Activate Google Workspace for Nonprofits

You’ve completed Goodstack verification. Your group now has access to Google for Nonprofits, but free Google Workspace is not active yet.

Time to land this plane! This walkthrough is for a group starting Google Workspace for the first time.

Before starting, have your domain name and the login for the company that manages the domain (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace) ready. You’ll need to update some of the settings associated with your domain. These Domain Name System (DNS) settings tell internet services how to find your website and deliver email. If you still need a domain, a working website, or access to those settings, use Prepare Your Domain and Website first.

1. Open Google Workspace for Nonprofits

You’re ready for this step once you receive an approval email from Google like the one below.

Select Activate products in the email, or sign in directly to Google for Nonprofits using the Google account you used for the application.

Under Activate Google Workspace for Nonprofits, select Get started.

Google will ask whether your nonprofit currently uses Google Workspace. Select No, we don’t use Google Workspace yet, then Next. Note: a regular @gmail.com account is not a Google Workspace account.

2. Start setup from the nonprofit dashboard

The next screen shows the whole process. This confused a lot of people. That “domain” field makes it seem like you should submit your domain immediately. Do not do that.

First, select Start your Google Workspace for Nonprofits setup.

You will enter your domain during account setup, then return to this screen after verifying ownership to submit the same domain for activation review. Keep this dashboard tab open so you can return to it.

There is one frustrating detail: Google’s current instructions describe even the nonprofit signup as a 14-day trial at no charge while activation is being completed. That temporary setup period is not the finished result. Your goal is to get the free nonprofit edition activated.

If something goes wrong and you need back-and-forth emails with Google, that two-week trial will expire quickly. Then you’re receiving trial-expiration notices and prompts to enter a credit card while you’re still trying to get approved. Have your domain and website ready before starting, and finish the submission steps below before waiting for an email. If the trial expires or billing prompts appear, use the expired-trial guidance rather than choosing a paid plan just to continue.

3. Create your Workspace account

When Google asks Does your organization have a domain?, select Yes, I have one I can use.

Next, enter your organization’s domain name, such as jeffersonpto.org. Enter only the domain name, not a full website address.

• Good: jeffersonpto.org
• Bad: https://www.jeffersonpto.org

During signup, Google also asks you to create a username and password. This creates the account you will use to sign in to Workspace and manage the initial setup.

I usually use an address such as admin@jeffersonpto.org for this initial administrator account. Later, you can set up addresses for specific uses, such as welcome@jeffersonpto.org or treasurer@jeffersonpto.org. Keep this administrator login secure rather than sharing it among the whole board.

4. Verify that you control your domain

Google needs to confirm that your parent group controls the domain you entered. The setup screen also mentions starting Gmail, but proving domain ownership and setting up email delivery are separate tasks.

Select Get started and follow Google’s domain-verification prompts. On the Choose how to verify your domain screen, Google may offer verification through your domain provider. Follow the method shown for your provider.

For manual verification, Google normally gives you a TXT record: a short piece of text to add to the domain’s DNS settings as proof of ownership.

1. Sign in to the company that manages your domain’s DNS, such as GoDaddy or Squarespace. This may be different from your website provider or the company that sold you the domain.
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. If verification remains blocked, use the domain-verification troubleshooting steps.

Google may also guide you through starting Gmail on your domain. That step changes email-routing records, called MX records, so messages arrive in Google’s mailboxes. If your domain already receives email through another provider, plan that switch before changing those records. Adding the verification TXT record alone does not move your email to Gmail. Activate Gmail configures email delivery; Activate in Google for Nonprofits submits the nonprofit activation review. They are different actions. Before switching existing domain email, create the accounts that will receive it and follow Google’s Gmail setup instructions.

5. Return to Google for Nonprofits and submit your domain

Next, return to the Google for Nonprofits dashboard tab you left open. If you closed it, sign in to Google for Nonprofits and open Google Workspace for Nonprofits again.

Enter the domain you used to create Workspace, e.g., jeffersonpto.org, and click Activate.

Selecting Activate submits the domain for Google’s Workspace for Nonprofits activation review. This is separate from the Goodstack verification you already completed.

Before leaving the dashboard, confirm that the request was received. The example below shows Activation request received.

If you do not submit the domain for activation, the temporary Workspace trial may expire even though you successfully verified ownership.

6. Wait for Google’s decision

Goodstack has verified your nonprofit and your connection to it. Google now checks whether your Workspace domain and website clearly represent that approved organization. This second review is easy to miss because the first approval can make it seem like you are already finished.

Your website should make the relationship easy to understand:

Jefferson Elementary PTO
↓
jeffersonpto.org

The domain and website guide explains what information to display.

Google says the activation review can take several days. The timing shown in your dashboard may differ from the examples here, especially when Google reports a high volume of requests.

Watch for Google’s decision email, including in your spam folder (yes, this happens even to Google). Google may approve the activation or ask for additional information. If the review is stuck, your domain is rejected, or the trial expires, use Troubleshoot Google for Nonprofits and Workspace Setup.

After approval, continue to Set Up PTO Email Accounts, Shared Drives, and Board Handoffs.