Microsoft Azure - Initial Setup¶

Hi there! Microsoft frequently changes their interface, so sometimes the instructions don't match up exactly. Feel free to ask me if you run into trouble! -Jon

[NOTE: Most of Microsoft's pages break with an ad blocker enabled.]

Get a Sponsorship¶

• Go to the Nonprofit Microsoft Getting Started page. Fill out the paperwork to be approved as a 501c3. Approval can take 1 day or 3-4 weeks - I've seen both multiple times.
• Once approved, go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/nonprofits/azure to claim credits (or go directly to Claiming Your Credits.
• You'll know you're successful because you'll see a sponsorship listed on the Sponsorship Page.

Create a Subscription¶

• Check that you have credits in your sponsored account: https://www.microsoftazuresponsorships.com/Balance
• Visit the Azure Portal.
  
• Click the Subscriptions icon.
• Click the Add button.
• Add a subscription of type "Microsoft Azure Sponsorship" from the Azure portal. You will likely need to select Show other subscription types to see it.
  • Note: Even sponsored subscriptions require a credit card, make sure you have one available.

Grant access to other users¶

Microsoft has made recent changes to this system, so these are experimental instructions. I may ask you to take additional steps!

Create a user¶

• Log in to https://entra.microsoft.com.
• Select Users from the left navigation menu.
• Click New User » Invite External User.
• Add my email (jon@megaphonetech.com) and display name (Jon Goldberg).
• On the Assignments tab, click Add Role, then grant me the Global Administrator role.
• Go to the Review and Invite tab, and click Invite at the bottom of the screen.

Grant access to the subscription¶

• Go back to https://portal.azure.com
• Open the new subscription by clicking on it from the Subscriptions page.
• Click Access Control (IAM) in the left navigation bar.
• At the top, press Add » Add role
• On the Role tab, go to the Privileged administrator roles subtab.
• Click Owner and press Next.
• On the Members tab, set Assign Access to User, group, or service principal, and click Select Members.
• In the Search by name or email address box, put the email of the new user and press Select. Press Next.
• On the Conditions tab, select Allow user to assign all roles except privileged administrator roles Owner, UAA, RBAC (Recommended).
• Click Review and Assign, then click Review and Assign again. At this point, they'll receive an email to either log in with an existing Microsoft account or to create a new one.

On Renewals¶

You will need to renew every year. Instructions for this are incomplete - but you should go to your Azure portal and click the Subscriptions button (see screenshot 1 below). Find the subscription ID (screenshot 2) - it's a string of numbers and letters. Then go to https://www.microsoftazuresponsorships.com/Balance and assign your new credits to the existing subscription.

If you did not do this in time, you should be able to open a support ticket with Microsoft to request a refund.

Screenshot 1

Screenshot 2