How Nonprofits Can Get Microsoft 365 Grants and Discounts in 2026

Eligible nonprofit organizations can still use Microsoft's nonprofit program to get donated and discounted Microsoft 365 licenses, but the offers, the terminology, the security expectations and the partner access model all changed after Microsoft reworked the program in 2025. This guide walks the ten steps from validation to a secured tenant, says which seats are donated and who may use them, and shows where the paid Business Premium seats go first.

What changed in Microsoft's nonprofit program

Microsoft nonprofit licensing remains a strong option for charities, associations, foundations, and other eligible mission-driven organizations, but four things moved.

The donated plan changed. Microsoft announced in May 2025 that the Microsoft 365 Business Premium grant of ten donated seats and the Office 365 E1 grant would be retired at each organization's first renewal on or after 1 July 2025. The donated offer that continues is Microsoft 365 Business Basic, for up to 300 seats, with Business Premium, Business Standard and the enterprise plans available at nonprofit discounts. Our grant changes article works through the cost architecture that follows.

The names and the access model changed. Microsoft Entra ID replaced Azure AD, the Microsoft 365 and Intune admin centers replaced the older portals, Windows 10 is out of support, and partners now use Granular Delegated Admin Privileges (GDAP) instead of legacy DAP.

The rules are enforced. Microsoft's nonprofit FAQ states that granted licenses are permitted only for paid nonprofit employees and unpaid executive staff acting as leadership, that volunteers need discounted rather than granted licenses, and that Microsoft reviews utilization and expects at least 85 of every 100 granted licenses to be in active use; organizations below that risk disqualification from future grants.

Which Microsoft 365 nonprofit plan should you choose?

Start at Microsoft's nonprofit offers page, where validated organizations compare the donated and discounted plans. Donated Business Basic covers Exchange Online mailboxes, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive and the web and mobile Office apps, which is enough for staff who work from a browser and a phone.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the plan for the people who carry risk: it adds the installed desktop apps, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Entra ID P1 with Conditional Access, Microsoft Defender for Business and Defender for Office 365 Plan 1. Business Premium at nonprofit staff pricing is $66.00 per user per year ($5.50 per month), Microsoft nonprofit price list, October 2026; see the Business Premium for nonprofits page; for scale, the commercial list price is $264.00 per user per year (Microsoft list price, October 2026 price list). Larger nonprofits or organizations with advanced compliance needs may need Microsoft 365 E3, E5, or other enterprise nonprofit plans.

Assign paid Business Premium seats by risk, not title: first executive leadership, finance, HR, IT administrators, fundraising and donor-management staff, legal or compliance roles, and anyone handling client, patient, student, beneficiary or donor records; then anyone who signs in from an organization-owned laptop, because Intune and Conditional Access govern only licensed users. Volunteers and part-time staff who need web email, Teams and files stay on donated Basic; staff who need installed Office apps but no sensitive data fit discounted Standard. A 40-person nonprofit typically lands at 12 to 15 Premium seats.

Step 1: Register for Microsoft nonprofit eligibility

Start at Microsoft's official nonprofit portal: https://www.microsoft.com/nonprofits. From there, register your organization and begin the eligibility validation process. You may need to provide your legal organization name, address, website, tax or charity registration information, and documentation that proves nonprofit status. Validation requirements vary by country and organization type, and eligibility can require periodic recertification, so keep contacts and documents current. The person who creates the Microsoft 365 tenant during registration may become a Global Administrator, so use a role-based administrative account where possible and plan to add at least one additional emergency admin after setup.

Step 2: Understand your Microsoft 365 tenant and Microsoft Entra ID

During onboarding, Microsoft creates or uses a Microsoft 365 tenant for your organization. The tenant is your dedicated Microsoft cloud environment and includes Microsoft Entra ID, which stores users, groups, roles, authentication settings, and application access. A newly created tenant is not eligible for nonprofit pricing until Microsoft completes validation and tags the tenant as nonprofit-eligible. After approval, eligible nonprofit grants and discounts become available through the Microsoft 365 admin center or through an authorized Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider, depending on the offer and region.

Step 3: Wait for validation and review available offers

Microsoft's validation timeline varies. Some organizations are approved quickly, while others require additional documentation or review. After approval, sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center with an administrator account and review available nonprofit subscriptions under Billing and Purchase services. Do not assume that every Microsoft commercial plan has a nonprofit grant equivalent. Donated seats are capped per offer, and paid nonprofit subscriptions follow the same New Commerce Experience terms as commercial ones: subscription term, cancellation window, renewal settings, and seat-change rules.

Step 4: Decide whether to buy direct or work with a Microsoft partner

Some nonprofits acquire eligible licenses directly in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Others work with a Microsoft partner for license planning, migration, security configuration, device management, and ongoing support. If IT Partner assists your organization, we confirm the current licensing route, map users to the correct plans, and avoid over-licensing.

For paid seats, the term matters. Annual commits for twelve months even when billed monthly; monthly can be reduced at month end and costs more. Microsoft Learn's new commerce cancellation policy allows seven calendar days from purchase or renewal to cancel with a prorated refund; after that, seats can be added mid-term but not removed until renewal. Put seats that will turn over (seasonal staff, grant-funded positions) on monthly and permanent staff on annual.

