Renewing Your Azure Sponsorship Credits

Margaret_Farmer

Microsoft

May 12, 2025

Everything is an experiment until it has a deadline. That gives it a destination, context, and a reason.

- Brian Eno

Photo by Black ice from Pexels

British Record Producer, Composer, and Composer Brian Eno is no stranger to a deadline. Whether it is a atmospheric ambient track or theatric thriller. Music means tight deadlines to get streams, concerts, and albums pressed. So, naturally nonprofits also understand the siren song of a deadline vastly approaching. Microsoft prides itself on creating convenience for its customers with auto-renewals, workflows, you name it. However, there are sometimes when you may need to mark a calendar or two for keeping your benefits. This is imperative to avoid fees for anything running in your environment.

Nonprofits who have claimed the generous annual $2000 Azure Sponsorship Credits will need to renew their benefits every year. Unfortunately, the credits do not renew on their own. Don't panic we got you covered. In this blog we will cover; how to see if you are up for a renewal, how to renew credits, and checking your balance and usage details. This comprehensive guide will keep you from missing a deadline, well when it comes to your credits that is. So, let's begin.

To Renew or Not to Renew

I will spare you the cliche of reciting the Sonnet 116 from Shakespeare. However, I will say that it is better to check if you need to renew than to acquire a fee. So, we will cover how you can check on the status of your Azure Sponsorship Subscription with the Nonprofit Hub. Grab a snack and pop by the portal with your Microsoft Nonprofit Account Credentials.

Checking Your Status

Navigate to Microsoft's Nonprofit Hub: https://nonprofit.microsoft.com.
Next, In the top left corner next to the word "Nonprofits" click on the "I am looking for" dropdown menu, then select "Azure."
In the new screen at the top, you will see two important dates. The "Grant start date" and "Grant end date" respectfully. Keep a reminder on your calendar for the end date. You must renew your subscription withing the renewal period for your Azure credits.
If it is time to new you will see a notification at the top to renew your credits.

Renewing Credits

If you need to renew your credits simply scroll to the bottom of the page and select the renew button. If should be under the first column under the number one.
You will see at the top of the screen that your credits have been renewed.
You will receive an email stating that you have renewed your Azure Credits.

Things to Consider

You may not see the option to renew if you are months away from your renewal date.
Once you have renewed your sponsorship you will receive an email sent to your Microsoft Nonprofit Account. Make sure to check your Outlook inbox and spam folder for the notification email.
Credits can be renewed by the Organization's Global Administrator that registered.
If you have any issues with renewing your benefits create a support ticket with Nonprofit Support at https://nonprofit.microsoft.com/contactus.

Checking Your Balance

Navigate to Microsoft Azure Sponsorship website: https://www.microsoftazuresponsorships.com.
Next, click on the "Check Your Balance" to see your sponsorship balance.
Underneath is the view will see. You will see your Azure Sponsorship Subscription ID and the total Azure Sponsorship amount totaling $2000.
You can also see the usage details as well for your subscription. This is a good way to check the costs being deducted from your sponsorship. If you need more in depth tools you can use Azure's Cost management tools inside the Azure portal.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Azure Sponsorship grant affords organizations to take a chunk out of their operational expenses. Allowing for easier transitions into the cloud while keeping security and scale not too far off the horizon. We learned how to renew the benefit and keep track of your resources cost and not get blindsided by a fee again. You can bookmark the links below for your convenience. I hope you found this blog helpful. See you next time for another deep down into the blue Azure wave.