Microsoft’s retirement of its Business Premium nonprofit grant gave affected organizations a defined window to migrate or export their data. An error caused some of that data to be deleted before the retention period ended, and Microsoft has confirmed it cannot be recovered.
What Happened
An internal error deleted data from some expired nonprofit subscriptions ahead of the scheduled retention deadline, leaving affected organizations with no recovery path.
According to The Register (September 28, 2026), Microsoft confirmed that data associated with some expired Microsoft 365 Business Premium nonprofit subscriptions was deleted before the applicable retention period ended. Microsoft investigated recovery options and told at least one affected organization that the deleted data cannot be restored.
In a statement reported by The Register, Microsoft also acknowledged it was unable to provide a list showing which data may have been deleted or whether any data was deleted at all in a given case.
The Context Behind the Expiration
Microsoft announced the grant retirement in May 2025 and provided a structured offboarding window; the error shortened that window without notice.
Microsoft announced in May 2025 that it would retire the Business Premium and Office 365 E1 grants for nonprofits at each organization’s next renewal on or after July 1, 2025. Replacement options included up to 300 free Microsoft 365 Business Basic licenses and discounted pricing on several paid plans.
Standard offboarding allowed a 30-day grace period followed by a 60-day activation window before deletion under normal retention rules. Microsoft confirmed that data was deleted before that retention period ended.
Microsoft’s Response
Microsoft apologized and offered a setup service, but the service does not recover what was lost.
In a statement reported by The Register, Microsoft apologized and offered affected nonprofits a free concierge session with a Microsoft specialist to help establish a new Microsoft 365 environment and answer questions. That service helps configure replacement accounts; it does not restore the deleted data.
What This Means for Your Organization
Nonprofits whose Business Premium subscriptions expired during the transition period should act now to preserve whatever records remain accessible.
If your nonprofit held a Business Premium grant and your subscription expired during the transition period, preserve all Microsoft correspondence, administrative records, and audit logs you still have access to. The sources available do not establish that these materials will produce recovery, but they represent the documentation most likely to be relevant.
The incident draws a clear line between a provider’s retention policy and an independent backup: a retention window is a schedule the vendor controls, while a backup is a copy you control.
What Remains Unknown
Microsoft has not answered the most basic questions about scope, cause, or which customers were affected.
Microsoft has not disclosed how many organizations were affected, the precise dates deletion occurred, or the root cause of the error. Those details remain unclear.
