- Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Office 365 E1 licenses for nonprofit organizations are no longer free
- 300 free licenses for Microsoft 365 Business Basic offered
- Other subscriptions could see discounts of up to 75%
Microsoft has confirmed that it will end free Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Office 365 E1 licenses for nonprofit organizations in what it calls an effort to “streamline [its] Grant offers and simplify [its] Grant Portfolio. “
Instead of the outdated scheme, the tech giant will offer a certain number of free licenses along with a large discount on other plans, including the M365 Business Premium and Office 365 E1.
Those who are not willing to take advantage of the discount and start paying a subscription fee will lose access to some of the features they may be used to with their free licenses.
Nonprofit organizations no longer receive some free Microsoft 365 -subscription services
The company confirms that it will replace the scheme with one that allows nonprofit organizations to receive up to 300 licenses for Microsoft 365 Business Basic. Qualified users will also be able to retrieve discounts of 75% on other subscriptions, including Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Office 365 E1.
If a nonprofit is small enough to use the free 300 Business Basic licenses, they will still lose access to desktop versions of Office apps and other features like Intune, therefore they have to pay to reintroduce these features.
Despite the hefty discount, some nonprofit organizations may have unexpected costs, especially for features they now have to pay for. Since the nature of nonprofit organizations is that economics can be limited, the company has been criticized for its short notice period.
Redmond added: “Our goal in Tech for Social Impact (TSI) is to ensure that nonprofit organizations can benefit from the industry’s leading solutions that are critical for ensuring the highest level of organizational security and productivity.”
It is unclear what kind of cost savings the company hopes to realize from this adjustment or how many non -profit organizations will be affected.
