Decoding Microsoft Nonprofit Eligibility

Organisation Eligibility

 

Microsoft nonprofit eligibility comprises several different criteria. The first (and most important of these is organisation eligibility.

 

Information on Microsoft’s site stipulates the following requirement:

 

‘Organizations must be a nonprofit or non-governmental organization with recognized legal status in their respective country (equal to 501(c)(3) status under the United States Internal Revenue Code)’

 

So what does that mean for UK charities?

 

In short, organisations must hold charitable status in the UK to be considered eligible. The simplest way to establish this is to register with the charity commission. Organisations based in Scotland can register with OSCR. Charities from Northern Ireland can register with the Northern Ireland Charity Commission. Charities registered in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man must register with their local equivalent.

 

This definition of charitable status excludes several types of community organisation, such as Social Enterprises, Community Interest Companies, sports clubs and other non-charity, not-for-profit organisations.

 

If your organisation’s annual income is too small to register with the Charity Commission, you can qualify for Microsoft nonprofit eligibility by registering for charitable tax-exempt status with the HMRC. You can apply using your Unique HMRC reference number that confirms your organisation holds charitable tax-exempt status.

 

Employees vs. Volunteers: What’s the Difference?

 

Cloud-based software can be a major boon for charities with a large number of volunteers.

 

Buying a license, rather than installing desktop-based software on the organisation’s own PCs can provide a greater degree of flexibility. This flexibility is important when recruiting volunteers for their digital skills, as it allows them to work from home. By removing barriers to volunteering, charities can make it a more appealing proposition, and benefit from professional skills and expertise that may not otherwise be present in their organisation.

 

Microsoft does have nonprofit software eligibility for volunteers, but it is different to that in place for full-time paid staff.

 

Essentially the distinction is simple:

 

• Paid charity staff may be eligible for donated software. This is free for the charity (within other eligibility requirements)
  
  
• Volunteers may be eligible for discounted software. This is software made available at a discounted charity rate.

 

There are a few other types of eligibility to consider. Unpaid executive staff (people that act as senior leadership for a charity) may be eligible for access to donated software. Eligible unpaid executive roles include Board of Directors, President, Officers, Executive Director, and Executive Program Directors only.

 

Charity beneficiaries, donors, and members (such as members of a church, club, or sports team) are not eligible for Microsoft nonprofit offers.

 

 

 

Mission Requirements

 

Microsoft nonprofit eligibility does not apply to the following categories of organisation:

 

• Charity organisations that have not obtained recognised legal status in their respective country;
  
  
• Governmental organisations or agencies, including governmental museums, international governmental organisations, and United Nations Entities;
  
  
• Schools, colleges and universities including formal educational institutions, nonprofit schools, and academic museums;
  
  
• Healthcare organisations including, but not limited to, hospitals, healthcare networks, health plans, ambulatory/outpatient healthcare organisations, nursing homes, retirement centres, assisted living, and home healthcare;
  
  
• Professional, commerce and trade associations;
  
  
• Professional and semi-professional sports organisations;
  
  
• Political, labour, and fraternal organisations;
  
  
• Refurbishers that will be installing the donated software on refurbished computers to be distributed or donated to charities, nonprofits or schools
  
  
• Individuals

Other Requirements

 

There are several other eligibility criteria to consider. Microsoft reserves the right to grant or deny eligibility to organisations at their sole discretion. Therefore, selections will be made in accordance with Microsoft’s organisational values.

 

This might sound like a lot of corporate jargon. But it’s not too difficult to understand and can have a real impact on an organisation’s application.

 

Essentially, Microsoft want to make sure they are not granting access to discounted or donated licenses to organisations whose work goes against Microsoft’s values. Therefore, organisations are not eligible to participate in the Microsoft nonprofit programme if they have a policy or mission of discrimination in hiring, compensation, promotion, termination, retirement, training, programs, and/or services based on race, ethnicity, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, political affiliation, union membership, or veteran status.

 

The only exception to this policy is for religious organisations such as they may be exempt from laws that prohibit such discrimination.