Microsoft confirmed an error deleted remaining data, if any, tied to some expired nonprofit Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscriptions before the retention period ended. The confirmation was reported on September 28, 2026; that date does not establish when the deletions occurred. Microsoft said recovery attempts failed and data deleted through the error could not be recovered.
What Microsoft says about the data and recovery
Microsoft said it could not identify which data may have been deleted or determine whether deletion occurred in every affected case. It also did not disclose how many organizations were affected.
The incident concerns some expired Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscriptions. Microsoft described the affected content as remaining data, if any, associated with those subscriptions—not data from every nonprofit or every expired Microsoft 365 account.
How the nonprofit grant transition fits in
Microsoft retired donated nonprofit grants for Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Office 365 E1. Its program guidance says Business Premium licenses expire at the subscription’s next renewal and recommends moving users to another eligible offer before cancellation. The reported deletion error concerned expired Business Premium subscriptions.
Eligible nonprofits can receive up to 300 Microsoft 365 Business Basic grant licenses. Microsoft also offers discounts of up to 75% on many nonprofit Microsoft 365 offers.
General retention guidance and setup assistance
Microsoft’s general guidance for business subscriptions describes a typical 90-day period in a disabled state, with final deletion no later than 180 days. It also says data is removed immediately when a subscription is explicitly deleted. For data deleted through the reported error, Microsoft said its recovery attempts failed.
Microsoft offered affected nonprofits a free concierge meeting with a specialist to help establish a new Microsoft 365 environment and answer questions.
