Microsoft offer significant discounts to Non-profit organisations with charitable status. Obviously there are a few hoops to jump through to qualify but if you do, you can access the Microsoft NonProfit Resources page for all sorts of goodies!
Microsoft NonProfit Resources
To qualify for discounted, or depending on your requirements, free Microsoft 365 Licencing you must meet at least one of these requirements from Microsoft:
In effect this means your organisation needs to either be:
- an organisation that is deductible gift recipients (DGRs) endorsed by the ATO or listed by name in the tax law
- a charity registered with the Australian Charities and Nonprofits Commission (ACNC)
- an Income Tax Exempt not-for-profit organisation as defined by the ATO
If your Not-For-Profit (NFP) already has “Deductible Gift Recipients (DGRs)” status, then you possibly already qualify for the charitable pricing for many Microsoft 365 products.
Obtaining DGRs Endorsement
This is not something your IT provider can usually do for you but if you need to register your organisation it isn’t too difficult.
Charity Registration is managed by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). The ACNC have all the information you need to register your NFP and apply for charity registration.
Start with the Who Can Apply to be Registered page to ensure you are eligible and have all the prerequisites for registration. There is a bit of reading to do unless you are familiar with the process!
The next stop is the Registration Application – Checklist page to ensure you have all the information you will need.
And then finally, presuming you meet all of the requirements and believe you are eligible, you can start you registration on the Applying for Charity Registration page.
Next steps
Once your status as a charity is confirmed, your Managed IT Service provider should be able to set your Microsoft 365 services on the new pricing tier, potentially saving your organisation thousands of dollars per year.