Google for Nonprofits: Current Facts

Last checked: October 30, 2026. Google changes amounts, limits, waiting times and names without notice. The books point here for anything that changes, and each line below links to the Google page it was checked against. If Google's page and this page disagree, Google's page wins.

Applying and getting approved

Google says most Google for Nonprofits requests are reviewed in 2 to 14 business days, and you get an email when the review is done. Source: support.google.com
The verification page says most applications are reviewed within 3 to 5 business days. If you have heard nothing after 5 business days, check whether you still need to verify your email, confirm your association with the nonprofit, or upload documents. Source: support.google.com
Google names Goodstack as its independent verification partner. Its emails come from [email protected], so check inbox, spam and junk for that address. Source: support.google.com
If no administrator responds to a request for access, the request is automatically escalated to a Google representative after 14 days. Source: support.google.com
Regaining access when no administrator responds requires waiting the 14 days before escalation, and Google support cannot speed this up. Source: support.google.com
Google says it will follow up by email with next steps on a Workspace for Nonprofits activation request within 3 business days. Source: support.google.com

Setting up so the organization owns it

Organizations not yet on Google Workspace can sign up for a 14-day trial of Google Workspace for Nonprofits at no charge, then verify the domain and submit it for review. Source: support.google.com
Adding the domain verification record takes about 10 minutes. Google may need up to one hour to confirm it, though it is often faster, and the record's activation time depends on your domain host. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
ICANN says a registrar must provide the transfer authorization code within five calendar days of the domain holder's request. Source: icann.org
A registrar may deny a transfer requested within 60 days of the domain's first registration or within 60 days of a previous transfer to another registrar. Source: icann.org
After a change of registrant, the registrar must lock the domain against transfer to another registrar for 60 days. Registrars may offer an opt-out, which must be used before the change request is made, but they are not required to offer it. Source: icann.org
For most current customers and all new customers, super administrator account recovery is off by default. Existing customers with fewer than 3 super admins or 500 users keep it on by default. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
When you choose a start date for 2-Step Verification enforcement, it begins within 24-48 hours of that date. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
A deleted Workspace user account can be restored for up to 20 days. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com

Email that arrives

SPF can take up to 48 hours to start working after you add the record. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
An SPF record can have up to 10 include: tags. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
If Google Workspace is your only email sender, the SPF TXT record is v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
Google says to use a 2048-bit DKIM key if your domain provider supports it, and 1024-bit if not. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
After turning on Gmail, wait 24 to 72 hours before you can get the DKIM key in the Admin console. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
After the DKIM record is added to DNS, authentication can take up to 48 hours to start working. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
Allow 48 hours after setting up SPF and/or DKIM before setting up DMARC, so they are authenticating messages first. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
Google advises starting with a small percentage of messages in the DMARC pct tag and raising it as mail passes authentication, until it reaches 100. Leaving pct out means 100 percent. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
Since February 1, 2024, all senders to Gmail must set up SPF or DKIM for their sending domains and keep their spam rate in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%. Source: support.google.com
Senders of more than 5,000 messages per day to Gmail accounts must set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC; the DMARC policy may be set to none. Source: support.google.com
Google recommends keeping the spam rate below 0.10% and avoiding reaching 0.30% or higher. Source: support.google.com
Starting January 2027, Gmail will stop supporting Send as for third-party addresses such as Yahoo or Outlook. Workspace aliases and other Gmail addresses you own are not affected. Source: support.google.com
DKIM is set up in the Admin console under Menu, Apps, Google Workspace, Gmail, then Authenticate email. Groups sharing settings are under Menu, Apps, Google Workspace, Groups for Business, then Sharing settings. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com

