Microsoft has opened up their donation program to religious organisations that previously were not eligible.
Ben Teoh commented on the news via the Connecting Up blog: "While discounted pricing via Microsoft’s Charity Licensing scheme has been available to religious organisations, their donations program has only been available to church activity deemed non-religious in nature such as community services, op-shops and vacation care programs."
This is great news for these religious organisations. They can now access the technology they need to maximise their impact on social issues that they are involved with.
Here's what Anne Gawen, CEO of Connecting Up, had to say about the announcement: “Now that Microsoft donations are available to religious organisations, there is greater opportunity to reduce IT costs, increase efficiencies and most importantly, direct funds out of IT and back into the community"
Microsoft will make over 250 of their products available for donation through their global partner TechSoup, and has started distribution in Australia via Connecting Up.
Religious organisations will now have access to software donations like SharePoint, Lync, Office 365 and much more, for 4-10 percent of the retail cost.
“This once-off administration fee provides Australian religious organisations with access to enterprise-level technology. There is incredible potential for collaboration and joint-efforts between similar communities, with increased opportunity to extend their reach in helping those in need” - Managing Director of R & G Technologies, Gordon Tan.
Previously, religious organisations were not eligible for Microsoft donations unless they had a non-religious primary mission. Only organisations with a primary mission to provide non-religious services to people, regardless of their beliefs, and which did not propagate belief in a specific faith, qualified for donation.
Microsoft’s decision to open up eligibility of their donations means places of worship, missionaries and faith-based camps, which previously relied on Microsoft’s Charity Licensing scheme, will now have access to the same benefits as not-for-profits.
Local congregations and church offices across Australia will now be able to purchase the Microsoft products required for efficient day-to-day operations, at a significantly lower cost. For example, Windows 8 Upgrade will only put organisations out of pocket $13, including Software Assurance.
Connecting Up has already delivered $200 million worth of donations to 11,000 non-profits, through their partnerships with Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec and Cisco. Religious organisations wanting to apply for donations can order through Connecting Up’s website.
Charities must sign up with Connecting Up, and then register with the donations and discounts program. Once eligibility has been established, it’s a simple matter of placing an order and following the prompts.
Faith-based organisations who receive software donations will not only reduce IT costs, they’ll have enhanced capacity to address social and economic issues, as well as effective collaboration with other organisations possessing related values and goals.
Are you looking for the full range of software donations? Click here to visit Connecting Up.
For religious organisations looking for cloud-based technology, Microsoft’s Office 365 Enterprise E1 for Nonprofits is also now available for faith-based organisations with recognised charitable status. This online service provides access to Office applications, online storage, email and more. The productivity suite helps streamline internal inefficiencies, facilitates collaboration and is ideal for a mobile workforce.
Related: Sign up directly at the Office 365 website
Need help taking advantage of this announcement? Contact R & G Technologies.