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Running a small charity, school, or educational organisation means doing more with less budget. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace can help, but both companies offer special programmes for nonprofits and schools that many organisations do not know about. If you qualify, you can get these tools heavily discounted or free.
Microsoft 365 for UK nonprofits
Microsoft offers significant discounts to registered charities. If your organisation is registered with the UK Charity Commission, OSCR (in Scotland), or CCNI (in Northern Ireland), and you have a documented non-discrimination policy, you qualify for Microsoft’s nonprofit program.
What you get:
Small charities can receive Microsoft 365 Business Basic completely free for up to 300 users. If you need the full suite including advanced features, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is available to eligible nonprofits at a heavily discounted rate compared with standard commercial pricing (Microsoft’s own published nonprofit pricing is quoted in dollars, not sterling; ask a Microsoft partner or reseller for the current price in pounds). Larger nonprofits can access enterprise-level plans at a discount too, with the exact percentage depending on the plan and licence type.
Included in your licence:
- Email and calendar (Outlook)
- Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on desktop, web, and mobile
- Cloud storage (OneDrive) with 1 TB per user
- Team collaboration (Microsoft Teams)
- Meetings and video calling
- SharePoint for document management
You also get access to Copilot (Microsoft’s AI assistant) at reduced cost, which can help teams draft documents, analyse data, and automate routine tasks.
How to apply:
Go to the Microsoft Nonprofits page and fill in an eligibility form. Microsoft will verify your charity status against the appropriate regulator. You will need a verified .org email address (not a shared Gmail account). Once approved, you can add your users and manage licences through the Microsoft admin portal.
Google Workspace for schools and educational nonprofits
Google offers Google Workspace for Education free to accredited schools, colleges, and universities globally. This includes public, private, and independent schools that are government-recognised and accredited. To qualify, the school must be:
- A K–12 (primary and secondary) school or degree-granting institution
- Accredited by an official education body (such as Ofsted in England)
- Actively delivering instruction to students
What you get free:
- Email accounts for all staff and students
- Google Drive, with cloud storage pooled and shared across the whole organisation rather than allocated per person
- Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
- Google Classroom for lesson management
- Video calling with Google Meet
- Calendar and task management
- Mobile apps for all platforms
- No advertising
This is a full productivity suite and can replace Microsoft 365 entirely for educational use.
How to apply:
Visit Google for Education and fill in a verification form. Google will verify your school’s accreditation status with education authorities. Once approved, you can set up email for all students and staff.
Google for nonprofits (non-schools)
If your organisation is a nonprofit but not an educational institution, Google offers a different program: Google for Nonprofits. This is free for eligible nonprofits and includes:
- Gmail accounts and business email
- Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides
- Google Workspace Essentials (free tier)
- YouTube Video Creation Suite
- Priority support
To qualify, your nonprofit must be registered with your local tax authority (Charity Commission in England/Wales, OSCR in Scotland) and meet Google’s requirements. The eligibility process is simpler than educational institutions but still requires verification.
Comparison: Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace
Microsoft 365 for nonprofits:
- Better for organisations already using Microsoft tools or Windows-heavy environments
- Teams is powerful for document collaboration and project management
- Includes desktop versions of Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Better offline capability
- Nonprofit pricing: free for small charities (Business Basic, up to 300 users), discounted per-user pricing for larger organisations wanting the full suite
Google Workspace for education (free):
- Better for organisations with limited budgets
- Simpler interface, easier to learn
- Google Classroom is excellent for teaching and assignment management
- Better automatic email management
- All schools share a large pooled storage allowance rather than paying per user
- No per-user cost
For schools, Google Workspace for Education is often the best choice because it is completely free. For nonprofits with more complex administrative needs, Microsoft 365 offers more advanced tools.
Getting help
Both Microsoft and Google have nonprofit support teams and offer training for staff. Many universities and charitable organisations in Sussex run free training sessions for small nonprofits and schools using these tools. Your local library may also run workshops.
Key points
- UK charities can get Microsoft 365 Business Basic free for up to 300 users, or premium plans at a discount on standard pricing
- Accredited schools get Google Workspace for Education free, including email, a shared organisation-wide storage pool, and classroom tools
- Nonprofits (non-schools) can get Google for Nonprofits free if registered with the Charity Commission
- Both programmes require verification of your charity or school status before access is granted
- Google Workspace is better for schools with limited budget; Microsoft 365 is better for administrative complexity
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