Google Workspace for nonprofits: a setup guide

Through Google for Nonprofits, eligible organisations get email, storage, video calls and shared documents free or at a deep discount. How you set it up, secure it and train staff decides whether it works.

Who qualifies, and how to apply

Registered 501(c)(3) organisations in the US qualify, as do their equivalents abroad. These generally do not.

• Government bodies.
• Hospitals and healthcare organisations, though some affiliated foundations qualify.
• Schools, childcare centres and colleges, which use Google for Education.
• Political organisations.

1. Register with TechSoup. Google checks your status through TechSoup, which takes 2 to 4 weeks at first.
2. Apply at google.com/nonprofits. You need your EIN, your TechSoup token and contact details.
3. Activate. Google reviews within 2 to 14 business days. Approval also opens Ad Grants, YouTube Nonprofit features and Google Earth outreach tools.

Start TechSoup early, since newer organisations often wait longer.

Which plan

Plan	Price for nonprofits	What it adds
Business Starter	Free	Custom email, 30 GB per user, Meet for 100, Drive, Docs, Chat and basic admin
Business Standard	$3 per user a month	2 TB per user, shared drives, Meet recording for 150, Vault and better security
Business Plus	$5.04 per user a month	5 TB per user, Meet for 500 with attendance, advanced endpoint management and investigation tools

Starter suits under 25 users with simple needs and little compliance. 30 GB is enough for people who work mostly with documents.

Standard is the one most nonprofits need, for shared drives, recording or more storage. For 20 people it costs $720 a year.

Plus is worth it only for legal holds and eDiscovery, advanced device management or a large staff.

Moving from old email

Many nonprofits move from an old Exchange server, hosting-company email or personal Gmail accounts.

Before the move

1. List every mailbox, distribution list and shared mailbox, and retire the ones no longer needed.
2. Make sure you control the domain and its DNS.
3. Pick a quiet time, never during a campaign or year-end. Small organisations often use a weekend.
4. Give staff at least two weeks’ notice, with clear instructions.

The move

1. Set up the admin console and add your domain.
2. Create an account for each person.
3. Copy email, contacts and calendars with Google’s data migration tool.
4. Point the MX records at Google, which is the cutover.
5. Send test messages from outside accounts.
6. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
7. Retire the old system once every mailbox has moved and mail flows.

Common mistakes

• Distribution lists and aliases do not move on their own.
• Without SPF, DKIM and DMARC, donor email lands in spam.
• DNS changes can take 48 hours to spread, so plan an overlap.
• Staff must set up email again on phones and tablets.

Training staff

Too little training leads to low use and workarounds. Cover these topics.

• Gmail labels, filters, search, multiple inboxes and templates.
• Drive, shared drives, file names and sharing.
• Calendar room booking, appointment slots and shared calendars.
• Meet screen sharing, recording on Standard and above, and breakout rooms.
• Docs editing, comments, suggestions and version history.

Train two or three confident users first, so colleagues can ask them. Four 30-minute sessions beat one two-hour session. Post a one-page guide to the five most common tasks, and record sessions for new hires.

Shared drives

Shared drives, on Standard and above, belong to the organisation, not to a person. When someone leaves, the files stay.

Create one per department, not per project. Typical drives are administration, finance, programs, development, communications and HR. Keep personnel files in a separate restricted place.

Role	Can do	Give it to
Manager	Add members, move and delete	Department heads and IT
Content manager	Add, edit and organise	Most staff
Contributor	Add and edit, but not move or delete	Part-time staff and regular volunteers
Commenter	View and comment	Board members
Viewer	Read only	Outside partners

Name dated files “YYYY-MM description” and keep folders three levels deep at most. Teach staff to search by keyword, file type and date. Move finished projects to an archive instead of deleting them.

Security settings to turn on

Each setting is in the Admin Console under Security.

• 2-Step Verification (MFA). Turn it on for everyone with a short grace period, under Authentication. Allow security keys and Google Authenticator, and discourage SMS.
• Passwords. Require 12 characters or more, and force a change when a password appears in a known breach.
• Less secure apps. Turn them off, since old protocols bypass MFA.
• Email authentication. Publish SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, which matter most for donor and fundraising mail.
• Third-party apps. Under API controls, block apps that fail your security standards.
• Alerts. In the Alert center, flag unusual logins, repeated failures and data exports.

Donor and fundraising tools

Tool	How it connects
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud	Logs Gmail with donors and syncs Calendar events
Bloomerang	Tracks donor email
Network for Good and Bonterra	Send donation data to Sheets
Mailchimp	Syncs Contacts and Sheets lists
Slack	Shares Drive files and Calendar events
Asana and Monday.com	Attach Drive files and turn Gmail into tasks

Prefer tools that use Google’s official APIs and publish their security documents. Avoid any that want admin access to your Workspace.

Cost against Microsoft 365

For a 20-person nonprofit, the options compare as follows.

Plan	Yearly cost	What you get
Google Workspace Business Starter	$0	Email, 30 GB, Meet, Drive and Docs
Google Workspace Business Standard	$720	Shared drives, 2 TB and recording
Microsoft 365 Business Basic	$0, for up to 300 users	Exchange, 1 TB OneDrive, Teams, SharePoint and web Office
Microsoft 365 Business Premium	Discounted per user	Desktop Office, advanced security and Intune

Microsoft’s free grant of 10 Business Premium licences ended on 1 July 2025. Those licences stop at the next renewal.

If staff already use Google and work mostly in documents, Google Workspace fits well. If they depend on Excel, desktop Word or advanced device management, Microsoft 365 may fit better. SBK helps nonprofits choose, and earns no commission from Google or Microsoft.

Questions people ask

Is Google Workspace really free for nonprofits?

Yes. Business Starter is free for eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofits, with email, 30 GB per user, Meet and every core tool. Standard costs $3 and Plus $5.04 per user a month.

How long does setup take?

For under 25 users, basic setup takes one or two days. Moving email adds one to two weeks, and training takes two to four weeks. Allow four to six weeks in all.

Can we leave Microsoft 365 for Google?

Yes. Google’s migration tool copies Exchange Online email, contacts and calendars, and other tools move OneDrive and SharePoint files. Plan to retrain staff and reconnect integrations.

Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?

Both are good and affordable for nonprofits. Google is simpler to set up and run for cloud-first teams. Microsoft suits desktop Office users, complex compliance and advanced device management.

How do we secure Google Workspace?

Turn on MFA for everyone, publish SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and review third-party apps. Then set alerts and password rules, and train staff. If you hold donor or health data, consider Standard or Plus for more security and compliance tools.