In early 2016, Microsoft committed to donating $1 billion in cloud computing resources over three years to help 70,000 nonprofit organisations digitally scale their impact and serve the public good – and this target has officially been reached, one year early.
“Today we announced that, a year ahead of schedule, we have fulfilled our three-year commitment to donate $1 billion in cloud computing resources to help nonprofit organizations scale their impact and better serve the public good”, says Sylvie Laffarge, Director, Microsoft Philanthropies in Europe.
“So far these cloud resources have helped 90,000 nonprofits and researchers at 700 universities advance social good initiatives, including organizations such as Adopta, a small nonprofit in Croatia that strives to improve the adoption process in Eastern Europe. Building on this effort, we aim to triple the number of nonprofits served over the next three years, to over 300,000 organizations, including many in Europe.”
With a virtual office staffed with just three people and nearly 50 volunteers, Office 365, donated by Microsoft, has helped Adopta’s staff collaborate remotely, allowing volunteers and staff to work as a single, cohesive team, while allowing the organisation to double its expected grant awards.
Elsewhere in Europe, British non-profit Carers Choices has also benefitted from Microsoft’s commitment. Aimed at improving the lives of people with dementia, disabilities or mental illnesses by supporting the family members who look after them, the organisation was able to break free of their aging technology with the donation of Office 365.
The cloud-based productivity and collaboration features offered by Office 365 provided Carers Choices with mobile productivity and collaboration, the ability to safeguard client privacy in the cloud with the strictest security standards, and much more, providing staff more time to focus on the key areas of their work.
Microsoft’s commitment to nonprofits also included donating cloud technology to universities. The response from the community has been so positive that the Azure for Research program has already doubled the number of projects it is helping to over 1,200, across over 50 countries.
From creating intelligent water systems to cancer research, and using AI to improve our health, the power of the cloud and the flexibility it offers is helping us shape the world of tomorrow.
Technology for Social Impact
Part of Microsoft’s commitment to non-profit organisations is its new for Social Impact group, which will work towards the ambition of donating the transformational power of the cloud to more than 300,000 nonprofits over the next three years.
The new team will focus on helping nonprofits migrate to the cloud by donating and discounting services and providing the support they need. This new team brings together the best practices and learnings from Microsoft’s philanthropic work, its technology, and its commercial ecosystem, to create the world’s most comprehensive offering that is customized for nonprofits.
In addition to Microsoft’s renewed commitment, the company also revealed two new offers for the non-profit community:
Microsoft 365 for Nonprofits is a complete, intelligent solution which offers Office 365, Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility + Security, allowing nonprofits to be more creative and collaborate more easily – all while being protected by Microsoft’s secure systems.
Discounts on Surface Books and Surface Pros will also be available across a number of European countries, allowing nonprofits access to innovative features such as inking in Windows 10, to biometric security, 3D experiences, and much more. Microsoft Stores will offer 10 percent off Surface products, while discounts will also be available through selected Surface channel partners.
Over the coming months, Microsoft will build on its offers for non-profit organisations, strengthening its longstanding commitment to ensuring that technology is used to help empower us all.
For more information, please visit the Microsoft On the Issues blog post. In addition, for details about these offers, and a new white paper that provides nonprofits with concrete steps to begin digitally transforming their work, please visit Microsoft’s Nonprofits website.
