ICYMI: Upcoming Nonprofit & Education Partner Microsoft Elevate Webinars!
We’re hosting three upcoming Microsoft Elevate sessions to help you stay aligned, informed, and ready for Q3. JANUARY WEBINAR | Microsoft Elevate (Nonprofit + Education) Partner Community Call Get the latest Microsoft product updates, Elevate Education announcements, and clear guidance to strengthen your Q3 customer conversations. 👉 Register When: January 26, 2026 Time: 4:00 PM CET ✔️ Why join. Get aligned on what matters most for Q3—fast. ✔️ What you’ll gain. Key Microsoft product updates you need to know Clear guidance on how updates map to the Elevate customer segment Latest Elevate Education announcements and positioning tips ✔️ How it helps. Stronger customer conversations, clearer messaging, and better outcomes. FEBRUARY WEBINAR | Microsoft Elevate Security Updates: What’s New for Nonprofit & Education Learn what’s new in Microsoft security, hear directly from Elevate’s Worldwide Security Lead, and gain practical insights from a security-focused Microsoft Partner. 👉 Register | Elevate Security Updates When: February 24, 2026 Time: 4:00 PM CET ✔️ Why join. Security continues to be a top priority for nonprofit and education customers. ✔️ What you’ll gain. What’s new in Microsoft security features, programs, and opportunities Expert guidance from Elevate’s Worldwide Security Lead Practical insights from a Microsoft Partner specializing in security ✔️ How it helps. Confidence in positioning security solutions and addressing real customer needs. Be sure to follow the Partners for Social Impact discussion board to stay up to date on all announcements & events!REGISTER: Microsoft Elevate H2 Partner Kick‑Off - Feb 3 (EMEA) / Feb 4 (AEDT)
You’re Invited: Microsoft Elevate H2 Partner Kick-Off Kick off the second half of the year with clarity, confidence, and momentum. Join the Microsoft Elevate H2 Partner Kick-Off, where nonprofit partners take center stage and Microsoft shares the priorities, programs, and investments shaping H2. Get a first look at what’s new across Elevate, plus practical guidance on skilling investments and go-to-market opportunities to help you grow and drive greater nonprofit impact. ✨ Why attend? Stay ahead of evolving Elevate priorities and expectations Discover where Microsoft is investing—and how to align for growth Accelerate your team’s skilling with new resources and tools Turn insights into action with clear next steps for H2 👉 Register for the session aligned to your region and head into H2 informed, aligned, and ready to win. EMEA/Americas session REGISTER: February 3, 2026 at 8:00AM PST | 4:00PM GMT ANZ/Asia session REGISTER: February 4, 2026 at 10:00AM AEDT | 8:00AM JST / February 3, 2026 at 3:00PM PSTREMINDER: Elevate Innovation Partner Connection Calls - Jan 22 (EMEA)
Register to join the Elevate Innovation Partner Connection Calls—interactive office hours designed to support partners delivering Nonprofit data solutions in Microsoft Fabric. Running January–March, these sessions help you confidently guide nonprofit customers through the Microsoft Fabric Public Preview with: Practical guidance and readiness updates Real-world partner learnings Direct access to the Elevate Innovation team Register to join the Microsoft Teams experience and select the session that works best for your region. What to Expect Documentation & Readiness Updates (5 min) Key updates, solution artifacts, and lessons learned. Partner Q&A (40 min) Open discussion to ask questions and walk through real scenarios. Partner Insights & Feedback (10 min) Share challenges and observations to help shape future improvements. Upcoming Sessions January 8, 2026: 8:00AM PST / 5:00PM CET - ENDED January 15, 2026: 7:00AM CST / 5:00PM AUST - ENDED January 22, 2026: 7:00AM PST | 4:00PM CET February 5, 2026: 8:00AM PST | 5:00PM CET February 12, 2026: 7:00AM CET | 5:00PM AUST February 19, 2026: 7:00AM PST | 4:00PM CET March 5, 2026: 8:00AM PST | 5:00PM CET March 12, 2026: 7:00AM CET | 5:00PM AUST March 19, 2026: 7:00AM PST | 4:00PM CET 👉 Register We look forward to connecting and learning together.REGISTER: Security Updates: What’s New for Nonprofit & Education - Feb 24 (EMEA)
