Quantity and Frequency of Microsoft Requests
Microsoft provides nonprofits, charities, and libraries with an allotment of product donations that can be requested per two-year cycle. Your organisation's first donation request after July 27, 2011, marks the beginning of its recurring two-year cycle. Within a two-year cycle, each eligible nonprofit or public library may request
- Up to 50 of each desktop or licence-only product
- Up to 25 of each server product that uses core-based licensing
- Up to five server products that do not use core-based licensing; the five products can be the same product or a combination of different products
There is no limit to the number of times an organisation can make a Microsoft donation request within the two-year cycle as long as they have not used up their full allotment. After two years, a new cycle begins, and the allotment is reset.
About the 50-Product Maximum for Desktop and Licence-Only Products
This limit applies to
- Products that run on an individual computer (such as Office or Windows)
- Client access licences (CALs), management licences (MLs), and other licences that provide for connection to or management of a server application
The 50-product allotment usually allows an organisation to install a particular type of product on up to 50 computers. However, organisations that run multiple Windows operating systems on a single computer generally can install only as many instances of the product as they have licences. For more information, see the Product Use Rights section of Licensing Details for Microsoft Products.
About the 25-Product Maximum for Server Products That Use Core-Based Licensing
This limit applies to server products that use core-based licensing, such as Windows Server Standard.
About the Maximum Allotment of Server Products That Do Not Use Core-Based Licensing
An organisation can request a maximum of five donated server products that do not use core-based licensing altogether within a two-year period. These five server products can all be the same product, or they can be any combination of different server products.
For example, an organisation may request donations of one Windows Server Essentials product, two Exchange Server Standard products, and two SQL Server (Server/CAL) products during its two-year cycle. If the organisation needs additional server products that do not use core-based licensing, it can place a request for any number of discounted products.
Some servers require MLs or CALs in order to work with their network of computers. CALs are separate items and have a 50-product maximum.
About the Two-Year Cycle
Your organisation's Microsoft two-year donation cycle begins when your organisation places its first request for Microsoft product donations. If your organisation requested any Microsoft donations prior to July 27, 2011, its cycle was reset, and its new cycle began on the date of its first Microsoft donation request after July 27, 2011.
Your organisation's cycle will run for two years from this initial start date. It will then be immediately reset and run for another two years, and so on. For example, if an organisation's first cycle starts on October 12, 2017, its new cycle will begin at 12:00 a.m. Pacific time on October 12, 2019, at which point the organisation has a new allotment.