Every nonprofit I’ve worked with was paying more than they should for technology. Below are some tools I’ve used firsthand that we ended up getting for free — what each one actually saves you, and the exact steps to get the discount or the free tier, not just the sales pitch.
If you’re just getting started with this process, you’ll want to get accounts set up on two sites — TechSoup and Goodstack — which are often used for validation of your 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. You’ll want your IRS determination letter and EIN on hand.
Slack
TechSoup Free
Slack’s Pro tier removes the primary limitation of the free plan: unlimited message history (instead of a 90-day rolling window). It also removes the cap on connected apps, which creates so many opportunities.
Nonprofits with 250 or fewer members get the Pro plan free; larger organizations get 85% off Pro or Business+. You’ll need an existing Slack workspace, then you’ll apply with your organization’s legal name, location, and tax-exemption documentation. Slack partners with TechSoup to verify status, and approval usually comes back within three business days.
Apply at my.slack.com/nonprofit
Canva
Free In-House
Canva for Nonprofits unlocks the full Canva Pro toolkit — premium templates, Brand Kit, background remover, and the AI design tools — plus team collaboration, for design work you’d otherwise pay for or outsource. It’s completely free for up to 50 team members, with a 50% discount on Canva Enterprise for anything beyond that. Apply through Canva’s nonprofit signup with proof of registered charitable status; in the US that means your 501(c)(3) letter — government agencies, political groups, and schools don’t qualify.
Get started on Canva’s website
Slab
Free In-House
Pair Slab with Slack rather than letting institutional knowledge scatter across DMs and Google Docs — it’s a searchable wiki for onboarding materials, program procedures, and board documentation that actually gets used because it’s easy to write in. The Startup plan is 100% free for qualifying nonprofits and schools; the Business plan, if you need it, is 50% off. Request the discount with your organization’s website — you’ll need a Slab team first, which is free to create.
Read more from me about building a “culture of documentation”
Google Workspace for Nonprofits
Free In-House
The free tier covers Gmail on your own domain, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Calendar, and Meet — with meetings up to 150 participants and 100 TB of pooled storage across the organization, which is enough for most nonprofits to run on without ever touching a paid tier.
If you need bigger meetings, more per-user storage, or advanced admin controls, Business Standard and Business Plus are available at 70%+ off list price. Once your eligibility is verified, activate Workspace from the same dashboard.
Apply through Google for Nonprofits
Google Ad Grants
Free In-House
This one’s not a productivity tool, it’s free marketing: Google Ad Grants gives eligible nonprofits up to $10,000 a month in Google Search ads, run through a separate account from your regular marketing budget. (Learn more in this video)
It’s real money that can drive donations, volunteer signups, and event registrations — but only if someone maintains the account, since Google requires ongoing performance minimums or the grant gets suspended. Apply through Google for Nonprofits after your organization is verified for Workspace; setup takes longer than anything else on this list, so don’t leave it for the week you actually need the traffic.
Apply through Google for Nonprofits
Cloudflare
Free In-House
This is beyond simple SaaS and productivity, but Cloudflare is an essential tool for policing traffic on your domain — and their Project Galileo offers their Business plan to “vulnerable Internet properties that are the targets of DDoS and other cyber attacks.” Many non-profits could be considered “at risk” if their mission is polarizing.
Learn more about Cloudflare’s program
Beyond those completely-free tools, there are plenty of other discounts out there. Many are managed by two organizations: TechSoup and Goodstack.
Asana
Goodstack Discount
If Slack is where the conversation happens, Asana is where the task actually gets tracked instead of getting lost in a thread — useful for grant deadlines, event planning, and program work with more than one moving piece. Verified nonprofits get 50% off Asana’s Starter or Advanced plans, plus pro bono consulting through Asana Advisors. Start a free trial, then verify your nonprofit status through Goodstack; the discount applies automatically once you’re approved and upgrade – and it’s easy to add seats later.
