Grants and discounts are not the same
Microsoft's nonprofit offers include both donated grants and discounted prices. A grant is a license or a credit Microsoft provides at no charge, inside limits it publishes. A discount is a lower price than the commercial list, and the organization still pays Microsoft. Mixing those up is how a board hears that something is free and later sees an invoice. The offers people write to us about most often are Microsoft 365 for staff mail and Teams, the annual Azure credit, and the published nonprofit terms for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Each of those has its own page. Microsoft's page is the source for current amounts. We will not restate a figure we have not just read there.
TRUE.org is a nonprofit and a direct Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider. We provision the subscriptions Microsoft has made available. We do not mark them up as a marketplace, and we do not sell a donated license to someone else.
Who Microsoft says can apply
Microsoft's eligibility rules look for a nonprofit or non-governmental organization with recognized legal status in its country, comparable to 501(c)(3) status in the United States. Microsoft also describes organizations that do not qualify, and it can refuse an application. A validation partner checks public records and what you submit. Microsoft says that often takes a few days and can take longer.
Granted licenses, in Microsoft's rules, are for paid employees and unpaid executive staff, up to the user limits for that offer and country. Discounted licenses may be used by volunteers. People who only receive services, give money, or hold a membership are not eligible users. Licenses may not be shared, transferred, rented, or resold. Unused grant licenses are supposed to come off the tenant. Microsoft says it may audit.
Programs we do not administer
Some Microsoft software grants, including grants of Windows, are published as available through TechSoup rather than through a Cloud Solution Provider. TRUE.org does not replace TechSoup and does not approve those donations. If that is the path Microsoft's page lists, we will point you to it.
Google runs its own nonprofit program for organizations that qualify under Google's rules. TRUE.org is also a Google Cloud Solution Provider, so we can talk about Google Workspace when that is the cloud a school or charity already uses. Google decides eligibility and what it donates. We do not publish Google's amounts here. The form still goes to support@true.org. Include the country, the legal name, and whether you already have a Microsoft or Google domain.
What we will and will not do
We will help you see which published offer matches the staff who need it, set up or take over the Microsoft tenant, and train the people who have to live in it. A named person can stay for support and for the annual question of whether unused grant licenses are still assigned. When the licenses are bought through TRUE.org, setup, migration, training, and 24x7 support are included for organizations in the United States and Canada.
We will not tell a funder you have been approved before Microsoft says so. We will not dress a commercial subscription up as a grant. If the honest answer is that the organization does not fit Microsoft's rules, that is the answer we will send.
Questions we answer before a quote
Does TRUE.org award technology grants?
No. Microsoft, and in some cases TechSoup or Google, run those programs. We help with the tenant after the publisher says yes, and with asking the question clearly.
Can we share donated licenses with a partner charity?
No. Microsoft's rules say nonprofit licenses may not be shared, transferred, rented, or resold.
How long does Microsoft's review take?
Microsoft says it often takes a few days and can take longer if the validation partner needs more documents.
Where do we send the question?
support@true.org, or the form on this page. Include the legal name, the country, and any Microsoft or Google domain you already have.
