Are you involved with, or running a non-profit organization?   If so, there could be huge benefits that you’re missing out on!  I’ve helped a few non-profits take advantage of a variety of schemes which have saved them a lot of money.

Take the Google AdWords advertising platform as an example.   Google offer non-profits up to $10,000 of free advertising!

So, who’s eligible and how do you find out what offers are available?   There’s a website called TechSoup which is a great starting point.   www.techsoupcanada.ca.   It’s an unusual name, but it’s a valid site, and most tech companies work with it to provide their products/services to non-profits at a huge discount.

You’ll first have to register with TechSoup and prove that you’re eligible.   For example, in New Brunswick, you have to provide a Letters Patent, and in Nova Scotia you have to provide a Certificate of Incorporation.   TechSoup will verify your application so it’s important to provide answers to all of their questions as accurately as possible.   This process should take around 7-10 business days.

The eligibility criteria are:

  • Canadian charities must be registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
  • Canadian non-profits must be registered with their provinces or territories, or federally with Industry Canada
  • Canadian public libraries listed in the national database
  • All organizations need to submit proper documentation (business registration documentation for non-profits; written proof of charitable status from Canada Revenue Agency) to verify their non-profit or charitable status. See How to Register for more details.

Once accepted by TechSoup, you can browse through the list of donation partners associated with the site.   Microsoft, Google, Adobe, Cisco and many more all offer discounted software and hardware through the program.

You may need to register with individual partners to access non-profit services.   For example, Google have a dedicated website for Non-profits to sign up with once validated by TechSoup.

So, what discounts can you expect?

Well, take Microsoft Office as an example.   To buy a copy of Microsoft Office 2019 Standard would normally cost $551.99 per computer!   If you’re registered through TechSoup, you can purchase a copy for a $54 admin fee!   Quite the saving!

Or how about AutoCAD – the professional Computer Aided Design package from AutoDesk?   The architect version is $2100 per year normally!   Through TechSoup, you can get this for $345!

As you can see, there are huge savings to be had!

You can browse the full selection here:

https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/directory

And to register your organization visit the following link:

https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/user/register

Since 2003, over 41,000 non-profits have saved over $362 million on software and hardware through TechSoup.   Maybe it’s time for you to take a look and see if you can benefit too!