Discontinuation of M365 Business Premium Grant Deeply Disappointing,Harmful to Small Nonprofits
As a Microsoft CSP partner supporting multiple nonprofit organizations, I am extremely disappointed by the decision to discontinue the Microsoft 365 Business Premium grant. This change disproportionately affects small nonprofits that rely on these tools to fulfill their missions with limited resources. The justification that this is about “alignment” or “sustainability” is disingenuous. Let’s be honest—this is a revenue-driven decision that undermines Microsoft’s long-standing commitment to empowering nonprofits. Removing access to essential tools like Office desktop apps and Intune from the grant program forces small organizations into paid plans they cannot afford, jeopardizing their operations and security. Microsoft has built goodwill in the nonprofit sector over the years. This move erodes that trust. I urge you to reconsider this decision or at least provide a longer transition period and more flexible options for small nonprofits. Please do better. The nonprofit sector deserves more than a corporate cost-cutting maneuver disguised as a strategic realignment.
applying a renewal Azure grant
Just a heads up that if you are approaching a renewal of your Azure grant, things have changed in the past 6 months, and you need intervention from Support to apply that renewal credit to your existing billing. The email you'll get from 'Microsoft Azure' (after approval) makes that clear -- and it is not a self-service within Azure Admin. The "approval notice" for a renewal that shows up in the Nonprofit Portal does not explain any of this, and in general the existing documentation is out of date. Msft began phasing out the Sponsorship Portal (and, in parallel, subscriptions under the older MOSP agreement) last December, in favor of a newer platform. To apply your renewal to the existing subscription, Support told me they first need to convert your subscription to the new platform, then apply the grant. I think it will appear as "Azure credits" in various places in the Azure Admin center -- and my guess is you might not see the new grant reflected in the balance shown in the older Sponsorship Portal. If you need to do this, you might get frustrated trying to file a support request in Azure Admin, but the response to my request sent via Nonprofit Support was prompt and helpful. Interested to hear from anyone else who has gone through the process in recent months. good luck -- StewHave your say: Nonprofit Leaders IT Strategy Survey 2024
Hello folks! Each year we conduct a research project to hear your IT priorities and challenges for the year ahead. This is a great chance to learn from your peers at other charities and see what they are focussing on. We'll play back the results in a report and a LinkedIn Live fireside chat. Please could you take 7 minutes to complete it https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=j5QSewZ5tU6-Xkn0-2yq7BZoVsXba85NoV978VAgghVUNENTT0dISDdaRUVOWkJZSUdCSDVLUU9BQi4u. (doesn't matter where your charity is based) You can see the 2023 report https://www.smartdesc.co.uk/charity-technology-leaders-report-2023/ too. Thanks a lot James
