What TechSoup Offers Religious Organizations

Ariel Gilbert-Knight -

November 06, 2014

This article provides an overview of the TechSoup product donations and learning resources that can help your religious nonprofit get the most out of its technology.

TechSoup offers a variety of resources for religious nonprofits. This article will provide an overview of the TechSoup product donations and learning resources that can help your religious nonprofit get the most out of its technology.

High-Quality Discounted Technology Products

TechSoup is probably best known for distributing donated and discounted software and technology products to eligible nonprofit organizations. Each of TechSoup's product programs has specific eligibility guidelines set by the donor, and religious organizations are eligible for many of these programs, including these three major ones.

In September 2013, Microsoft expanded its donation program with TechSoup to offer donated technology products to religious organizations. Previously, religious nonprofits were eligible for Microsoft donations only if they had a nonreligious primary mission. Now organizations are eligible for the Microsoft donation program, even if they have a religious primary mission. Review the full Microsoft program eligibility requirements and restrictions to confirm your organization's eligibility. These organizations are also eligible for donated and discounted subscriptions to Office 365.
Similarly, organizations with a religious primary mission are now eligible for Intuit donations. Intuit expanded its TechSoup donation program to religious organizations with a 501(c)(3) charitable determination in November 2014. Review the full Intuit program eligibility requirements and restrictions to confirm your organization's eligibility.
Religious organizations with a 501(c)(3) charitable determination are also eligible for the Refurbished Computer Initiative, which offers high-quality, competitively priced refurbished desktops, laptops, tablets, and other hardware.

You can also take our Eligibility Check to see which software and hardware donations your organization may be eligible for. The Eligibility Requirements and Donor Partner Restrictions page provides further details on each program's requirements and restrictions.

Learning Resources for Religious Organizations

All of TechSoup's learning resources are free to any organization, including religious organizations, regardless of organization type. They include

Detailed articles and how-tos on technology topics, written for a nonprofit audience. Topics range from upgrading to the latest version of Windows to website design basics to tips for protecting your computers from viruses. These articles are written with an "accidental techie" in mind, meaning someone who is interested in technology but is not a full-time IT professional. So the articles are instructional, but they're not overwhelmingly technical.
Resources and toolkits on specific technology topics like using mobile for your mission and disaster planning.
The TechSoup blog, written for a nonprofit audience. This is a great source for nonprofit technology news, information, and resources.
Free online technology seminars that can help you better understand and utilize your technology. These seminars let you learn anywhere you have a computer and Internet access. Many of the webinars are also archived, so you can view them anytime, anywhere, at your convenience.

Join the Conversation in the TechSoup Forums

The TechSoup forums are a great place to ask (and answer) technology questions. There are more than 20 forums, on topics like Security and Tech Planning and Policies.

Nonprofits face many of the same technology challenges, like having limited time, budgets, and resources to support and maintain their technology. So if you're facing a technology problem, the odds are good that another organization might have the same question or know of a great solution. Each forum is moderated by a friendly volunteer host and TechSoup staff, and your questions are always welcome.

You can also search the forums to see if a topic you're interested in has already been addressed.

Keep Up with the Latest TechSoup News

Want more TechSoup? You can get the latest TechSoup news delivered right to your inbox. We send out a variety of email announcements and newsletters, including

By the Cup, a weekly alert on new TechSoup nonprofit technology articles, forum discussions, resources, and events (plus a delicious soup recipe)
New Product Alert, a monthly email that highlights new technology product donations available to nonprofits through TechSoup

You can also follow TechSoup on Twitter (@TechSoup) for technology news and resource updates.

Registering with TechSoup to Request Product Donations

To receive product donations, you must register your organization with TechSoup.

When you register, select the organization type and subtype under Religious Activities that most closely matches your organization's primary mission. Religious Activities organization types include places of worship, missionary activities, religious training, evangelism, and religious publishing activities.

If your organization's work is motivated by religious faith, but your primary mission does not fall within the list of Religious Activities organization types and subtypes, select the nonreligious organization type that most closely matches your organization's primary mission.

For more information, visit our Product Donation FAQ.

This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.