Activate Google Workspace for Nonprofits

Your parent group has been approved for Google for Nonprofits. Now you need to activate Google Workspace.

What you need to do

1. Open Google Workspace for Nonprofits in your Google for Nonprofits account.
2. Start a new Workspace account or connect the one your group already uses.
3. Verify ownership of your domain.
4. Return to Google for Nonprofits and request activation.

Do not stop after verifying the domain. Workspace is not fully activated until you return to Google for Nonprofits and submit it for review.

Start in Google for Nonprofits

Sign in to Google for Nonprofits.

Under Google Workspace for Nonprofits, select Get started.

Google will ask whether your organization already uses Google Workspace.

Choose the answer that matches your parent group.

If your group does not use Google Workspace

Google will guide you through creating a new Workspace account.

You will:

1. Enter the parent group’s domain.
2. Create the first administrator account.
3. Start the Workspace trial.
4. Verify the domain.

The trial is part of the setup process. You are not choosing a paid plan.

Complete the domain verification promptly. Google requires trial accounts to verify their domain within the first nine days.

If your group already uses Google Workspace

Do not create another account or start another trial.

Choose the option that says your organization already uses Workspace, then enter its existing domain.

You may need to sign in as a Workspace administrator.

If nobody on the current board has administrator access, recover the existing account before continuing. Do not try to create a second Workspace account for the same domain.

Verify your domain

Google needs to confirm that your parent group controls the domain used for its website and email.

Google will normally give you a TXT record to add to the domain’s DNS settings.

1. Sign in to the company that manages your domain, such as GoDaddy or Squarespace.
2. Open the DNS settings.
3. Add the TXT record provided by Google.
4. Save the record.
5. Return to Google and select Verify.

Copy the record exactly as Google provides it.

The new record may take some time to appear. If Google cannot find it immediately, wait and try again.

Adding the verification record should not change your website.

Return to Google for Nonprofits

Verifying the domain is not the final step.

Return to your Google for Nonprofits account and open Google Workspace for Nonprofits again.

Submit the verified domain and select Activate.

This step requests the free nonprofit edition. If you do not submit the domain, the Workspace trial may expire even though the domain was verified.

Google says requests are reviewed in 2–14 business days.

Make sure the request was submitted

Before leaving the page, confirm that Google for Nonprofits shows the Workspace request as pending or approved.

You should now have:

• A verified domain
• Access to the Google Admin console
• A Workspace activation request under review

After Google approves the request, you can create the organization’s email accounts and shared files.

Next step: Set Up PTO Email Accounts, Shared Drives, and Board Handoffs.