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Microsoft has announced the discontinuation of its Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Office 365 E1 grant offers (free licenses) for nonprofits. To ease the transition, Microsoft is offering:
– Up to 300 free Microsoft 365 Business Basic licenses
– Up to 75% discounts on Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Office 365 E1 plans
You Should Know:
1. Transitioning to Microsoft 365 Business Basic
If your nonprofit relied on free licenses, consider migrating to Microsoft 365 Business Basic (free tier). Here’s how to check and assign licenses in PowerShell:
Connect to Microsoft 365 Connect-MsolService List available licenses Get-MsolAccountSku Assign Business Basic license to a user Set-MsolUserLicense -UserPrincipalName [email protected] -AddLicenses "orgname:STANDARDPACK"
2. Leveraging the 75% Discount
Nonprofits can still get discounted licenses. Verify eligibility via:
Get-MsolSubscription
If discounts aren’t applied automatically, contact Microsoft Support.
3. Exploring Alternatives
If Microsoft 365 is no longer viable, consider:
- Google Workspace for Nonprofits (free tier available)
- Zoho Workplace (discounted plans)
- Self-hosted solutions (Nextcloud, LibreOffice Online)
For Nextcloud self-hosting, deploy via Docker:
docker run -d -p 8080:80 nextcloud
4. Monitoring License Usage
Use Microsoft Graph API to track license consumption:
curl -X GET "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/subscribedSkus" -H "Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>"
5. Automating User Provisioning
Use Azure AD CLI to automate user management:
az ad user create --display-name "Nonprofit User" --password <PASSWORD> --user-principal-name [email protected]
What Undercode Say:
Microsoft’s decision impacts nonprofits relying on free licenses. Organizations should:
1. Audit current licenses (Get-MsolUser -All | Where-Object {$_.isLicensed -eq $true}).
2. Migrate to Business Basic or use discounts.
3. Explore open-source alternatives if budgets are constrained.
For Linux admins, consider deploying Collabora Online (LibreOffice in the cloud):
sudo snap install collabora-online
Expected Output:
- A structured migration plan for nonprofits.
- Automated scripts for license management.
- Alternative cloud/self-hosted solutions.
Prediction:
More nonprofits may shift to open-source or hybrid solutions due to rising SaaS costs. Microsoft might reintroduce limited grants under pressure.
URL: Microsoft Nonprofit Updates
References:
Reported By: Jake Admindroid – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