🔐 Nonprofit & Education Partners — Join the Microsoft Elevate Security Webinar FEBRUARY WEBINAR | Microsoft Elevate Security Updates: What’s New for Nonprofit & Education Security remains a top priority for nonprofit and education organizations. Join this Microsoft Elevate webinar to get the latest security updates, hear directly from Elevate’s Worldwide Security Lead, and learn practical, real-world guidance from a security-focused Microsoft Partner. 📅 When: February 24, 2026 ⏰ Time: 4:00 PM CET 👉 Register What you’ll gain: The latest Microsoft security updates, features, and programs Expert insights from Elevate’s Worldwide Security Lead Practical partner perspectives on securing nonprofit and education customers Why it matters: Walk away with greater confidence in positioning security solutions and addressing real customer needs.REGISTER: Nonprofit & Education Partners Webinar - Jan 26 (EMEA)
Nonprofit & Education Partners — Don’t Miss This Microsoft Elevate Webinar! We’re hosting an upcoming Microsoft Elevate session to help you stay aligned, informed, and ready for Q3. 🔹 JANUARY WEBINAR | Microsoft Elevate (Nonprofit + Education) Partner Community Call Get the latest Microsoft product updates, Elevate Education announcements, and clear guidance to strengthen your Q3 customer conversations. When: January 26, 2026 Time: 4:00 PM CET 👉 Register ✔️ Why join. Get aligned on what matters most for Q3—fast. ✔️ What you’ll gain. Key Microsoft product updates you need to know Clear guidance on how updates map to the Elevate customer segment Latest Elevate Education announcements and positioning tips ✔️ How it helps. Stronger customer conversations, clearer messaging, and better outcomes.
What Are Canvas Apps? Your Guide to No-Code App Design
What Are Canvas Apps in Power Apps? If you’ve ever wished you could build a business app without hiring developers or writing code, Canvas apps in Microsoft Power Apps make that possible. Think of it as starting with a blank canvas where you design the app exactly how you want — by dragging and dropping components and using simple, Excel-like formulas for logic. Why Canvas Apps Are a Game-Changer Canvas apps give you complete control over the look and feel of your app. You can: Arrange elements in any layout for a custom user experience. Connect to data from Microsoft services like Dataverse, SharePoint, or Excel, as well as third-party sources. Share your app so it runs in a browser, on mobile devices, or even embedded in Teams, SharePoint, or Power BI. Build Faster with Copilot One of the most exciting features is Copilot in Power Apps Instead of starting from scratch, you can simply describe what you want your app to do in natural language — and AI will build it for you. From creating screens to adding logic, Copilot makes app development faster and easier. Ways to Create Canvas Apps You can start with: A sample app or template Data from Dataverse, SharePoint, or Excel Or build completely from scratch for full flexibility After generating an app, you can customize it to fit your workflows — change which data appears, how it’s sorted, and add screens, galleries, and forms. Sharing and Running Your App When your app is ready, save it to the cloud and share it with your team. You control who can run the app and whether they can customize it. Apps can run on Windows, in a web browser, or on iOS/Android devices. In Conclusion Canvas apps are perfect for anyone who wants to turn ideas into working solutions quickly. Whether you’re building a CRM, tracking volunteers, or streamlining operations, Power Apps gives you the tools to create apps without complexity.AI in Care Services: Restoring the Human Touch
Frontline care workers are the heart of our communities—but many are overwhelmed by paperwork, policies, and burnout. In Australia alone, the care sector faces a 344,000-worker shortage. The question isn’t just how to meet demand—it’s how to care for the caregivers. Two nonprofits—Uniting NSW.ACT in Australia and Parlan in the Netherlands—are showing how AI can do just that. Uniting NSW.ACT: Meet Buddy, the AI Sidekick Serving 148,000 clients annually, Uniting needed a smarter way to work. Enter Buddy, an AI assistant built on Microsoft Azure. What Buddy Delivers: Case notes in 2 minutes (down from 15) Voice-to-text documentation, even in remote areas Instant access to 1,600 policies More time for personal, compassionate care Buddy uses Azure OpenAI Service and a Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) approach to surface accurate policy guidance and streamline compliance. It saves frontline workers nearly an hour per day, improves onboarding, and helps attract and retain staff in a tight labor market. By reducing administrative burdens, Buddy empowers carers to focus on what matters most—human connection. Parlan: Copilot for Mental Health Dutch nonprofit Parlan provides mental health care to children