Your Guide to Microsoft Donations Through TechSoup

The Microsoft Software Donation Program for U.S. nonprofits and public libraries is one of TechSoup.org's most popular resources. Hundreds of organizations request Microsoft product donations every day, but unfortunately, many don't take full advantage of everything the Microsoft donation program has to offer. By understanding Microsoft's donation limits and anticipating your nonprofit's future technology needs, you can be sure to maximize your benefit through the program.

In this article, we'll outline Microsoft's donation restrictions and limits. Next, we'll offer some tips for planning ahead and planning thoroughly so that one annual Microsoft donation can serve your nonprofit's software needs year-round. Finally, we'll help you get more out of your donation by summarizing the rights and privileges that come with Microsoft's Software Assurance program.

Is My Organization Eligible for Microsoft Donations?

Microsoft allows certain types of nonprofits and public libraries to request product donations. For information about what organizations are eligible, see the Microsoft restrictions (the restrictions are also listed at the end of each Microsoft product description).

If you're not sure whether your organization is eligible, you can find out by starting the donation request process. (First, register your organization if you haven't already.) In step 3 of the request process, TechSoup verifies that your organization type is eligible for the donation. If it is not, you'll see a message like one below. You can use this process to determine your eligibility even if you aren't ready to make a donation request.

 

Of course, donations are still contingent on TechSoup Stock customer service qualifying your organization. For more information, see Register and Qualify at Getting Started at TechSoup Stock.

Understanding Microsoft's Donation Limits

If your organization is eligible to receive Microsoft donations, you may request up to six software titles and up to 50 user licenses per title (or one license per server title) in every two-year cycle. You may request these titles and licenses all at one time or split them between two requests, at least twelve months apart.

For our purposes, a "title" refers to any product listed in TechSoup's Microsoft catalog. For example, Exchange Server 2010 Standard Edition and Exchange Server User Client Access License (CAL) - Standard are two titles. If you request Exchange Server 2007 Standard Edition and 50 User CALs, that counts as two of your six titles.

The chart below illustrates the two-year cycle for Microsoft donations. You can make a second Microsoft donation request after at least one year has passed from your first request in a two-year cycle, but the sum of both requests cannot exceed six software titles and up to 50 licenses per title. If you requested your limit at the beginning of the cycle, then you must wait until a new cycle begins two years after your donation. (There are some exceptions for servers and additional licenses of titles you already requested.)

At the end of the two-year cycle, your limits reset. You cannot carry over unused titles or licenses from one cycle to the next, so you should maximize your requests during each two-year period.

Take Full Advantage of Each Microsoft Request

Unless you reach both your title and license limits in your first request of the two-year cycle, you can place a second request starting 12 months after your first. To find out how much you can request, log into your Order Status page and check what Microsoft software you've received. If you're not already logged in, you'll need to enter your username and password.

Your organization may request additional licenses of Microsoft software titles that you already received through TechSoup as part of your previous request within the two-year cycle. However, the total number of licenses requested for this title (between the two requests) may not exceed 50. For example, if you requested all six Microsoft titles but only 20 licenses of each in your first request of the two-year cycle, you can request up to 30 additional licenses of each of those titles one year later.

What is a "Seat"?

Each Microsoft donation request you place at TechSoup needs to have at least five "seats," but what exactly is a seat?

A request meets the five-seat minimum requirement if:

• The total number of Microsoft titles or licenses in the cart is equal to at least five or
• One of the products counts as five seats because it supports multiple devices or users

It's also good to remember that you don't need to request five different Microsoft titles to meet the five-seat minimum. Five licenses of just one title count as five seats.

For server products and licenses, read the product descriptions very carefully to make sure that you're requesting the correct number and type of licenses. For more information, see Making Sense of Software Licensing.

Planning Ahead to Maximize Your Donation

Good things come but once a year and you want to be ready for them — your birthday, New Year's Eve, and your Microsoft anniversary at TechSoup. Before your Microsoft anniversary comes, it's good to plan ahead and plan thoroughly by taking an inventory of your organization's current and future tech needs. If you plan now, then later on, you won't find yourself stuck without the software you need to do your work.

Since you have to wait 12 months after your first Microsoft donation request before you can place a second request, it pays to think about everything your organization will need over the coming year. With thorough planning, you can be sure to take advantage of Microsoft's administration fees (generally, admin fees for Microsoft products are around 4% of retail price) and not lose productivity by not having the right software ready when you need it.

