Microsoft Promoting is shutting down its Adverts for Social Influence grant program, which supplied free advert credit to nonprofits. Closing grants can be issued November 30, 2025, with a 45-day window to spend them.
Why we care. The choice ends a program that helped nonprofits amplify their missions via free promoting {dollars}. Beginning in 2026, nonprofits that don’t pause campaigns danger being robotically charged on the cost strategies tied to their accounts.
Driving the information:
- This system formally ends December 2025, with campaigns required to be paused by early January if funds are exhausted.
- Microsoft says nonprofits will nonetheless have entry to discounted instruments via its broader Tech for Social Influence choices, together with Azure, Dynamics 365, and Microsoft 365.
- Workers can proceed supporting nonprofits via Microsoft’s volunteer and donation matching applications.
- In case you overlook to pause your campaigns, Microsoft will robotically begin charging your bank card on Jan 1.


What they’re saying. George Weiner, Founding father of digital company Entire Whale, who additionally posted the message he obtained on LinkedIn, argues the lower sends the flawed sign at an organization value over $3 trillion, particularly given Microsoft’s $13 billion funding in AI. He sees it as a cost-savings transfer tied to AI priorities and that the goodwill generated from free advertisements didn’t justify the spend.
Microsoft Adverts Liaison Navah Hopkins confirmed the information, acknowledging disappointment however emphasizing Microsoft’s different nonprofit initiatives.
The underside line. Nonprofits might want to pivot—both budgeting for Microsoft Adverts or shifting spend elsewhere—as one of many few large tech advert grant applications winds down.
Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. We stay dedicated to offering high-quality protection of selling subjects. Until in any other case famous, this web page’s content material was written by both an worker or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.