and families with complex needs. To reduce paperwork and improve care, Parlan adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot. What Copilot Delivers: Therapy reports in minutes Faster prep for complex cases Real-time translation in Teams Easy creation of therapeutic tools Copilot helps staff summarize hundreds of pages of client history, draft reports quickly, and even translate conversations during live sessions. It also assists in creating therapeutic stories—tasks that once took hours now take minutes. By streamlining administrative work, Copilot gives practitioners more time for direct care. Why It Matters This isn’t just about speed—it’s about wellness. Less admin means: Lower stress Reduced burnout Higher job satisfaction Better client outcomes The Big Picture AI isn’t replacing care—it’s restoring time, trust, and connection. Tools like Buddy and Copilot help workers do what they do best: care deeply, and serve with purpose. To learn more about their story, please visit Microsoft for Nonprofits: (21) How Technology Is Boosting Worker Wellness and Restoring the Human Touch | LinkedInBeyond the Basics: How to Get More Value from Transcription in Microsoft Teams
This post is a follow‑up to my earlier guide, “How to Enable Transcription in Microsoft Teams: A Quick Guide to Smarter Meetings.” If you’ve already learned how to turn transcription on, this next step will help you get even more value from it. Transcription in Microsoft Teams isn’t just a convenience—it’s a powerful productivity engine hiding in plain sight. If you’ve already mastered how to enable transcription (or read my earlier guide), you’re ready for the next step: turning those transcripts into actionable insights, better collaboration, and smarter workflows. Whether you’re a project manager, educator, team lead, or someone who simply wants cleaner follow‑ups, this guide will help you unlock the full potential of Teams transcription. Why Transcription Matters More Than Ever Meetings move fast. Decisions get made, tasks get assigned, and ideas fly across the screen. Even with the best note‑taking habits, it’s easy to miss something. Transcription solves that by giving you: Searchable meeting history Accurate recall of decisions and action items Accessibility for participants who prefer or require text A single source of truth for follow‑ups But the real magic happens when you start using transcripts strategically. 1. Turn Transcripts Into Actionable Follow‑Ups A transcript isn’t just a record—it’s a roadmap. Here’s how to make it work for you: Use Search to Find What Matters Instead of rewatching an hour‑long recording, search the transcript for keywords like: “deadline” “next steps” “assign” “decision” This instantly surfaces the moments that matter. Extract Action Items Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot users get AI‑generated action items automatically. But even without premium features, you can: Skim the transcript for verbs (“send,” “review,” “update”) Copy/paste tasks into Planner, To Do, or your project management tool Share a summary with your team to confirm alignment 2. Use Speaker Attribution to Improve Collaboration Teams transcription identifies who said what—unless you choose to anonymize your name. This is incredibly useful for: Tracking ownership of ideas Following up with the right person Clarifying who committed to which task Reviewing feedback from specific stakeholders If your team works cross‑functionally, this feature alone can save hours of back‑and‑forth. 3. Combine Transcripts with Meeting Recordings for Full Context Transcripts are great for scanning, but recordings add tone, nuance, and visual cues. Use them together when: Reviewing complex discussions Revisiting demos or walkthroughs Clarifying tone in sensitive conversations Training new team members Pro tip: Jump directly to a transcript line and Teams will play the recording from that exact moment. 