Nonprofits
How nonprofits use Microsoft technology: discounted Microsoft 365 and Azure grants, unified reporting in Fabric, low-code apps, Copilot for small teams, and the 2027 support change for Microsoft's nonprofit solutions.
The problem
Nonprofits often run on manual reporting. At Make-A-Wish America, chapters lacked a reliable current view of fundraising, engagement and wish-granting pipelines, and staff spent hours reconciling figures that did not match.
Small IT teams maintain fragile custom apps. Make-A-Wish tracked donated airline miles and hotel points in a custom .NET application that only developers could change.
Many hold sensitive data about the people they serve, such as medical diagnoses, which needs stronger protection than typical office files.1
The approach
Microsoft for Nonprofits connects Power Platform, Microsoft 365 and Azure with a Common Data Model for Nonprofits. It includes Power Apps templates for fundraising, grant management, volunteer management and outcome management, Power BI dashboards, an Azure landing zone and nonprofit data solutions in Microsoft Fabric. Microsoft is moving select nonprofit solutions to an open-source, partner-led model: from 1 February 2027 it will no longer provide product engineering support for the affected solutions, which keep working but will not get guaranteed updates. Separately, Microsoft lists discounts for eligible nonprofits, including 75 percent off Microsoft 365 Business Premium and 15 percent off Microsoft 365 Copilot, plus a 2,000 dollar annual Azure grant (checked 26 October 2026).
Make-A-Wish, with partner Redapt, unified data on Azure and Fabric with Power BI dashboards for each chapter, rebuilt its donations app on Power Apps and Power Automate so non-technical staff can change it, added a Copilot Studio bot for IT self-service that roughly two-thirds of staff use in a given week, used Azure Machine Learning to spot supporters likely to give more, and rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot to the national office and chapters.
Many small nonprofits need only the discounted Microsoft 365 suite and a donor CRM from a specialist vendor. Fabric and custom AI fit organizations with several chapters or programs whose data must be reconciled.123
Conceptual architecture
Diagram as a list
Copilot & business apps
- Chapter and program dashboards (Power BI)Shared view of pipelines, revenue and budgets
- Staff in Microsoft 365 CopilotDrafting, meeting notes and follow-ups
Agents & automation
- Self-service help bot (Copilot Studio)Answers staff questions from approved knowledge
Data & analytics
- Donor, volunteer, grant and program systemsWhere supporter and program records liveConnects to Unified reporting data in Microsoft Fabric
- Unified reporting data in Microsoft FabricOne source of truth for fundraising and impactConnects to Chapter and program dashboards (Power BI)
Developer tools
- Low-code apps and flows (Power Apps, Power Automate)Replace fragile custom appsConnects to Unified reporting data in Microsoft Fabric
Security, identity & governance
- Protection for sensitive beneficiary data (Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Purview)Security and governance for family and medical dataConnects to Unified reporting data in Microsoft Fabric
Technologies and their roles
Microsoft Fabric1
Single source of truth
Make-A-Wish uses Fabric as a unified data platform for insights and planning.
Power BI1
Chapter reporting
Make-A-Wish gives each chapter Power BI dashboards that track wish status, revenue and budgets.
Microsoft Power Platform1
Low-code apps
Make-A-Wish rebuilt its Wish Bank donations app on Power Apps and Power Automate.
Microsoft Copilot Studio1
Self-service bot
Make-A-Wish's Wish Helper bot, built in Copilot Studio, handles IT self-service.
Microsoft Industry Solutions and Dynamics 365 Sustainability2
Microsoft for Nonprofits
The industry solution with nonprofit templates, data model and Fabric data solutions, now moving partly to an open-source, partner-led model.
What you need first3
- Registration and confirmed eligibility for Microsoft nonprofit offers
- A named data owner for donor and program data
- An implementation partner or in-house capacity for Fabric and Power Platform
- An inventory of sensitive beneficiary data and who can reach it
- A plan for any Microsoft nonprofit solution affected by the February 2027 support change
Risks and how to reduce them
- Support ending for Microsoft-managed nonprofit solutions2
- From 1 February 2027 Microsoft will no longer provide engineering support for affected solutions; review the guidance for each one and choose open-source assets, a partner or an alternative.
- Exposure of sensitive beneficiary data1
- Apply security and governance tooling before staff use Copilot, as Make-A-Wish did with Defender for Cloud and Purview.
- Thin evidence of results1
- Make-A-Wish's only published figure is weekly use of its help bot; set your own measures for reporting time and fundraising.
- Discount and grant terms can change3
- Offers depend on eligibility and were checked on 26 October 2026; confirm current terms before budgeting.
Documented examples
Make-A-Wish America (national office and chapters)
In productionMake-A-Wish America: unified data, Copilot and an IT help bot
roughly two-thirds of staff (measured)
Nonprofit, United States
Related
Sources
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