Microsoft's Quiet Decision That Devastated 170,000 Nonprofits

Over 170k Nonprofits Lost All Their Data. Is Microsoft to Blame?

When Microsoft retired its free nonprofit software grants, over 170,000 small organizations lost all their data without warning. Slate investigates how the tech giant's phaseout, announced only in a buried blog post, left nonprofits like Canopy and a child healthcare organization with no recourse. Despite Microsoft's claim of advance notice, many say they received no emails, and the company's support offered no recovery. The article explores the impact on underfunded groups, the political and AI-driven motives behind the cut, and the scramble to rebuild from scratch.