4. Leverage Multi‑Language Support If your team is global, transcription becomes even more valuable. Teams supports multiple spoken languages, and you can confirm the language at the start of transcription. This helps: Multilingual teams collaborate more effectively Non‑native speakers review content at their own pace Organizations maintain accurate documentation across regions 5. Manage Privacy and Compliance Like a Pro Transcription is powerful—but it also comes with responsibility. Here’s how to stay compliant: Know Where Transcripts Are Stored Saved to the meeting organizer’s OneDrive for Business Governed by your organization’s retention and compliance policies Control Who Can Download Admins can restrict transcript downloads to: Organizers only Organizers + co‑organizers Everyone in the meeting Use Anonymization When Needed If you want to participate without your name appearing in captions or transcripts, toggle on “Hide my name in captions and transcripts” in Teams settings (if allowed by your admin). Final Thoughts: Let Your Meetings Work for You Transcription in Microsoft Teams is more than a convenience—it’s a strategic advantage. By going beyond simply turning it on and learning how to use the transcript effectively, you transform your meetings into a powerful source of clarity, accountability, and insight. Every conversation becomes searchable. Every decision becomes traceable. Every meeting becomes more valuable. If you’re ready to take your Teams experience to the next level, start treating transcription as a core part of your workflow—not an optional add‑on. Your future self (and your team) will thank youNEW RESOURCE RELEASE: Unified Analytics for Data-Driven Innovation Campaign-in-a-Box resources
The NEW Unified Analytics for Data-Driven Innovation Campaign-in-a-Box assets just dropped and are already gaining traction. Microsoft Elevate just released these ready-to-use assets to help spark smarter conversations, show real-world impact, and move faster with nonprofit customers—no heavy lift required. These assets are: 👉 Built for storytelling 👉 Designed for engagement 👉 Powered by data-driven impact From First Touch to Impact: Using Unified Analytics Campaign Assets The following assets are intentionally designed to work together as a simple, end-to-end engagement flow. By moving from awareness to registration, reinforcing value, and enabling deeper education, partners can confidently guide nonprofit organizations toward meaningful, data-driven outcomes. ✨ Email Template | Unified Analytics for Data-Driven Innovation Purpose: Kick off awareness and outreach. Use this template to introduce the unified analytics story, spark interest, and invite nonprofit customers into the conversation. ✨ Registration Template | Unified Analytics for Data-Driven Innovation Purpose: Drive event or engagement sign-ups. This template supports webinars, workshops, or briefings by capturing interest and converting it into registered participation. ✨ One-Pager Template | Unify Your Data Platform to Accelerate Nonprofit Impact Purpose: Reinforce value and clarity. Use this concise asset during or after engagement to clearly explain the benefits of unifying data platforms and accelerating mission impact. ✨ E-Book Template | Unified Analytics for Data-Driven Innovation Purpose: Deepen understanding and influence decisions. This long-form asset supports follow-up conversations, enabling nonprofits to explore the strategy, use cases, and long-term value of unified analytics. Jump in, activate, and stay ahead of the curve. Remember: These resources and more can be found on the Nonprofit Partner Readiness site under the Solution play readiness materials section. Select the Cloud & AI Platform tab, then select Unify you data platform to explore resources.NEW RESOURCE RELEASE: Industry Solution Kits (ISK) now available!
Great news, Microsoft Nonprofit Partners! Microsoft Elevate is excited to share three new powerful ISK resources to help you spark smarter conversations and accelerate impact with nonprofit customers: ✨ Copilot and Agents at Work for Nonprofits. Show how AI can reduce burnout, automate admin work, and empower staff to focus on mission-critical outcomes. 👉 ISK - Copilot and Agents at Work ✨ Innovate with Azure AI Apps and Agents. Help nonprofits build, scale, and govern custom AI solutions that expand reach, improve services, and drive measurable impact. 👉 ISK | Innovate with Azure AI Apps & Agents ✨ Unify Your Data Platform. Guide organizations in breaking down data silos, modernizing infrastructure, and unlocking real-time insights with Microsoft Fabric and Azure. 👉ISK | Unify Your Data Platform These assets are designed for partner-led storytelling, customer-ready conversations, and real-world mission outcomes—whether you’re enabling productivity with Copilot, building custom AI agents, or modernizing data foundations. 🚀 Dive in, start the conversation, and help your nonprofit turn this AI moment into a mission moment! Reminder: These resources and more can be found on the Nonprofit Partner Readiness site under the Solution play readiness materials section. Select a tab to explore resources.
