Claude and ChatGPT for Nonprofits: Discounts, Eligibility and Workflows

Claude and ChatGPT both sell team plans to verified nonprofits for $8 per user per month. Here is who qualifies, how to apply and what to use them for.

Picks: 8; ranked

Yes, both have nonprofit pricing, and neither is free. Claude Team costs verified nonprofits $8 per user per month, and ChatGPT Business costs $8 per user per month on annual billing.

Claude adds nonprofit tools on top: connectors for Blackbaud, Candid and Benevity, and a free nonprofit plugin with 14 ready-made skills for grants, donors, board and HR work. ChatGPT discounts only its Business Standard seats, not Premium seats or the API. Both verify you through Goodstack, and neither trains on your team's chats by default, which matters once donor records go in.

Good for

Grant writers who turn RFPs into first drafts and reports
Development staff who prepare donor calls, thank-you letters and stewardship plans
Executive directors who build board decks and staff policies
Small teams of 2 to 10 people looking for the cheapest paid AI plan
Nonprofits in low- and middle-income countries, where Claude Team costs $3 per user

Claude

Claude has the deepest nonprofit offer right now. Verified nonprofits pay $8 per user per month for Team, against a list price of $20 on annual billing or $25 monthly.

Plan: Team at the nonprofit price: $8 per user per month, or $3 in low- and middle-income countries. 2 to 150 seats. Enterprise is priced by Anthropic sales.

What it can do

Verify in about 2 to 3 minutes through a Goodstack form, then finish setup from the email Anthropic sends.
Comes with the Claude for Nonprofits plugin: 14 skills for funder research, RFP breakdowns, proposals, grant reports, donor relations, board and HR work.
Connects to Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT to look up donors, gifts and events by asking in plain words.
Connects to Candid for funder research; a free Candid account works.
Works with Google Drive, Gmail, Microsoft 365, Slack, Asana and HubSpot, which Anthropic lists for nonprofits.
Includes Claude Code at no extra cost on nonprofit Team plans.

Limits

Free and Pro accounts get no nonprofit discount; it applies to Team and Enterprise only.
Government agencies, political campaigns, universities and colleges, and healthcare systems are not eligible.
There is no nonprofit discount on the API.
Claude can get grant facts and figures wrong, so check every number before it goes to a funder.

Plugs to turn on

Microsoft Work IQ: Grant budgets and board decks in Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 nonprofits.
Slack MCP: Search staff threads and post updates without leaving Claude.
HubSpot: Donor and contact records for nonprofits that run HubSpot as their CRM.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT matches Claude on the headline price. Business Standard seats cost nonprofits $8 per user per month on annual billing, or $10 monthly, against a list price of $20 or $25.

Plan: ChatGPT Business Standard seats: $8 per user per month billed annually, or $10 monthly. Enterprise is up to 75% off through OpenAI sales.

What it can do

Verify through Goodstack with the email you use for the Business account.
Existing Business subscribers get a prorated discount on Standard seats after approval.
Score a draft proposal against a funder's criteria when you upload both.
Keeps Business and Enterprise chats out of model training.

Limits

No free nonprofit plan; the regular Free plan is the same as for anyone.
Premium seats and the API get no nonprofit discount.
OpenAI does not publish its eligibility rules; Goodstack decides.
OpenAI's two pages disagree: a February 6, 2026 blog note says up to 75% off Business or Enterprise, while the help center gives fixed $8 and $10 prices for Business Standard. Check the price at checkout.

Gemini

Gemini is the only option here with a truly free nonprofit tier. If you already run Google Workspace for Nonprofits, start there before paying for anything else.

Plan: Google Workspace for Nonprofits, free for up to 2,000 users, includes the Gemini app and NotebookLM.

What it can do

Gives every staff member the Gemini app and NotebookLM at no cost on the free Workspace for Nonprofits plan.
Business Standard for nonprofits costs $3.50 per user per month instead of $14.

Limits

Google's page does not confirm whether Gemini inside Gmail and Docs is part of the free tier.