Shared drives and files

The comparison page marks Shared drives for your team as included in the free nonprofit edition and in all paid editions listed. Source: google.com
A shared drive can have up to 600 people added individually, or up to 100 groups containing up to 50,000 people in total. Source: support.google.com
Shared drives have five access levels: Manager, Content manager, Contributor, Commenter and Viewer. Source: support.google.com
New shared drive members are Content managers by default, though the person adding them can pick a different role. Source: support.google.com
The default shared drive sharing settings include 'Allow users outside your organization to access files in shared drives', plus four others about manager overrides, adding non-members to files, content managers sharing folders, and viewers and commenters downloading, printing and copying. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com

Meetings, calendars and forms

The free nonprofit edition allows Meet meetings of up to 150 participants. Source: google.com
The free nonprofit edition allows meetings up to 24 hours long, the same as the paid editions. Source: google.com
Saving meeting recordings to Google Drive is not included in the free nonprofit edition. It is included in Business Standard, Business Plus and Enterprise. Source: google.com
Business Standard is the lowest paid edition listed that includes recording to Drive; Business Plus and Enterprise include it too. Source: google.com
New calendars can only be created from a web browser on a computer, not the mobile app. Once created, the calendar also shows in the Calendar app. Source: support.google.com

AI tools and privacy

The Gemini app is at gemini.google.com, and NotebookLM has been renamed Gemini Notebook. Google's own pages give two different web addresses for Gemini Notebook (notebook.google.com on the admin help page, notebooklm.google on the nonprofit page), so use the link on your own Google for Nonprofits page. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
The nonprofit AI page lists Deep Research and Audio Overviews (among others) in the Gemini app, and summaries, Audio Overviews, question and answer, and Mind Maps in Gemini Notebook. Source: support.google.com
Gemini in Workspace (writing help in Gmail and Docs, side panels, Meet note-taking) is marked not available on the free nonprofit plan. Business Standard includes it at $3.50 per user per month for nonprofits, versus $14 standard. Source: support.google.com
Google says Gemini app chats and uploaded files will not be reviewed by human reviewers or used to train generative AI models outside your domain without permission, and your content is not used for other customers. Source: support.google.com
Google says Gemini Notebook uploads, queries and responses will not be reviewed by human reviewers and will not otherwise be used to train generative AI models. Source: support.google.com
Admins can keep Gemini app conversations for 3, 18 or 36 months, with 18 months as the default. With history off, new chats are kept up to 72 hours. Source: support.google.com
In Gemini Notebook, prompts and responses are not kept after the session ends. Users can delete uploaded files and notebooks manually or export them with Google Takeout. Source: support.google.com
The privacy page says it applies only when using Gemini and Gemini Notebook with a qualifying Workspace edition, and excludes the Education versions. Source: support.google.com
Gemini Notebook makes a new copy of each file uploaded from Drive, stored with its own data. Your organization's file sharing and data region settings do not apply to Notebook data. Source: support.google.com
Admins with the Gemini settings privilege can turn the Gemini app on or off for everyone, or apply the setting to an organizational unit or configuration group. By default the app is available to users over 18 who hold a license that includes it. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com

