Charity Pricing = Big Discounts!

I've gotten several questions about charity pricing lately so figured it's time to revive/update this post ...

Link to Microsoft's charity pricing list ... it gives all the SKU's and retail prices open to us non-profit orgs.  If you're not already taking advantage of charity pricing you should be slapped...or at least firmly nudged.  We're talking big discounts here!  Here are a few retail prices for popular products...

Windows Server 2003 Standard R2 = $135
Windows Server Client License = $4
Exchange 2003 Standard = $214
Exchange Client License = $4
Small Business Server 2003 = $223 with 5 client licenses
Office2003 Pro = $67
Windows XP Pro (upgrade) = $72

Say what you want about Microsoft ... I really applaud them for making access to industry standard technology affordable for us non-profits.  Sure you could get free open source stuff ... but at these prices it's a very very ... very hard sell.

Also of note is that earlier this year Adobe finally started offering non-profit discounts.  Adobe CS2 Premium = $399 (plus $35 for media kit) or how about just Photoshop for only $169 (plus $35 media kit).  That's a steal considering Photoshop sells for $650 at Best Buy!

Now, do note that I've always been able to get pricing a bit lower than what you see listed above ... those are the suggested retail prices ... don't be afraid to put some leverage on your vendor to get the best deals you can. 

* CDW has thus far been my preferred vendor for Microsoft Licensing.
* I've not used them, but others have reported good things from Insight.com
* Another popular place to purchase charity/non-profit software and hardware is Consistent Computer Bargains .  We've bought a few Adobe products from them recently. 
* If you're a United Methodist Organization give TechShop a look. 
* TechSoup.org has dirt cheap prices for non-profits, but often churches can't take advantage of certain software bundles because of stipulations in the fine print like this:

Not eligible: Organizations, such as churches, houses of worship, and seminaries, whose primary mission is religious, except those (such as a food bank) that have a secular designation (501(c)(3) status separate from the religious organization) that provides social services to people regardless of their religious beliefs and does not propagate a belief in a specific faith

If you have other places you recommend for purchasing non-profit software leave a comment and I'll include them in this list.

PS ... our Mac guys say they get most of their gear through the Willow Creek Association.

Comments

[Donnie]

Time to upgrade the software on all the computers at my church! Why have I never heard about this before? Thanks for the info.

[Kevin]

Softchoice (www.softchoice.com) has been more helpful to me than CDW was.

[Young Pae]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the info.

But do you think that standard church is qualified for this pricing?

I heard that all non-profit orgs 501(c)3 except churches and schools are qualified for the special pricing...

Maybe I am confused between 100% free deal vs. big discount?

http://www.techsoup.org/stock/Category.asp?catalog_name=TechSoupMain&category_name=Microsoft&Page=1&cg=gsem&sg=camsgeneral

[Derek Schwab]

Young, all 501(c)3's, including churches qualify for the Microsoft Open Charity program. The free software thing is a totally separate program.

What's really cool is the provisions for virtualization. If you purchase Windows Server Datacenter Edition, which runs about $380 per CPU with the non-profit discount, you are allowed to run unlimited virtual copies of Windows Server on the CPU's you've licensed.