Microsoft Copilot

Copilot makes sense only if your nonprofit already pays for Microsoft 365. The discount is 15%, and Copilot Chat is included with eligible plans.

Plan: Microsoft 365 Copilot at 15% off for eligible nonprofits, added to a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan.

What it can do

Copilot Chat comes at no extra cost with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
Works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook if your nonprofit already runs on Microsoft 365.

Limits

The discount is 15%, much smaller than Claude's or ChatGPT's, and Microsoft's page gives no dollar price.

Plugs to turn on

Microsoft Work IQ: Microsoft's own server for giving other assistants access to Microsoft 365 data.

Plugs worth turning on

Ranked by whether Anthropic names the app for nonprofits, then official vendor servers with a reviewed PlugWiki page. Blackbaud, Candid and Benevity connectors have no PlugWiki page yet.

Get nonprofit pricing on Claude Team

Claude

1
Check you qualify
Registered 501(c)(3) organizations and their equivalents abroad qualify, as do K-12 schools and some rural and community health clinics. Government agencies, political campaigns, universities and healthcare systems do not.
2
Verify through Goodstack
Open the verification form linked from Claude for Nonprofits and enter your organization's details. Anthropic says it takes 2 to 3 minutes. Enterprise buyers go through Anthropic's nonprofit sales team instead.
3
Finish setup from the email
Anthropic emails you a link to create the Team plan with the discount applied. You need at least 2 seats. Team members do not need the same email domain.
Tip: Already on a full-price Team plan? Go to Admin settings > Billing to switch.
4
Map where your information lives
The nonprofit plugin is installed for you. Anthropic suggests starting by asking Claude to map where your organization keeps its information. With memory on, the other skills read that map first.
Prompt
```
Map where our organization keeps its information: grant files, donor records, board documents and policies. Ask me questions until the map is complete.
```
5
Connect the tools you use
Go to Customize > Connectors, select Discover, find a connector such as Candid, Blackbaud or Google Drive and select Connect to Claude. As the Owner, you choose Connect for your team so everyone can sign in with their own account.

Turn a grant RFP into a first draft

Claude

1
Make a Project for the grant
Create a Project and add your past proposals, the current budget, program outcomes and your boilerplate. Every chat in the Project can read them.
2
Find funders with Candid
Turn on the Candid connector from the + menu under Connectors. It searches Candid's funder and nonprofit data, and a free Candid account works.
Prompt
```
What are some funders in the southern U.S. that support environmental sustainability programs?
```

Break down the RFP

Paste or attach the RFP and ask for eligibility, deadlines, required sections, word limits and scoring criteria as a checklist.

Prompt

Read this RFP. List eligibility rules, the deadline, every required section with its word limit, and how proposals are scored. Flag anything we may not meet.

4
Draft from your own material
Ask for a draft of each section that uses only facts from the Project files, and to mark gaps instead of filling them.
Prompt
```
Draft the Need Statement and Program Design sections using only our files. Where a fact or number is missing, write [NEEDED] instead of guessing.
```
5
Check every number and the funder's AI rules
Check each figure against your records before you submit. Some funders restrict AI-written applications: NIH will not consider applications substantially developed by AI.

Prepare for a donor call and thank them after

Claude

1
Connect Blackbaud
Raiser's Edge NXT customers can add the Blackbaud connector from Customize > Connectors. It reads donor records, gifts and events, on Team and Enterprise plans.

Get a briefing

Ask for the donor's recent gifts, contacts and notes before the call.

Prompt

Find John Doe’s contact information and latest gift. Then give me a one-page brief for a call with him tomorrow.

3
Write the thank-you in your voice
After the call, paste your notes and ask for a thank-you letter and a follow-up plan. Keep a short voice guide in the Project so letters sound like you.
Prompt
```
Here are my call notes. Write a thank-you email in our voice and a three-step stewardship plan for the next six months.
```
4
Review before it goes out
Read every letter before you send it. In a 2024 study of US donors, 31% said they would be less likely to give to a charity that uses AI, so keep the personal details right.

Score a proposal against a funder's criteria in ChatGPT

ChatGPT

1
Upload the draft and the criteria
Start a chat in ChatGPT Business and upload your draft proposal and the funder's evaluation criteria.