Google Ad Grants

Eligible nonprofits can get up to $10,000 USD per month in text-based ads on Google Search through Ad Grants. Source: google.com
The Ad Grants monthly limit of $10,000 works out to a daily budget of $329 USD, shared across all campaigns. Google calls it a limit, not a guarantee of spend, and campaign setup says to use a daily budget of 329 USD or less. Source: support.google.com
The single-word keyword exceptions are ten words: charity, charities, donate, donation, ngo, ngos, nonprofit, nonprofits, volunteer and volunteering. All keywords are still subject to Google Ads advertising policies. Source: support.google.com
Keywords with a Quality Score of 1 or 2 must be paused or removed. Quality Score is measured on a scale of 1 to 10 at the keyword level. Source: support.google.com
Ad Grants accounts must keep a 5% click-through rate each month. Missing 5% for two consecutive months results in account deactivation. Source: support.google.com
Accounts under 90 days old are not reviewed for the 5% click-through requirement. Source: support.google.com
The account must have at least one properly set up conversion type that records at least 1 conversion per month while active. Source: support.google.com
For accounts created on or after April 22, 2019, every campaign needs a conversion-based Smart Bidding strategy (unless Smart campaigns are used). The program-level maximum bid is $2.00 USD, and Maximize conversions, Target CPA and Target ROAS may bid above it. Source: support.google.com
Each campaign must have at least 2 ad groups, and each account must have at least 2 sitelinks. Campaign setup also says to add at least 2 unique text sitelinks. Source: support.google.com
Invitation emails can take up to 3 business days to arrive after the official Ad Grants approval notice. Source: support.google.com
The Ad Grants account has a 10-digit Customer ID, shown as XXX-XXX-XXXX. Source: support.google.com
Google Ads has Standard and Admin access levels (plus Email-only, Billing and Read-only). Standard can edit campaigns; only Admin can manage account access and access levels. Source: support.google.com
A responsive search ad takes at least 3 and up to 15 headlines of up to 30 characters, and at least 2 and up to 4 descriptions of up to 90 characters. Ad Grants recommends one responsive search ad per ad group and allows no more than 3 enabled per ad group. Source: support.google.com
To raise click-through rate, pause the highest-impression keywords at 4% CTR or below until the Total: filtered keywords row reaches at least 4%. That row is the one reviewed, and it must be at least 5% for the last week before requesting reinstatement. Source: support.google.com
Campaign setup still uses the options Create a campaign without a goal's guidance, Include Google search partners and Include Google Display Network (both to be deselected), and Publish campaign. Source: support.google.com
All grantees must complete an annual program survey. The page does not state a specific consequence for not completing it, so the softer wording is supported. Source: support.google.com

YouTube and Google Maps

Google for Nonprofits provides $250 USD per month in Google Maps Platform credits to nonprofits. Source: google.com
Google's review of a YouTube Nonprofit Program request takes 2 to 14 business days, and Google emails the result. Source: support.google.com
Google reviews a Maps Platform credit request within 3 business days. Source: support.google.com
The program page says YouTube Giving fundraising features are currently available in the U.S. and names no other country. Source: google.com
The program page lists three features: link anywhere cards that point supporters to any external URL, YouTube Giving features for fundraising, and Creator Academy lessons tailored to nonprofits. Source: google.com
The Maps Embed API is free to use with unlimited requests, with no daily or per-second limits, though every request needs an API key. Source: developers.google.com
Maps Platform pay-as-you-go gives free monthly calls per product SKU: 10,000 for Essentials, 5,000 for Pro and 1,000 for Enterprise tier products. Google says the old $200 monthly credit was replaced by these per-SKU free calls starting March 1, 2025. Source: mapsplatform.google.com