Find Out When Your Microsoft Anniversary Is

To see when you can next place a request for Microsoft software, log into your Order Status page and check when your two-year cycle began. Your anniversary and reset dates are based on your original order date.

Take a Tech Inventory

At the end of this article, you can download a spreadsheet to assist you in a quick inventory of the software your organization has and what you'll need.

To find out if you have all your software bases covered, take a look around at what your organization currently has. In the tech planning spreadsheet, fill in the Current Quantity of Licenses column, listing the number of licenses your organization has for each software program.

Determine Your Needs

The spreadsheet lists important categories of software that many nonprofits need, but feel free to add any special tools that help support your mission. It pays to consider the tasks that people in your organization do most -- email, share documents, crunch numbers, etc. — and visit our Microsoft donation program page to research which tools best meet your needs.

Fill in the Gaps

To make sure there aren't any holes in your planning, consider the number of people in your organization (including new hires, volunteers, or interns expected over the coming year) and fill in the Quantity of Licenses Needed column for each software program listed. Make sure you've checked off at least one product in each category.

Look Ahead

Thinking ahead over the next 12 months, here are some questions to consider as you finish your tech planning:

Will you be updating your Web site?

You might want to add Microsoft Expression Web to your next request.

Will you be adding staff?

Make sure you have enough Client Access Licenses (CALs) to let new staff access your Microsoft server and enough seats for essentials like Microsoft Office.

Are you holding a fundraiser or event?

Consider Publisher 2010 to design collateral and Project Professional 2010 to keep the planning on track.

Will you be buying new computers?

To make sure your existing computers have the same versions of software as the new computers, consider upgrading to Office Professional Plus 2010 and Windows 7 Enterprise Upgrade.

For more information on tech planning and taking an inventory of your tech infrastructure, consult TechSoup's Tech Beginner's Guide.

Taking Full Advantage of Microsoft Software Assurance

Do you put off requesting Microsoft software because you think it will soon become outdated? Are you waiting until you can have the very latest version? Thanks to the Software Assurance program, you can receive complimentary upgrades for two years on most Microsoft software you receive from TechSoup. Software Assurance includes other important benefits too, including online training opportunities and special licenses for using some products at home. Most Microsoft products available through TechSoup include Software Assurance – look for the words "Includes Software Assurance" in the product name.

What Is Software Assurance?

Software Assurance is a service offered by Microsoft that allows you to receive complimentary upgrades on most Microsoft software available through TechSoup (excluding a one-time shipping cost for some products). Any time within two years of your initial request from TechSoup, you can obtain updated versions directly from Microsoft. If you're hesitating to request Microsoft donations out of fear that you'll miss the next version, you may be hurting your nonprofit's impact. Knowing that Software Assurance will cover any upgrades for the next two years, you can place your next request for Microsoft software with confidence.

Using Software Assurance to update directly through Microsoft means that you don't need to request the new version through TechSoup. When you obtain software through Software Assurance, you can save your one Microsoft donation request until later in the year. It also won't count as an additional title toward your limit of six titles per two-year period.

Obtaining Upgrades with Software Assurance

You can only use Software Assurance to obtain upgrades that released within two years of the date you originally requested the software. You can still request free upgrades after your Software Assurance has expired, but you can upgrade only to versions that released before the expiration.

For information on how to request upgrades, see Software Upgrades.

Other Software Assurance Benefits

Request backup CDs or replace missing discs

If you need to reinstall a program but lost the CD or if you forgot to ask for a CD during checkout at TechSoup, using Software Assurance is the only way to request a backup copy.

Upgrade Client Access Licenses along with your servers

Under Microsoft's licensing terms, Client Access Licenses (CALs) must be for a version equal to or earlier than their server software. For instance, without Software Assurance, Windows 2003 Server CALs will be usable with Windows 2000 Server. However, if you upgrade to Windows 2008 Server, you will need Software Assurance to use the CALs.

Software for Home Use

Under the provisions of Software Assurance, any employee who has Microsoft Office 2007 on her work computer can acquire a second copy of Office for use at home, for the cost of media, shipping, and handling. The employee must uninstall office when her employment at your organization ends.

Microsoft E-Learning Courses

Microsoft's desktop and server e-learning courses are available to organizations that have requested Microsoft's desktop or server donations, respectively. You may access desktop courses for only as many computers as you've requested desktop software. The number of users who can access server courses is limited by the number of server licenses you've requested.