NGO Sponsorship subscription issue

Question

We reactivated NGO sponsorship but somehow still got billed on the credit card. We want to have the billed transferred to the NGO grant if possible.

Answer 1

Hello Mihaela Girleanu, We understand that you reactivated an NGO sponsorship, but the vendor charged your personal credit card. You want that billed amount transferred to the NGO grant so the NGO, not your card, covers the expense.

Before you begin the renewal process, be aware of the following requirements and conditions:

• All Azure Sponsorships renew at $2,000 USD per year.
• If you do not renew by your end date, your Azure usage might convert to pay-as-you-go, and charges will be applied to the payment instrument on your billing profile.
• Renewal is separate from initial eligibility; only organizations with an existing active Azure grant that prefer to keep benefitting from Azure grant credits may follow this process.
• Renewals can occur only on or up to 30 days before the grant’s annual expiration date. Early consumption of the $2,000 balance does not trigger or permit early renewal.

You may renew your Azure Sponsorship at any time, including after expiration, but usage after the expiration date is billed at standard pay-as-you-go rates until renewal is complete. Renewals occur on the grant’s annual expiration date. Early consumption of the $2,000 balance does not trigger or permit early renewals.

Renew Your Azure Grant - Microsoft for Nonprofits | Microsoft Learn

Verify Your Credits After Renewal: To check your Azure grant balance, or verify credits after renewal, please navigate to track Microsoft Customer Agreement Azure credit balance

If the balance doesn't appear:

• Ensure that you selected the correct billing account or billing profile.
• If necessary, follow the steps in Billing accounts and scopes in the Azure portal to confirm that the right scope is active..

If your nonprofit remains on the legacy sponsorship (including regions for China and India), view your balance and renew in the Azure Sponsorships portal. You must log in with the account owner credentials. Typically, these credentials have the .onmicrosoft.com domain email address that you used during grant setup. The Azure Sponsorships portal displays the remaining balance, usage, and expiration details.

If you activated your Azure grant under the wrong billing profile or you need to change ownership within the same tenant, see Create a product transfer request.

Transferring ownership ensures that the credit continues to apply properly and prevents conversion to pay-as-you-go billing.

If you encounter errors or are unsure which benefits apply to you, submit a support request through our Contact Us form.

Hope this helps. and please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions. Thanks

Answer 2

Charges that occurred while the NGO Azure Sponsorship grant was inactive or not correctly applied to the subscription cannot be retroactively covered by grant credits. Usage during any gap between expiration and renewal, or while the subscription is on a pay-as-you-go billing account instead of the sponsorship billing profile, is billed to the associated payment method and is not automatically moved to the grant.

To address the situation:

1. Verify that the grant is now correctly applied
   • Sign in to the Azure portal with the administrator account tied to the grant.
   • Go to Cost Management + Billing and confirm that the affected subscription is linked to the correct sponsorship billing profile, as described under Manage Your Billing Profile in Azure.
   • If the subscription is on the wrong billing profile, follow the guidance to submit a product transfer request so the grant credits apply to the correct subscription going forward.
2. Confirm current grant balance and status
   • In the Azure portal, go to Billing > Payment methods and check the Azure Credits tab to verify that the NGO grant credits are active and visible for the correct billing account/profile.
   • If the nonprofit is still on a legacy sponsorship (MOSA or legacy regions), sign in to the Azure Sponsorships portal with the account owner credentials to confirm remaining balance, usage, and expiration.
3. Work with Microsoft support on existing charges
   • Because billed charges and any potential adjustments require secure, account-specific tools, open a billing support request from the Azure portal (Help + Support) or via the nonprofit Contact Us form.
   • In the ticket, specify:
     • When the sponsorship was renewed/reactivated.
     • Which subscription(s) should be covered by the grant.
     • The invoices/charges that hit the credit card during the period you believe should have been covered.
   • The billing team can review whether any portion of the billed usage occurred after the grant was active and correctly scoped, and advise if adjustments are possible.
4. Prevent future unexpected charges
   • Ensure all eligible Azure subscriptions that should use the NGO grant are linked to the sponsorship billing profile (or sponsorship account for MOSA/legacy).
   • Use Cost Management budgets and alerts to monitor consumption so that when the $2,000 annual credit is exhausted, additional pay-as-you-go charges are expected and planned.

Note:

• Unused credits do not roll over, and credits are not applied retroactively to usage during any lapse between expiration and renewal. Any usage during that gap is billed at standard pay-as-you-go rates.
• Microsoft does not increase or extend the annual $2,000 grant; if usage exceeds the grant, the associated payment method is charged.

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References:

• Renew your Azure grant
• Activate your Azure grant
• Tenant modification
• Azure Credits and Billing FAQs
• I have an Azure Credit of 11000$$, but I have 2 billing accounts. The bill doesn't come to the right place. - Microsoft Q&A
• Have been billed multiple times on multiple charge cards for renewal - Microsoft Q&A
• Cancel a monthly charge on my visa credit card - Microsoft Q&A
• Can I speak to someone? -- Billing issues - Microsoft Q&A
• i have been charged twice - Microsoft Q&A