Troubleshoot Google for Nonprofits and Workspace Setup

By Ben Downey Updated July 21, 2026
Parent-group volunteer troubleshooting a Google Workspace setup

Start by naming the stage that is blocked. The same words, including In Progress, can refer to different requests.

The pending item may be:

  • Goodstack nonprofit verification.
  • Goodstack applicant-affiliation verification.
  • Access to an existing Google for Nonprofits account.
  • Google Workspace product activation.
  • Domain verification or domain review.

Goodstack verified the nonprofit but not my affiliation

A personal Gmail address is allowed. The problem may be that Goodstack could not independently confirm your role.

  • Submit eligible signed minutes or another organization-issued record.
  • Put your name and title on the organization’s website.
  • Include the bank evidence Goodstack requests.
  • Use Goodstack’s re-review process.
  • Keep responses inside the existing case.

Read Complete Goodstack Verification before resubmitting documents.

Google cannot verify our domain

  • Confirm that you are editing DNS for the exact submitted domain.
  • Copy the TXT record exactly.
  • Check whether DNS is managed somewhere other than the company that sold the domain.
  • Allow time for the record to propagate and try again.
  • Leave unrelated A, CNAME, and MX records unchanged.

If the board does not control DNS, recover that access before making more Workspace changes.

Our 14-day trial expired

Google says this commonly happens when the domain was never submitted for activation through the Google for Nonprofits dashboard.

  1. Sign in to Google for Nonprofits.
  2. Open Google Workspace for Nonprofits.
  3. Select Get started.
  4. Submit the domain for activation.
  5. Use Google Workspace support if the account is suspended or inaccessible.

Follow Google’s expired-trial instructions and review Activate Google Workspace and Verify Your Domain.

The status still says In Progress

If nonprofit verification has already been approved, Goodstack says In Progress may refer to a pending request for administrative access.

Contact the organization’s current Google administrator and confirm whether they received an access request. Use the official account-access instructions when nobody responds.

A former officer already set this up

  • Ask the former officer to add current administrators.
  • Use Google’s account-access process when the administrator does not respond.
  • Recover control of the domain registrar or DNS provider.
  • Do not create a second Workspace organization for the same domain.
  • Document the handoff after access is restored.

Nobody has responded

  • Check spam and junk folders for Goodstack and Google messages.
  • Reply inside the existing case so the review history stays together.
  • Contact Goodstack for nonprofit or affiliation verification problems.
  • Contact Google Workspace support for domain, suspension, or product-activation problems.
  • Do not open duplicate applications unless support directs you to do so.

Escalate the right problem

Use Goodstack support for:

  • Nonprofit-status verification.
  • Applicant-affiliation verification.
  • Document review.
  • Re-review of a rejected application.

Use Google or Google Workspace support for:

  • Workspace activation.
  • Domain verification.
  • Trial expiration or suspension.
  • Workspace administrator and product issues.

Return to the Google for Nonprofits Playbook after the blocking stage is resolved.