Special nonprofit use cases

Microsoft recognizes that not all nonprofit organizations look the same. Many institutions might not fit traditional nonprofit molds but still deliver vital community services. These institutions include museums, libraries, United States healthcare clinics, and cultural organizations. They often face barriers to accessing technology grants and discounts due to regional legal definitions or unfamiliarity with eligibility criteria.

Microsoft supports diverse social impact organizations. This article describes how these special entities and other types of organizations can be eligible for nonprofit programs.

Social impact entities

Organizations such as museums, libraries, and select healthcare organizations might be eligible for Microsoft nonprofit offers if they're registered as not-for-profit entities with a clear social mission. In these cases:

• Museums must be open to the public, operate on a nonprofit basis, and support cultural preservation, education, or aesthetic enrichment.
• Libraries are often considered eligible if they're nonprofit or government-funded and provide free public access to information and services.
• United States healthcare organizations, specifically:
  • Independent Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs). Independent hospitals are those not in a health system, which Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servies (CMS) typically defines as a group of affiliated hospitals and providers under common ownership or management.
  • Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-designated Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and HRSA-certified FQHC Look-Alikes
  • CMS-certified nonprofit Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), whose primary focus is short-term medical care and rehabilitation, and
  • Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities, whose primary focus is long-term custodial care

In each case, eligibility depends on local legal recognition and the documentation submitted during registration.

What to know

• Documentation and mission clarity are critical. Ensure that your public-facing website and mission statement reflect your nonprofit and social-good goals.
• Not all institutions qualify under Microsoft's core philanthropic guidelines. If you're unsure, use the eligibility pre-check tool or contact us.

CSP and EA partners as nonprofit customers

Microsoft nonprofit offers are primarily available to qualified nonprofit organizations. However, partners who manage technology on behalf of nonprofits, such as Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) and Enterprise Agreement (EA) customers, often ask whether they're eligible for nonprofit licensing.

CSPs

Cloud Solution Providers themselves are not eligible to receive nonprofit grants or discounts, unless:

• The CSP is also a registered nonprofit with a verified mission for social impact.
• The CSP is acting on behalf of an eligible nonprofit customer and is managing licenses or tenants as a delegated administrator (but not claiming benefits itself).

CSPs can't provision or resell Microsoft nonprofit licenses to ineligible organizations. Also, Microsoft nonprofit licenses can't be used across multiple unrelated tenants. To connect with a partner visit Nonprofit Partners

EA customers

Enterprise Agreements are available to nonprofit organizations that qualify and require large-scale volume licensing. Nonprofits that have an EA must still go through the validation process to be eligible for discounted nonprofit pricing under their EA structure. Benefits such as Azure Sponsorship must be managed separately through the Microsoft Nonprofit Hub.

Summary

• CSPs can administer but not own nonprofit licenses, unless they're independently eligible.
• EA customers must validate nonprofit status to apply pricing benefits.
• Reselling or sharing nonprofit entitlements is not permitted.

To learn more about working with a Microsoft partner or to get partner-specific support, go to Partner Center.

GoDaddy support for nonprofits: Managing domains and tenant access

Many nonprofit organizations use GoDaddy as their domain registrar. Although GoDaddy-managed domains are generally straightforward, they can sometimes cause complications in accessing Microsoft 365 or registering for Microsoft for Nonprofits offers. These complications are especially likely when the domain is tied to a tenant created through GoDaddy's hosted Microsoft services.

Common problems and solutions

The following sections provide guidance for resolving domain-related challenges with GoDaddy.

Redirected login or blocked admin access

If you receive Microsoft nonprofit approval but are redirected to GoDaddy's website instead of the Microsoft 365 admin center:

• Your domain is likely tied to a GoDaddy-provisioned Microsoft 365 tenant.
• This connection overrides direct Microsoft sign-in access and prevents access to your nonprofit offers.

What to do:

• Contact GoDaddy support and request that they release your custom domain from the Microsoft 365 tenant.
• Releasing the domain might temporarily disrupt email services. Confirm the impact with GoDaddy before you proceed.
• After your custom domain is released, sign in by using the default Microsoft admin account: admin@NETORG123456789.onmicrosoft.com. (Replace the ID in this example with your actual tenant ID.)
• If the password is unknown, use Forgot my password to reset it.

If recovery fails, contact Microsoft nonprofit support.

Domain already in use during registration

If you get an error that your domain is already in use, it might be tied to an existing Microsoft 365 tenant.

What to do:

• Contact Microsoft nonprofit support to confirm the domain status.
• You might need to recover access to the original tenant or work with GoDaddy to release the domain.

Phone or email verification problems

Problems with phone on email verification can arise during initial registration if:

• You use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or forwarding numbers, which are not supported.
• You missed or filtered a verification code.

What to do:

• Use a non-VoIP mobile number.
• Check junk folders for the email code.
• Resend the code if necessary.

Recovering Microsoft 365 access after GoDaddy domain release

After your domain is removed:

• You can no longer use your @yourorg.org sign-in.
• Use the default NETORG admin email to sign in and reset the password if necessary.
• Redo adding your custom domain by using this guide: Add a domain to Microsoft 365.

Additional recommendations

• Assign a clear domain administrator to oversee Microsoft registration and access.
• Keep domain and Domain Name System (DNS) records up to date.
• If your nonprofit domain becomes inaccessible, never create a new tenant as a workaround. This workaround can cause conflicts and disqualify your organization from benefits.
• Contact GoDaddy for help with managing DNS or domain transfer requests.

When to contact Microsoft vs. GoDaddy

Still need help?

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