Google Tools for Nonprofits

A breakdown of some of the most common questions we get about Google for Nonprofits

We talk to nonprofits all day. And a good chunk of those that we speak to is using Google to power their work, through Gmail, YouTube, and a lot of their online tools. But we are always astonished by just how many nonprofits are not using the free G Suite Tools available.

So here’s a breakdown of some of the most common questions we get about Google for Nonprofits, and more importantly, how to access the tools for your nonprofit!

What is Google for Nonprofits?

Google for Nonprofits is a package of premium Google products that your nonprofit can access for absolutely FREE. These tools include:

• G Suite for Nonprofits (We’ll talk a lot about this one!)
• Google Ad Grants
• YouTube Nonprofit Program
• Google One Today, and
• Google Earth Outreach

Each of these tools can be valuable for your team. It really all depends on what is most relevant for your organization’s mission.

What is the G Suite for Nonprofits?

Regardless of your work and mission, we find that the G Suite for Nonprofits is something that can dramatically transform the way your nonprofit operates. This suite offers free access to a range of Google’s cloud-based products. This includes:

Gmail for nonprofits

Using Gmail for nonprofits helps to level up your nonprofit’s capacity. One of the best things about using Gmail for nonprofits is that you can get your own personalized email, as long as you own the domain for your website. For example, you can have an email such as yourname@yournonprofit.org. This helps to give your correspondence an extra dash of professionalism.

Google Spreadsheets for nonprofits

Included in the G Suite is Google Sheets. Google Sheets are basically spreadsheets that are hosted on Google’s Cloud Drive. This allows for instant access across your team, as well as collaboration from wherever they may be. Now you can collaborate with your remote teams, in real time. This also helps to create a bit of institutional memory, now that information will be shared instead of living on an individual’s hard drive.

Google presentation for nonprofits

Nonprofits are constantly presenting — to the community, to board members, to volunteers, and to donors. The list can go on for a while. With Google for Nonprofits, you can leave PowerPoint behind and start building beautiful presentations using Google Slides. Once again, you can harness all the power of cloud technology to help you collaborate and work more efficiently on presentations.

Google Forms and Surveys for nonprofits

As a nonprofit, it’s important to have constant communication with your donors and supporters. One of the ways to do that is through surveys and by getting people to fill out forms. Their answers give you a better understanding of what they truly care about. Using Google Forms, you can create custom forms that will help you gather more information and context about your supporters.

Google Chat for nonprofits

Long email threads are a pain. And this is true, even if you have a beautiful inbox like the one Google provides. If you just need to get a quick update from a colleague or want to find out what they were up to on the weekend, now you can do just that. The G Suite also provides nonprofits with a chat function through Google Hangouts!

Google Drive for nonprofits

Google Drive is a cloud-based storage center for your files. They are accessible to your entire team, making it easier to collaborate with one another and share important information.

Google Sites for nonprofits

If you want to create a bit of a one-stop shop for your team, you even have the option of creating a Google Site. This easy-to-use site builder will enable you to create landing pages full of documents and links to various sections within your Drive. This makes it much easier to find the things that matter most to you. Most nonprofits use Google Sites to create an intranet for their team.

You get all of that. For free. Not kidding.

Not only will your entire team get to use the robust features of Gmail  — but everyone will get to work collaboratively through cloud-based tools. You can build presentations across teams; with people in the office, and those onsite. You can work off of the same calendar and have a better idea of where everyone is. You can talk to your donors and program participants through comprehensive surveys, and have everyone on your team have access to that information.

And one of the best features is access to Google Drive and Google Sites. These can become central hubs for your organization — allowing you to house those all-important documents and files. This creates a place for you to start building that institutional knowledge that every organization needs.

What are Ad Grants?

In order for people to find you online, they have to be able to find you on Google. Using AdWords for Nonprofits helps to get you higher in search results when people use specific keywords that you choose. Doing this usually takes a big budget in order to see results. But if you’re a nonprofit, you’ll be able to take advantage of AdWords for free.

AdGrants give eligible nonprofits access to a monthly budget of $10,000 USD in AdWord spending — completely free! It’s a powerful program that will help nonprofits to get noticed.

The YouTube Nonprofit Program

As a nonprofit, your team may use social media platforms differently. Google understands that and developed a special program just for nonprofits. This gives content creators access to specific features that will help them with their mission. These features include things like:

• Adding donation cards on videos to raise funds right from the player
• Link directly to your site from your videos or have call-to-action overlays with a specific ask
• Dedicated technical support to ensure you get the most out of the program

Google One Today

Google One Today is a personalized generosity app. You can browse through amazing causes and choose to support them with a few clicks on your mobile device. Google One Today makes charitable giving and support, much easier, and your nonprofit can learn more about being a part of it.

Google Earth Outreach

Nonprofits can get access to Google Earth and Maps to help them tell their story. Having access to these tools makes it easier for individuals to contextualize your work and understand your organization better. Not only can you use words to explain your cause and the areas affected. You can make it real and show them the areas that you focus on.

How do I access Google for Nonprofits?

Google for Nonprofits Application

There is a bit of work to get access to Google for Nonprofits. But luckily, it’s not much! And, it’s very worth it to spend the time to do this application right because you end up getting so much value from it. Eligibility for the program hinges on a few things:

• Your organization must be a registered charity,
• Your organization cannot be a Governmental organization, a hospital or health care organization, a school, or an academic institution.

Signing up for Google for Nonprofits

Accessing Google for Nonprofits is quite easy if you are an eligible organization.

First, register for TechSoup’s technology discount program. If you’re a US-based organization, you can sign up here. Once you’ve done this, go to Google for Nonprofits and sign in. You’ll be prompted for your TechSoup validation token. Enter that, follow the prompts, and you’re off!

How will this benefit my nonprofit?

Having access to free cloud-based tools can help to level up your nonprofit. When your entire team can access the same information and work off of the same documents, your efficiency shoots way up. There is less duplication of effort, and team members can work from wherever they are. The life of a nonprofit professional is a hectic one — and you need solutions that work around how your days actually look and feel.

Working off the cloud gives you that flexibility.

For more tips, check out these 10 Tips to Make the Most Out of G Suite at Work.

Does Keela work well with Google?

Absolutely!

Keela actually works best on Google Chrome browsers. In fact, we have Google Integration that helps your team work even faster!

Let’s start with Google Calendar. With Keela’s Google Calendar integration, we make it easy to track the most critical events in your day-to-day:

• Project Deadlines
• Task Deadlines
• Follow-ups

This means that any deadlines or follow-ups you create in Keela will automatically show up in your Google Calendar. You won’t have to check multiple platforms for different schedules, and you can work within the system that you’re already comfortable with. The best thing about this integration is that nothing falls through the cracks anymore. When you have information stored in multiple locations, it’s easy to miss a key detail here or there. This integration makes it easy!

Next, let’s look at the Gmail Extension. With Keela’s Email extension, you can choose to track the emails you send from Gmail in your Keela account. When you install the Keela Email extension, you can link your Gmail account to Keela, allowing you to track your email interactions with different contacts.

This means that when you email someone through your Gmail account, those records will automatically appear as interactions or emails within your Keela account. You won’t have to worry about multiple records and conversations in different inboxes. This allows you to take full advantage of Keela’s CRM without compromising your ability to work within your own inbox. Now you can improve your organization’s institutional knowledge, and ensure that every conversation is tracked — regardless of if the thread was started in Keela or from your inbox on Gmail.

So what are you waiting for? Increase your nonprofit’s capacity with some awesome tools from Google!  

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