Resources and support for not-for-profit organisations during COVID-19 outbreak
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spreads through communities across the globe, not for-profits organisations (NFP’s) were some of the first to respond and continue to provide critical support and services to those in need.
Already operating with limited resources, NFP’s are now faced with an even greater challenge to maintain their operations with an ever decreasing cashflow. To help support NFP’s in these challenging times the following support resources are available:
Government support
The Government is providing up to $100,000 to eligible not-for-profits (including charities) that employ people, with a minimum payment of $20,000. These payments will help not-for-profits’ cash flow so they can keep operating, pay their rent, electricity and other bills and retain staff.
On 12 March 2020, the Government announced the ‘Boosting Cash Flow for Employers measure’. Not-for-profit entities, including charities, with aggregated annual turnover under $50 million that employ workers will now also be eligible. Under the recently enhanced scheme, employers will receive a payment equal to 100 per cent of their salary and wages withheld (up from 50 per cent), with the maximum payment being increased from $25,000 to $50,000. In addition, the minimum payment is being increased from $2,000 to $10,000.
The cash flow boost provides a tax-free payment to employers and is automatically calculated by the Australian Taxation Office.
Click here to read more about the cash flow support for businesses and not-for-profits.
Microsoft support
Over the past weeks, Microsoft have been working with organisations on the front line of the crisis—including not-for-profits, that have had to rapidly respond to the changing situation and coordinate emergency responses; and are offering a range offers and support to allow NFP’s to rapidly ramp to meet demand. These offerings include:
Six-month free trial of Office 365 E1 for NFP’s
Office 365 E1 includes Teams as well as email, file storage and more. This offer is designed for organisations who need a seamless option for volunteers working in remote situations in the face of COVID-19.
Teams is cloud-based software that incorporates all the functionality of individual products like Zoom, Slack, BaseCamp etc. all under one collaboration platform. It includes business messaging, calling, video meetings and file sharing. Businesses of all sizes can use Teams.
To get started with free trial of Office 365 E1, contact us and we will get you a promo code. If you have any questions about how to manage remote working for extended periods and business continuity, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We can easily deploy tools and teach your teams to work remotely at no cost.
Solutions to coordinate information and resources in times of crisis, and a Virtual Agent Bot to manage crisis responses
- Healthcare Emergency Response Resource Tracking—an application to provide visibility into available supplies, equipment inventories and staffing needs. Read more about the solution
- Crisis Communications—an application to coordinate information sharing and team collaboration in response to evolving conditions. Employees can report a work status and make requests, and Administrators can use the app to provide updates and news—all accessible on the web, mobile, or in Teams. Read more about the solution
- Virtual Agents Crisis Response Bot—a bot that that helps people get to the information they need quickly in a chat interface you can embed on any website. For example, a Crisis FAQ bot can help you address questions that employees are frequently asking, freeing time for managers to focus on other priorities. Read more about the solution
Other technology and cloud support
In addition to existing technology support, donations and discounts for eligible not-for-profits, Microsoft is committing another USD$35 million to help critical care and first response not-for-profits in their efforts to combat COVID-19. These benefits include:
- Double the Azure credit for specified not-for-profits from USD$3,500 to USD$7,000 to be used within 12 months.
- To support Window Virtual Desktop scenarios Microsoft is making 100 licenses of Windows Upgrade available through their TechSoup donation offer and coupling that with a Windows Enterprise E3 trial for up to 100 seats for six months. This will provide the base operating system licenses to take advantage of all the Windows Virtual Desktop capabilities for mid-size organisations.
- To help organisations rapidly deploy, Microsoft is setting up three new remote services free of charge:
- Azure Onboarding Concierge: To help organisations set up their Azure credit subscription, understand administrator roles, cost management and governance best practices
- Windows Virtual Desktop Help Desk: To support organisations with technical questions during their deployment of Windows Virtual Desktop, and will engage organisations with a partner or FastTrack for long–term extended support to ensure an efficient and effective deployment
- Microsoft Community Training (MCT) Concierge: Microsoft Community Training supports personalized learning for a large-scale mobile-based community. This service provides an overview of available content and assists with configuration and deployment
For more information, eligibility and how to get started, click here.
ECLEVA support
With our deep NPF sector knowledge and technology expertise we are here to support NFP’s through these challenging times. Please do not hesitate to contact us if there is anything we can do to help.
