What are the eligibility requirements for getting the Azure grant from Microsoft?

Interested not-for-profit organisations that would like to need to meet ALL FIVE criteria as stated below.

  • Organisations must be a not-for-profit or non-governmental organisation with recognised legal status in Australia.
  • Organisations must operate on a not-for-profit basis and have a mission to benefit the local community.
  • In line with user licensing, the offer is valid for paid not-for-profit employees and unpaid executive staff that act as senior leadership for the not-for-profit organisation.
  • Organisations cannot share, transfer, rent, or resell not-for-profit licenses or subscriptions with/to other organisations or individuals.
  • Organisations must not have a policy or mission of discrimination in hiring, compensation, promotion, programs, or services based on colour, race, sex, etc.

You can find more information about the eligibility requirements here.

Microsoft Azure FAQs

  Why use Microsoft Azure?

Organisations, regardless of industry, choose to use Microsoft Azure for the following reasons:

  • No expensive infrastructure costs.
  • Pay only for what you use.
  • Scale and deploy quickly and easily.
  • State of the art security and disaster recovery.
  • Built-in analytics to support informed decisions.
  • Automated software updates.

  Microsoft Azure vs AWS: Which is better for NFPs?

AWS has been a market leader for public cloud since 2006 with its breadth and depth of services. However, it can be cost prohibitive for NFPs, especially for migrating legacy Windows Server and SQL Server workloads.

Microsoft Azure on the other hand is a popular choice in the IT community with most IT pros and developers familiar with using a great deal of Microsoft solutions, from productivity and business apps down to cloud and infrastructure.

Contact us for more detailed information on which makes more sense for your NFP business. Book your free 1-hour consultation here.

  What's the difference between working with Professional Advantage and going directly to Microsoft?

As a Microsoft Tier 1 CSP, we manage your billing, technical support, and licensing directly, so you get faster support without needing to navigate Microsoft's channels yourself. We also bring 30+ years of not-for-profit specific experience to the setup itself.

  Is there special Azure pricing for not-for-profits?

There is no discounted NFP pricing on Azure services themselves, but eligible not-for-profits can access a $2,000 (USD) Azure grant from Microsoft, renewable each year. 

Professional Advantage also offers reduced consulting rates for qualified not-for-profits.

  How long does an Azure migration take?

It depends on the size and complexity of your current environment, but our Cloud Migration Readiness Workshop gives you a clear roadmap and realistic timeline before you commit to anything.

  Do we need an in-house IT team to move to Azure?

No. Many of the not-for-profits we work with have small IT teams or none at all. Our managed services are built to fill that gap, from initial migration through to ongoing support.