofit organisations suffer the same business issues as other firms, even though they may need access to the capital that other businesses do. These challenges include managing data, processes, and devices. Because of this, they offer a variety of free licences and discounts, which enables organisations that are registered as tax-exempt with HMRC or charities that are registered with HMRC to take advantage of free or significantly reduced prices for Microsoft products, such as Office 365, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics 365. These discounts are available to registered charities as well.
