Nonprofit: Microsoft removing Nonprofit grants in July 2025

Microsoft announced on 15^th May that they are removing Nonprofit grants for Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Office 365 E1, effective 1 July 2025.

Previously, eligible non-profits (also referred to as charities) were able to access:

• Up to 10 Microsoft 365 Business Premium licences as a grant (free), then at a discounted price
• Free Office 365 E1 licences
• Up to 300 Microsoft 365 Business Basic licences
• Numerous other benefits that aren’t changing

Microsoft’s announcement mentions that 98% of their non-profits have fewer than 300 full-time employees. More details can be found on Microsoft’s website: https://partner.microsoft.com/en-nz/asset/collection/microsoft-365-business-premium-and-office-365-e1-grant-discontinuation#/

What’s the impact?

• All Business Premium licences will now be at the discounted cost (no free licences)
• Most using Office 365 E1 will need to migrate to an alternative product, such as Business Basic or start paying for every licence.
• There are no changes to paid licences
• There are no changes to Business Basic licences
• For those on Enterprise Agreements (EA), the grant of Office 365 E1 continues

When does this happen?

The change takes effect 1 July 2025, so if your renewal occurs in June or earlier, you’ll keep the existing terms through to your next renewal (up to June 2026).

If your next renewal occurs in July 2025 or later, then the new terms apply.

Do I have any choice?

If you want to continue using the Microsoft 365 suite and gain all the benefits, treat it like the price rises of the other versions of software from Microsoft’s suite.

Alternatively, Google Workspace continues to provide non-profit plans, but this isn’t a like for like offering, and you’d need to migrate to Google: https://www.google.com/nonprofits/offerings/workspace/#!#workspace-pricing

There is also a petition requesting Microsoft reverse the changes that you could sign here: https://chng.it/Q6XBgjPt8y

If you need further information, reach out to your IT solutions provider and they should be able to provide advice to fit your needs.