In the current times there are a lot of ways in which nonprofit organizations can prove to be helpful when it comes to providing people services, making the community learn and grow. One of the most important aspects is that technology has been improving in leaps and bounds, and so have various software related to various aspects, especially for managing non-profit organizations.
Microsoft is one of the companies that offer a lot of for nonprofit organizations software at a minimum cost. It will help nonprofits to stay or even become better.
Being a nonprofit organization, your budget is always tight. But to further keep it in check, you try to find cheaper alternatives for the same thing, instead of purchasing the more expensive one. In this case, Microsoft offers to nonprofit organizations a wide array or office software that won’t cost them or their donors a lot of money. This post will discuss five of them: Microsoft Office 365 for Nonprofit Organizations , Microsoft Outlook Software for Nonprofit Organizations , SharePoint Online Software for Nonprofit Organizations , Microsoft Publisher Software for Nonprofit Organizations , and Microsoft Visio Software for Nonprofit Organization .
Microsoft 365
The technology world is shifting toward cloud-based applications and services. With that in mind, we recommend that NGOs, if possible, begin to shift to cloud solutions.
We strongly suggest that NGOs opt for the Microsoft 365 Business Premium cloud solution, which gives you the best of Office 2019 and Windows 10, plus much more. Best of all? Your first 10 licenses are free.
You can increase collaboration at your organization with Teams and benefit from online storage and document sharing capabilities provided by tools like OneDrive and SharePoint. Cloud-based email with Outlook is a major plus for a remote workforce, and licenses also include work management tools of Power Apps, Power Automate, Planner, and To Do.
The Microsoft 365 Business Premium plans come with upgrade rights to Windows 10 and the latest Office applications, and you receive updates for as long as you subscribe. Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes both cloud and desktop versions of Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Microsoft offers many cloud licenses to suit your needs.
Microsoft Office 365 Nonprofit allows you to have the full capabilities and secure environment of installed software along with the collaborative, anywhere, anytime availability of the cloud. If you have some questions about going completely online, especially if you’re working with sensitive information, read on.
Benefits of Office 365
Office 365 frees up IT staff time by making email maintenance, software upgrades, and insecure information storage a thing of the past. It also deepens the word processing, data analysis, communication, and productivity features of the traditional Office suite with which your staff is already familiar.
Here are some of its key benefits:
Hosted email. With Microsoft Exchange Online, you no longer need to manage an in-house Exchange server or set up a VPN or remote access to your office. You can access your email, shared calendars, and contacts from your PC, Mac, smartphone, or tablet. Office 365 provides each user with 25GB of mailbox storage and supports attachments of up to 25MB.
Security and privacy. Along with built-in spam and malware protection for your email, your data will be protected in the cloud. If your organization deals with sensitive information, be assured that Office 365 is compliant with industry standards such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and FISMA (The Federal Information Security Management Act). Your IT staff can manage and customize your organization’s security options in a single console (a Web-based admin center).
Office Web Apps. You’re on your way home from the office and realize that you forgot to update an important document. What do you do? With Office Web Apps, you can open, view, and edit documents right from your browser (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, or Safari) on your home computer or mobile device. Your staff can use Office 365 on up to five of their own devices, giving them the flexibility to work wherever and whenever they need to.
Document sharing. Easily share documents with your colleagues with SharePoint Online, Microsoft’s cloud-based file-sharing tool. You can even edit documents simultaneously with others, saving you the time and confusion of emailing documents back and forth.
Web and voice conferencing. Microsoft Skype for Business is an all-in-one tool for video calls, Web conferencing, instant messaging, and voice calls. With high-definition (HD) video conferencing, you can meet and collaborate with out-of-office staff and volunteers. Skype for Business also includes a real-time note-taking feature so you can keep track of ideas and notes from your meetings.
Social networking. All versions of Office 365 Nonprofit come with Yammer, Microsoft’s internal social network for organizations. Yammer can help you connect, collaborate, and share with volunteers, staff, and stakeholders. For more information, watch this archive of our webinar, Engage Volunteers with Yammer.
Support 24/7. Don’t have on-call IT staff? Office 365 provides 24/7 professional-level support for issues ranging from critical to mild (depending on the plan your organization has).
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook keeps you connected and protected, with your email, calendar and files all in one app. With intelligent email, a task organizer, calendar reminders and contacts, Outlook lets you do more from one powerful inbox. Connect. Organize. Get things done.
Outlook works with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Gmail and Yahoo Mail, giving you the flexibility you need to stay connected on the go. Email friends, family and colleagues and see what matters most first. Focused Inbox that keeps the important messages up on top. Switch between your emails and calendar to schedule your next meeting or share your availability with anyone with just a few taps. Email a document from your Files list or a photo from your Gallery and attach it easily.
Microsoft Outlook provides secure and seamless inbox management that enables you to stay connected, anywhere. Outlook includes Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneDrive integrations to help you manage and send files and connects with Teams, Zoom and other video calling providers without hassle. Task planner tools and full integration mean that you will never miss a deadline again.
Customize email and calendars so you can stay on top of your busy day. Outlook’s calendar organizer has intelligent tools to make your day easier. Listen to what’s new in your inbox, organize schedules and more. Find what you need with Search- it’s only a tap away or you can use your voice and ask for what you need with language you use every day.
MICROSOFT OUTLOOK FEATURES:
Email, Calendar, Contacts & Files – All In One Place
• Email, calendar, contacts and files are all together in one place.
• Calendar and file access right from your inbox.
• Connected experiences with Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint & OneNote.
