For registered Canadian nonprofits & charities
Free Microsoft 365 for your nonprofit.
Registered charities qualify for up to 300 free Microsoft 365 Business Basic licences — and up to 75% off Business Standard and Premium. DVG Systems handles eligibility, migration and ongoing support, all from a local Thunder Bay team.
Who qualifies?
Microsoft validates nonprofit eligibility through TechSoup Canada. You likely qualify if you check all of the below.
Registered Canadian charity
Your organization holds a valid CRA charitable registration number (9 digits + RR + 4 digits, e.g. 123456789RR0001).
Mission-based, non-commercial
Your work is charitable, educational, cultural, scientific or advances another recognized public benefit — not a commercial venture.
Non-discriminatory
Services are provided without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, religion or sexual orientation.
Under 300 staff users
The free Business Basic grant covers up to 300 user licences per organization. Larger nonprofits can still benefit — talk to us.
What plan fits your nonprofit
Business Basic stays free for eligible organizations. Standard and Premium are up to 75% off through Microsoft's nonprofit program.
Most nonprofits start here
Business Basic
Free for eligible nonprofits
- Exchange Online email at your domain
- Microsoft Teams — meetings, chat, calls
- OneDrive — 1 TB per user
- SharePoint — shared document libraries
- Web & mobile Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Up to 300 user licences
Best for: organizations whose staff work mainly in a browser, don't need installed desktop apps, and are comfortable with the standard Microsoft security baseline.
Need desktop Office
Business Standard
Up to 75% off commercial
- Everything in Business Basic
- Desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
- Publisher & Access (Windows only)
- Installed on up to 5 PCs per user
Best for: staff who draft proposals, grants or financial reports offline, or who need Outlook's full functionality.
Security-sensitive work
Business Premium
Up to 75% off commercial
- Everything in Business Standard
- Microsoft Intune device management
- Defender for Business endpoint protection
- Conditional Access & advanced threat protection
- Information Protection labelling
Best for: nonprofits handling client case data, donor financial records, health or legal information, or fundraising at scale.
Plan features and discounts are set by Microsoft and can change. We quote the final CAD pricing after confirming your eligibility.
What we handle for you
Microsoft's grant program is real, but the application, tenant setup and migration aren't trivial. Most small nonprofits don't have a dedicated IT person — so we do the whole thing end-to-end.
- Eligibility verification — we confirm qualification with TechSoup Canada before you commit time
- Tenant provisioning — set up your new Microsoft 365 environment at yourdomain.ca
- Email migration — move inboxes from your current provider (Google Workspace, cPanel, Bell, etc.) with no lost messages
- Security baseline — multi-factor authentication, conditional access, secure defaults
- Staff training — short working sessions for Teams, Outlook, OneDrive
- Ongoing support — via our managed IT services if you want us as your continuing IT partner
Example: Small Thunder Bay nonprofit, 12 staff
Moving from Gmail + free Zoom + personal OneDrive to a unified Microsoft 365 Business Basic tenant. DVG Systems quotes a fixed one-time migration fee, you pay $0 to Microsoft going forward.
- Eligibility confirmed in 2 business days
- Tenant live with email in week 1
- Teams and OneDrive training in week 2
- Handed off to your team, or kept under managed IT
Real timelines vary by current setup. We quote precisely before starting.
Check your nonprofit's eligibility
A few details and we'll confirm whether you qualify and what plan makes sense. We'll email you within one business day — no sales call unless you ask for one.
Nonprofit IT: common questions
Who qualifies for Microsoft's nonprofit program?
Registered Canadian charities and qualifying nonprofit organizations with a valid CRA Business Number (BN). Microsoft validates eligibility through TechSoup Canada. Religious organizations, political parties, schools operated by for-profit entities, and certain healthcare operators are generally excluded — we'll check your specific situation before you commit.
What is actually free in 2026?
Microsoft 365 Business Basic — up to 300 user licences at no cost. That includes email (Exchange Online), Teams, OneDrive (1 TB per user), SharePoint, and the web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
What changed in July 2025?
On July 1, 2025, Microsoft retired the free grants for Business Premium and Office 365 E1. Nonprofits still receive up to 75% off those plans, but they are no longer free. Business Basic stayed free. See our blog post for full context.
I need desktop Word, Excel and Outlook — what do I do?
Business Basic only includes web/mobile Office apps. If your staff needs the installed desktop versions, you'll want Business Standard (or Business Premium for added security). Both are available at up to 75% off for eligible nonprofits.
How long does the migration take?
A typical 10–30 user nonprofit moves to Microsoft 365 in 1–2 weeks: eligibility confirmed, tenant provisioned, email migrated from your current provider, staff trained, security policies applied. No lost messages, no gap in email delivery.
Do you charge for the migration?
We quote a fixed fee based on your staff count and existing environment. Most small Northern Ontario nonprofits pay less in one-time migration cost than they were spending in a year of their previous email provider. We'll give you the number before you commit to anything.
What do we pay after migration?
If you stay on the free Business Basic plan, you pay $0 to Microsoft. Our managed IT support is separate: a C$500 monthly base fee plus one bundle for each supported user, from C$30.64 per user per month. That covers patching, security monitoring, helpdesk, and strategic guidance. Prices exclude 13% HST. Many nonprofits skip this and manage themselves; others want peace of mind.
Don't see your question? Ask us directly — response within one business day.
Real engagement
Thirty-four paid licences belonged to people who had already left
recurring spend recovered with no service change — anonymised, with no invented figures.
See all case studies →