Learn more about the Asana program
Claude
Goodstack Discount
Anthropic’s nonprofit program is another one that runs through Goodstack. The Team plan (2–150 seats) is $8/user/month for eligible nonprofits, compared to $17/user/month without the discount. It includes Claude Code, file creation, connectors, SSO, and central billing — and adding the team layer, compared to individual licenses, is powerful. Verification takes two to three minutes through Goodstack, then you get an email to finish setup with the discount applied. Larger organizations go through Anthropic’s nonprofit sales team for Enterprise pricing.
Learn more about the Claude program
Notion
Discount In-House
Notion is a bit of a combination of Asana and Slab, with a lot more flexibility — docs, light databases, and project tracking in one workspace, with templates built for donor management and board operations. Eligible organizations get 50% off the Business plan, plus up to four hours of free consulting from Notion’s team. Apply at notion.com/nonprofits with your workspace ID; verification against public nonprofit databases usually takes three to seven business days.
Get started at Notion for Nonprofits
Zoom
Goodstack Discount
Zoom offers a nonprofit discount — up to 50% off select plans — by applying directly through Zoom Cares and Goodstack. Zoom migrated from TechSoup, so if your organization has an existing TechSoup-sourced Zoom account, revalidate before it expires, or you’ll get bumped to full price with no warning.
Microsoft 365 for Nonprofits
TechSoup Discount
Microsoft is listed within the TechSoup platform, but I’m paying less for licenses going directly through Microsoft than TechSoup: $5.50/user/month for Business Premium compared to $6.60.
The free tier is capped at 300 seats of Microsoft 365 Business Basic — web and mobile Office apps, Teams, 1TB of storage. Business Premium and Office 365 E1 used to be free, but are now up to 75% off. Basic is still enough for staff who live in a browser; you’d only pay for Premium if you need desktop Office apps, device management through Intune, and/or cybersecurity features.
The Microsoft cybersecurity features make the premium tier worth it. Google Workspace doesn’t compare here, and cyber risks are only growing.
Get started in the Microsoft Nonprofit Hub
Microsoft Azure
Free In-House
Microsoft also offers an Azure grant: $2,000 in Azure service credits each year, covering the full Azure catalog. After you’re set up in the Microsoft Nonprofit Hub, follow Microsoft’s setup steps to activate the credits. It’s an annual grant, so plan to renew it each year.
Amazon Web Services
TechSoup Discount
The Amazon Web Services Nonprofit Credit Program. gives validated nonprofits promotional credits each fiscal year, and the amount depends on your organization’s annual budget: $1,000 under $10 million, $2,000 from $10 million to $50 million, and $5,000 above $50 million.
The credits cover cloud infrastructure like website hosting and databases, and for a small organization they can cover the entire hosting bill. To get them, validate your organization through TechSoup, request the credits there (TechSoup charges an admin fee), and apply them to your AWS account.
Learn more about AWS for Nonprofits
TechSoup Plus
For $200/year, organizations can upgrade their TechSoup membership and access a variety of other benefits. This was worg
Takeaways
- None of this happens instantly — TechSoup and Microsoft can take a few days to verify, Notion runs three to seven business days, Slack about three.
- Keep your 501(c)(3) determination letter and EIN on hand and apply for everything at once rather than one tool at a time.
- Add a calendar reminder to reconfirm status on anything that renews annually — some of these discounts lapse if you don’t reverify. (Asana is great for this)
- File for Tax Exemptions — If your organization is tax-exempt, nearly every tool I’ve come across can process exemptions. It is usually a separate process after you have an account — and they’ll provide refunds. It can be a bit of busy work, but ensuring that all your technology has removed sales tax can save thousands of dollars a year.
A mix of these tools can provide a full productivity tech stack — so a lean nonprofit can run much of its software stack for close to nothing. Most tools have some sort of discount, so it never hurts to ask — and if you’re negotiating with a sales representative, make sure you know what their competitors offer as well!
