Microsoft fattens Windows donations for non-profits

Microsoft has expanded its non-profit software donations program to include medical research organisations, private foundations and amateur sports clubs.

Redmond has also boosted the number of software products that can be requested from six to 10.

"This means that nonprofits can now request up to a total of 10 different Microsoft products. 50 licenses of each product can be requested.

"A maximum of 500 licenses total can be given to a nonprofit of Microsoft software," Microsoft's Windows blogger Brandon LeBlanc explained.

Eligible nonprofits could upgrade to the latest of its various software offerings, from Exchange Server to Windows 7.

They were also encouraged to utilise Microsoft's Get Genuine program to weed out pirated versions of its software, which until now has been unavailable under the program.

Microsoft also lifted the previous limit of one request a year by allowing qualified nonprofits to request software at any time through the TechSoup Global Network, which also serves Australian organisations.

Microsoft said it had donated $US3.9 billion worth of its software since 1998, which included $US450 million of its Windows operating system.

Last year, Microsoft expanded its software donation programs to Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in dozens of nations after allegations that Russian lawyers were helping law enforcement to target political opponents under the guise of enforcing Microsoft's anti-piracy efforts in the country.