Microsoft Donation and Discount Program Changes - answers to common questions

What are the changes in a nutshell?

Microsoft is taking some premium on-premise products from the donation program and putting them in a new discount program.

The changes apply to products such as:

• Microsoft Office Professional Plus
• System Centre
• Windows Remote Desktop CALs
• Windows Server Datacenter
• Skype for Business and more.

These products will still be available, but as discounted products, instead of donated products.

When will these products be available?

These products are now available! Click here to go to the landing page.

Will the eligibility requirements change?

No. All the same eligibility requirements apply - so if you are already qualified for Microsoft, you will be able to purchase products from the new discounted product range.

Do I need to do anything to access the new discounted products?

YES. If you haven't already, you will need to sign up to the Nonprofit Portal at www.microsoft.com/nonprofits and get validated. Once validated, you will need to send us your eligibility certificate through the Microsoft portal.

This sounds complicated, but it's not! The Microsoft portal is set up to make it simple.

In fact, if you've already registered for O365, half the job is done already. You just need to log into the portal and send us your eligibility certificate.

More detailed instructions can be found here.

What is the eligibility certificate?

It's just an email that Microsoft sends us confirming we are allowed to give you access to their discounted products. You don't need to print a physical certificate, and you don't need to download it and email it to us yourself.

How do I send you the eligibility certificate?

If you haven't already, go to www.microsoft.com/nonprofits and sign up for the Nonprofit Portal. Once you've got your access:

1. Login to the Nonprofit Portal
2. Go to "On-Premises Software Licenses" heading, under the "Software Discounts"
3. click "Send to Partner"
4. Review your organisation's information and make sure it's correct, then click "Next".
5. Enter the Reseller Contact Name - Connecting Up - and Reseller Email - customercare@connectingup.org
6. The next page shows the email to send to us. This email is your certificate. You will notice that you will be copied in on the email - when it arrives, keep this for your records.
7. Click "Send to Reseller".

That's it! You will see a confirmation that the email has been sent to us. Once we've received and recorded the email on our end, you will have access to the Microsoft discount program.

More detailed instructions can be found here.

I have more questions. Who can I contact?

Don't hesitate to contact our Customer Support team by phone or email if you have further questions.