I completely hear your frustration. When taken in isolation, it can seem that these offers are simply being reduced or removed. The reality is that majority of nonprofits around the world each have less than 10 employees. These are often local community organizations on the frontlines of saving lives, providing critical education support in underserved communities, protecting the environment and wildlife, delivering meals to those who need it most, and so many other critical missions.
Small nonprofits are at the greatest risk of being left behind in the digital world. Their size, funding and infrastructure do not always accommodate purchasing the latest technology, training their employees on how to use it, employing designated IT staff, or investing in resources to keep their organization secure. In fact, a study from Microsoft found that 60 percent of nonprofits report having no organizational digital policy to manage cybersecurity risk, and 74 percent do not take critical security steps to ensure email accounts are not compromised. Due to limited capacity, outdated solutions are often deployed that offer limited security, leaving small nonprofits — and their beneficiary and donor data — vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks from hackers who see them as an easy mark. The consequences of this are real: If nonprofits don’t have cybersecurity practices in place, their data is at risk, especially for nonprofits based in high-risk areas where factors such as war and geo-politics are at play.
As a result, many small nonprofits are missing out on modern collaboration tools and operational efficiencies in the cloud that can create greater value. For smaller nonprofits to make the greatest impact on their missions, they must have easy access to technology and the ability to effectively utilize it. These smaller nonprofits were not accessing the EMS donation but they are now accessing M365 Business donation and benefiting from its integrated security capabilities. Hopefully you know some of these small charities that could benefit from Microsoft 365 Business and you can help them to get access. Meanwhile larger nonprofits can still make use of discounted EMS licencing to secure their environment.
Microsoft Philanthropies has donated millions in products and helped nonprofits further by providing substantially discounted products. All profits made from the nonprofit discounted licences goes back into funding additional support and donations, or other Philanthropic investments that benefit societal impact within the nonprofit sector (e.g. AI for Humanitarian Impact).