• Microsoft Office documents are accessible from Outlook, stored locally, or on OneDrive or other cloud storage.
• Create and join your online video calls and meetings with Teams, Zoom, BlueJeans & Webex.
Email & Day Planner Management – Everything Organized
• Know what’s Up Next in your day from your calendar with a glance at your inbox.
• Task planner tools: Never miss a deadline again.
• Automatic inbox management that displays your most important messages first, with swipe gestures and smart filters.
• RSVP to invitations from your inbox & send a personalized comment too.
• Add schedules from Facebook or of your favorite sports & TV shows through Bing calendars.
• Use as an organizer & share calendars to easily coordinate schedules.
• Leverage task organizer tools & stay on top of your workload.
Productivity Solutions – Intelligence Everywhere
• Use your voice to find people, contacts, emails, events & attachments with Search.
• Use suggested replies instead of typing out your message responses to get things done.
• Actions are highlighted for you through @mentions.
• Focused Inbox keeps important emails and conversations front and center.
• Email organizer groups same subject emails and conversations for easier tracking.
• Listen to your emails with Play My Emails in English & catch up hands-free to get time back in your day.
• Calendar automatically updates with travel & delivery information.
Email Management & Spam Protection – Safe & Secure
• Microsoft Outlook protects your information with security you can trust.
• Simple, secure sign-on to authenticate & protect your identity.
• Built-in protection against viruses & spam.
• Advanced protection to keep your messages safe from phishing attacks & other online threats.
• Microsoft security and privacy keeps your email, calendar, contacts & files safe.
Microsoft Outlook is compatible with:
• Microsoft Exchange
• Microsoft 365
• Outlook.com
• Gmail
• Yahoo Mail
Get management for contacts, email, work schedule, files and more with Microsoft Outlook today.
SharePoint For NonProfits
Streamline Your Non-Profit Organization With SharePoint
Many nonprofits find themselves using multiple services to host their documents and manage their email. From Yahoo and Gmail, to Google Drive, Dropbox and personal drives, the result is that it can become difficult to quickly access the information you or your volunteers have created. The SharePoint Online platform—which is available through Office 365—allows you to not only consolidate your email and documents under one umbrella but to also manage your tasks, set up an intranet or website, and so much more. Best of all, Microsoft makes it possible for qualifying nonprofits to use SharePoint for free or at a significant discount, depending on the plan you choose.
SharePoint is a cloud-based system that allows you to work 100% online. As such, you won’t have to make room in your budget to maintain servers, software licensing, or separate IT support. Instead, the plans charge a fixed fee per user basis, which simplifies your budgeting. What you then need to do is to create a custom environment that boosts your team’s ability to collaborate effectively. That is where SharePoint Maven can help.
SharePoint is a highly customizable application, one that is designed to accommodate your changing needs. My affordable SharePoint services are designed to help you make the most of your SharePoint environment. Whether setting up document libraries to allow for easy document sharing, setting up group calendars to track projects, tasks, meetings and events or creating custom workflows that simplify your specific processes, I can show you how SharePoint can become an asset to your organization.
Microsoft Publisher
Create polished, professional layouts without the hassle. Precisely lay out and style text, pictures, borders, calendars, and more. In Publisher everything you add stays exactly the way you’ve designed it, in print, online, or in an email. Easily design unique, specialized materials for any purpose. Create everything from simple greeting cards and labels to professional newsletters and marketing materials using Publisher’s wide range of pre-designed templates. Publish in the way that suits your audience best. Share pixel-perfect printouts, send professional-quality email publications, or export to industry-standard non-editable formats.
What Is Microsoft Publisher Used For?
Microsoft Publisher lets you work as easily as you do in Microsoft Word, but instead of using tools for text, you’ll be using tools for editing page layouts and visual content.
Having said that, you may be wondering, what are the things you can do in Microsoft Publisher?
The answer: almost anything you need to professionally design and publish your material. Some examples include:
- Personalized birthday cards
- Event posters
- Newsletters for small businesses and organizations
- Professional business cards
- Flyers and programs
- Postcards and brochures
Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Editing and customizing that content is where MS Publisher really shines. You can work from scratch, from templates, or from existing content you may already have.
Visio Standard
Visio Standard is software for creating diagrams. Users choose a template, drag shapes to the drawing, connect the shapes, and add text where needed.
This donation provides one license for installing the software on a single device. See a summary of Volume Licensing Product Terms for specific licensing details.
You can choose to download the current version or the previous version of this software. You can find out which version is the current one on the Current Versions of Microsoft Products page. In addition, you can download the software in any language that’s available.
Benefits for Organizations
You can use Visio to create flowcharts, organization charts, office layouts, and more.
Major Capabilities
- Templates: Visio includes templates for
- Charts (organization charts, flowcharts, and marketing charts)
- Project schedules (calendars, timelines, and Gantt charts)
- Maps (directional and geographic)
- Cause-and-effect diagrams
- Block diagrams
- Basic network diagrams
- Basic office layouts
- Themes and styles: You can add sets of colors, fonts, and effects to an entire diagram with a single mouse click. Each theme has several variants. In addition, you can also apply styles to individual shapes to make them stand out.
- Threaded conversations: A commenting pane allows reviewers’ comments to appear in threads.
- Cloud storage: The default location to save diagrams is the user’s OneDrive.
Nonprofit organizations make a difference in the lives of millions of people every year. Nonprofits use technology to help them organize their work within their communities, whether as a fundraising tool, as a way to increase donations and give back to those who need it most, or as a means of educating those in need. Microsoft offers many programs that can help nonprofits achieve their goals through software tools that are perfect for the job.