Step 5: Use GDAP, not legacy DAP, for partner access

The old DAP-based partner invitation process should no longer be used. Partner access should follow the principle of least privilege using Granular Delegated Admin Privileges. With GDAP, your organization approves specific administrative roles for a defined duration instead of granting broad, long-term Global Admin access. IT Partner provides a current GDAP relationship request when support is needed. Your nonprofit should periodically review partner relationships, remove unused access, and require multifactor authentication for all administrative accounts.

Step 6: Assign licenses and add your domain

After the licenses are available, go to the Microsoft 365 admin center to add users, assign licenses, and configure your organization's verified domain. Adding your domain requires DNS changes such as TXT verification records and, for email, MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. If you are moving from another email system, plan the migration before changing mail flow. A clean setup typically includes user identity planning, mailbox migration, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint structure, OneDrive configuration, and license assignment policies.

Step 7: Configure security before broad rollout

MFA alone is not enough; our MFA attack paths article shows why. At minimum, nonprofits should enable security defaults or configure Conditional Access where licensed, protect all admin accounts with strong authentication, review Microsoft Secure Score, configure anti-phishing and anti-spam policies in Exchange Online Protection, enable audit logging, and deploy Microsoft Defender for Business where included. Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers should also configure Intune device compliance, app protection policies, BitLocker, Windows security baselines, endpoint detection and response, and safe onboarding for Windows 11 devices. Security is part of the initial rollout, not a later project.

Step 8: Migrate email, files, and collaboration carefully

Most nonprofits need more than license activation. Common migration tasks include moving historical mailboxes to Exchange Online, migrating files to SharePoint and OneDrive, setting Teams governance rules, and training users on secure sharing. Before migration, decide how you will structure departments, external sharing, retention, naming conventions, and ownership of Teams and SharePoint sites. Also review backup, retention, eDiscovery, and compliance requirements. Microsoft provides native retention and recovery features, but they are not a substitute for every backup or legal retention scenario.

Step 9: Train users and modernize devices

User adoption is critical. Staff and volunteers should learn how to use Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft 365 Apps, and secure sharing practices. Plan devices around Windows 11: support for Windows 10 ended on 14 October 2025, and only devices enrolled in Extended Security Updates still receive fixes. If your nonprofit uses Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Intune can standardize Windows 11 device configuration, enforce compliance, deploy apps, and protect organizational data on mobile devices.

Step 10: Review Azure and additional nonprofit resources

Microsoft's nonprofit FAQ describes an Azure grant of $2,000 (USD) in credit, with a credit card required in case usage exceeds it, plus Dynamics 365 and Power Platform nonprofit offers. Azure is useful for hosting applications, identity integrations and data projects, but govern it so usage does not run past the credit.

Frequently asked questions

Does Microsoft still donate Microsoft 365 Business Premium to nonprofits?

No. The ten-seat Business Premium grant and the Office 365 E1 grant were retired at renewals on or after 1 July 2025. Donated Business Basic continues for up to 300 seats, and Business Premium is sold at nonprofit staff pricing, $66.00 per user per year.

Who is allowed to use a donated license?

Per Microsoft's nonprofit FAQ, paid nonprofit employees and unpaid executive staff who act as leadership. Volunteers and other affiliates need discounted licenses, not granted ones, and Microsoft expects granted licenses to be in active use.

How many donated Business Basic seats can we get?

Up to 300 under the current offer. Seat limits depend on the offer and Microsoft adjusts them, so confirm the number in the nonprofit portal before you plan around it.

Can we mix donated and paid plans in one tenant?

Yes. Plans are assigned per user, so donated Business Basic for most staff and paid Business Premium for the people who handle sensitive data or use managed laptops is the usual pattern; keep the Basic users outside the Conditional Access and Intune scopes.

Sources

• Microsoft nonprofits FAQ — Microsoft, opened 2026-10-11 (eligible users; active-usage expectation; Azure credit)
• Changes to Microsoft's Business Premium Grant Announced — Tech Impact, May 2025, found via search 2026-10-11 (Business Premium and E1 grants retired at renewals on or after 1 July 2025; Business Basic grant up to 300 seats continues)
• New commerce cancellation policy — Microsoft Learn, checked via search 2026-10-11 (seven-calendar-day window)
• Windows 10 end of support — Microsoft, opened 2026-10-11
• Microsoft, US commercial price list, October 2026 (commercial Business Premium list price)

Key takeaways

• Donated Microsoft 365 is now Business Basic for up to 300 seats; the ten-seat Business Premium grant ended at renewals from 1 July 2025, and Premium is a discounted paid seat at $66.00 per user per year.
• Granted licenses are for paid employees and unpaid executive leadership only, and Microsoft expects them to be in active use.
• Use current terminology and tooling: Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft 365 admin center, Windows 11, Defender for Business, Intune, and GDAP.
• Put paid Business Premium on the people who carry risk and on everyone who uses an organization-owned laptop; keep donated Basic users outside the device and identity policies.
• A successful nonprofit rollout includes licensing, domain setup, migration, security baselines, device management, and user training, not just activating donated licenses.

If your nonprofit needs the validation handled, the licenses mapped and the mailboxes moved, IT Partner's Microsoft 365 for Nonprofits: Grant Setup and Migration service is $25 per mailbox plus a $950 tenant fee, quoted in writing before work begins, and includes the GDAP request, domain setup and the security baseline from step 7.