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Setting up a Nonprofit Google WorkspaceUpdated a year ago

General Process for setting up Google Workspace using the free Google for Nonprofits (GFNP) program


Step 1 - Get Approved by the Google For Nonprofits program

  • Go to the Google For Nonprofits portal and create an account using an existing google Gmail account
  • This will involve you sharing information about your organization so that they can see you are a legit nonprofit
  • The GFNP portal is where you manage the overall relationship between your organization and Google... This includes the ability to access tools like Adwords, Youtube, and Google Workspace.
  • Work through the approval process to get your organization approved to receive free Google services

Step 2 - Woohoo! I've been approved!

  • Once you have been approved for free Google services, you will see an "Activate Products" button ... that will take you into the list of available free products for nonprofits

Step 3 - Create and configure your Google Workspace using a free trial

  • At some point here, you will need to create a free trial of Google Workspace using the same domain that you used in your GFNP application. (these domains should match) ... So create your free trial using your custom domain. Here it is CRITICAL that you write down the initial username and password that you choose for your first admin user. Also, use a good Gmail address as your secondary email address... in case you need to have your password reset.

  • It's very likely that the free trial you created was at the "Business Standard" licensing level, because they are pushing everyone to that plan. Unfortunately, it is not possible to transition directly from Business Standard to Google Workspace for Nonprofits. You will first need to downgrade your free trial from Business Standard to Business Starter (which is more in-line with the GFNP license),

  • After you have got your free trial up and running with the Business Starter licensing, you will need to make sure that you fully "verify" your domain within the workspace admin which involves adding a few DNS records. I also recommend getting Gmail fully set up with MX records as will as SPF and DKIM signing.

Step 4 - Link your Google Workspace to your Google for Nonprofits account

  • OK, so now you have two accounts interacting with Google. 1) Your personal GMail account is an administrator in the GFNP portal. and 2) You have a brand new google account that is the administrator of your new Google Workspace trial... now it's time to connect these two worlds together.

  • Return to the GFNP portal and log in using your personal Gmail... Then go to the activate products page and activate Google Workspace. This will involve typing in the domain that you used to create the workspace (e.g., mynonprofit.org)... If all goes well, this should happen pretty quickly and you will receive an email saying that the workspace has been "activated"

  • If you log into your Workspace again, you should now see that the licensing has been changed from "Business Starter" to "Google Workspace for Nonprofits"

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