Ask for a score per criterion

Ask ChatGPT to score each criterion and say what is missing, quoting the part of the draft it judged.

Prompt

Score this proposal against each of the funder's criteria from 1 to 5. For each score, quote the passage you judged and say what would raise it.

3
Fix the weakest sections
Rewrite the low-scoring sections yourself or with ChatGPT, then run the scoring again.

Verdict

Pick Claude Team at $8 per user if you write grants or run Raiser's Edge: the nonprofit plugin and the Blackbaud and Candid connectors come with it. Pick ChatGPT Business if your staff already use ChatGPT. On Google Workspace for Nonprofits, try free Gemini first.

Claude Team is the pick for most nonprofits that do grant and donor work, at $8 per user with the nonprofit plugin included. Its main limit is the same as ChatGPT's: it can get facts and figures wrong, so a person checks everything that goes to a funder or donor.

Best for

Grant writing from your own files
Donor briefings and thank-you letters
Board decks and staff policies
Teams of 2 to 10 people

Skip it if

You need a free plan for many staff and are not on Google Workspace
You plan to submit AI-drafted applications to funders such as NIH that restrict them
You cannot review every figure and letter before it goes out

Questions

Is Claude free for nonprofits?

No. Verified nonprofits pay $8 per user per month for Claude Team, or $3 in low- and middle-income countries. The regular Free plan is open to anyone, but it has no nonprofit features.

Is ChatGPT free for nonprofits?

No. OpenAI's nonprofit offer is a discount. Its help center gives ChatGPT Business Standard seats at $8 per user per month billed annually, or $10 monthly, with Premium seats and the API at full price. An older OpenAI blog note from February 6, 2026 says up to 75% off Business or Enterprise instead, so check the price at checkout.

Who is eligible for Claude for Nonprofits?

Registered 501(c)(3) organizations and their international equivalents, K-12 schools and some rural and community health providers. Government agencies, political campaigns, universities and colleges, and healthcare systems are not eligible.

How do I apply for the nonprofit discount?

Both Anthropic and OpenAI verify you through Goodstack. For Claude Team the form takes about 2 to 3 minutes and you finish setup from the email. For ChatGPT, use the email you will use for the Business account.

Can I switch an existing Claude Team plan to nonprofit pricing?

Yes. After verification, go to Admin settings > Billing to update the plan, or contact Claude support.

How many seats do I need?

Claude Team needs 2 to 150 seats at the nonprofit price. OpenAI's nonprofit help page does not give a seat minimum for ChatGPT Business.

Claude or ChatGPT for nonprofits?

The price is the same at $8 per user. Claude adds nonprofit tools, including the Blackbaud, Candid and Benevity connectors and a 14-skill nonprofit plugin, so it fits grant and donor work better. ChatGPT is the easier choice if your staff already use it.

Is it safe to put donor data into Claude or ChatGPT?

The team plans are the safer place for it: neither Claude Team nor ChatGPT Business trains on your chats by default. Still share only what the task needs and write an AI use policy for staff.

Do funders accept AI-written grant applications?

Some do not. NIH will not consider applications substantially developed by AI. In a 2024 Candid survey of foundations, 10% said they would accept AI-generated content, 23% would not and 67% were undecided.

Is Gemini free for nonprofits?

Yes, on Google Workspace for Nonprofits. That free plan includes the Gemini app and NotebookLM for up to 2,000 users.

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 14

claude.com · claude.com
claude.com · claude.com
help.openai.com · help.openai.com
Getting started with Claude for nonprofits · academy.claude.com
Claude pricing · claude.com
Blackbaud connector for Claude · webfiles-sc1.blackbaud.com
candid.org · candid.org
Introducing OpenAI for Nonprofits · openai.com
support.google.com · support.google.com
Microsoft 365 nonprofit plans and pricing · microsoft.com
Get started with connectors · claude.com
www.grants.nih.gov · grants.nih.gov
How do donors feel about AI? · philanthropy.com
Funders' insights on AI-generated grant proposals · candid.org