Free edition and paid editions

The free nonprofit edition costs $0 per user per month. Source: google.com
The free edition allows Meet calls of up to 150 participants and meetings up to 24 hours long. Source: google.com
The free edition gives 100 TB of storage shared across all users in the organization. Source: google.com
The free edition includes both 2-Step Verification and the Advanced Protection Program. Source: google.com
Business Standard is $3.50 per user per month with a one-year commitment and $4.20 per user per month on the monthly plan. Source: google.com
Business Standard is described as 75 percent or more off the standard price. Source: google.com
Business Standard saves Meet recordings to Drive, gives 2 TB of storage per user, and keeps Meet at 150 participants. Source: google.com
Business Plus is $6.16 per user per month with a one-year commitment and $7.40 per user per month on the monthly plan. Source: google.com
Business Plus is described as 72 percent or more off the standard price. Source: google.com
Business Plus adds Meet for up to 500 participants, attendance tracking, advanced endpoint management, Secure LDAP and Vault, with 5 TB of storage per user. Source: google.com
Data loss prevention and context-aware access are marked only for the Enterprise column, not for either Business edition. Source: google.com
The comparison page names Business Standard, Business Plus and Enterprise; Business Starter does not appear there but is named on Google's downgrade page. Source: google.com
Vault covers Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Chat (only when history is on), Meet recordings and related logs, Groups, Sites and Gemini app messages, plus Google Voice for Voice add-on subscribers. Source: support.google.com
Vault is marked Yes for Business Plus and Enterprise, and No for the free edition and Business Standard. Source: google.com
Google recommends an Archived User license to preserve a departed user's data for Vault rather than deleting the account; deleted-user data can be recovered for 20 days after deletion. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
At 15 accounts the prices above give $52.50 a month and $630 a year for Standard annual, $92.40 and $1,108.80 for Plus annual, and $756 and $1,332 a year on the monthly plans. The arithmetic checks out against the current prices. Source: google.com
With 2 TB per user, 15 accounts total 30 TB; with 5 TB per user, 75 TB; both are below the free edition's 100 TB shared pool. The arithmetic checks out. Source: google.com
At 2 TB per user the pool equals 100 TB at 50 accounts, and at 5 TB per user at 20 accounts, so fewer than those counts gives less than the free pool. The arithmetic checks out. Source: google.com
Downgrading means first switching to Business Starter, paying the standard list price per user, prorated by days on that plan, then contacting support to convert; conversion takes roughly five days. Source: support.google.com
Google states the annual plan is not available when you downgrade to a lower-level edition. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
To upgrade, go to Menu, then Billing, then Buy or upgrade in the Admin console. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
The free edition caps Meet at 150 participants, so meetings larger than that need a paid edition. Source: google.com
Google says upgrading to an advanced Workspace edition gives access to more generative AI features, but the page does not list them. Source: support.google.com
Saving Meet recordings to Drive is marked No for the free edition and Yes for Business Standard, Business Plus and Enterprise. Source: google.com

Everyday email, calendar and documents

Gmail's help page says you can have up to 100 scheduled emails. Source: support.google.com
Google's help says some appointment schedule features require an eligible Google Workspace or Google One subscription, and it points to a separate comparison page for which features. You can set a maximum number of bookings per day. Source: support.google.com
Google's help says you can add up to 40 named versions per document and up to 15 named versions per spreadsheet. Source: support.google.com
Google's help says seeing who changed a part of a Doc is available only to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and Education Plus customers. The page lists no plan requirement for the same view of a Sheets cell. Source: support.google.com
Google's administrator help for custom Drive templates lists Nonprofits among the supported editions, along with Business Standard and Business Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard and Education Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, and G Suite Basic and G Suite Business. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com
Google's administrator help for file approvals in Drive lists the supported editions as Business Standard and Business Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, and G Suite Business. It does not list Nonprofits. Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com

Meetings

Google's help for recording a Meet lists the editions that support it, including Business Standard, Business Plus, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus. Google Workspace for Nonprofits is not listed. Source: support.google.com
Google's help says Meet's “take notes for me” requires an eligible Google Workspace edition or Google AI plan and that the meeting organizer must have the edition that includes it. The page does not say whether Google Workspace for Nonprofits qualifies. Source: support.google.com

Automation

Google's Apps Script limits page lists email recipients per day at 100 for consumer accounts and 1,500 for Google Workspace accounts, and says all quotas are subject to elimination, reduction or change at any time without notice. Source: developers.google.com
Google's help for Workspace Studio flows lists eligible work or school editions that include Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and several Education editions. Google Workspace for Nonprofits is not listed. Source: support.google.com

AI features on the free edition

Google's nonprofit help page lists these as included on the free Google Workspace for Nonprofits edition: in the Gemini app, Deep Research, Gems, Canvas, Audio Overviews, quizzes and Gemini Live conversations; in NotebookLM, summaries, Audio Overviews and Q&A, with Mind Maps and Discover Sources listed under Gemini Notebook; Google Vids AI features are listed as limited. It lists Gemini in Workspace (help me write in Gmail and Docs, side panels, note-taking in Meet and Workspace Studio) as part of the paid Business Standard edition. Source: support.google.com

This page belongs to the books Google for Nonprofits, Set Up Right and Google Workspace for Nonprofits, Run It from All In One Nonprofit. We are not affiliated with Google, and this is not legal, tax or financial advice. Questions: [email protected].