Troubleshoot Google for Nonprofits and Workspace Setup

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

Jump to the problem you see:

• Goodstack rejected my connection to the nonprofit
• Google cannot verify domain ownership
• Google cannot connect our domain to the nonprofit
• The trial expired or review outlasted it
• Activation is approved but the subscription still shows a trial or paid plan
• Our new accounts do not receive email
• The status still says In Progress
• A former officer controls the accounts
• We have been waiting a long time

If your nonprofit is verified but your affiliation is rejected

A personal Gmail address may be allowed. Before trying again, reduce anything that could make your relationship to the organization unclear:

• Confirm that your full name is visible on the organization’s website.
• Confirm that your current board role is listed.
• If possible, use an email address on the organization’s domain.
• Put that same email address next to your name and role on the website.
• Confirm that the legal name, EIN, website URL, and email in the application match the organization’s public information.
• Remove stale officers, placeholder content, or contradictory contact information that could confuse a reviewer.
• Submit the organization-issued and bank evidence Goodstack requests.
• Then submit a new request or use Goodstack’s re-review process.

If you are changing from a personal email to an address on the organization’s domain, Goodstack says to submit a new application. Read Apply for Google for Nonprofits 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. Once verified, return to Google for Nonprofits and submit the activation request.

Google says the relationship between your nonprofit and Workspace domain is unclear

This is a Google Workspace activation problem, not necessarily a problem with your Goodstack nonprofit approval.

Google has already verified the nonprofit through the first stage. During Workspace activation, Google is trying to confirm that the domain you submitted truly belongs to and represents that nonprofit.

Check the website for these common problems:

• The site does not load correctly
• The site contains “Coming Soon” or placeholder content
• The organization’s name is difficult to find
• The mission is missing or unclear
• The physical street address is missing
• The EIN or other nonprofit registration or tax ID is missing
• The domain does not clearly correspond to the nonprofit’s name
• The site still contains generic or unfinished template content

Use the website readiness guide to address these issues, then return to Google for Nonprofits and submit the Workspace domain for another review.

You do not need to restart your Goodstack verification simply because this Workspace review failed.

If you cannot make the requested information public on the website, use Google for Nonprofits support to ask about alternative documentation.

Official Google guidance

Our 14-day trial expired

First, check whether the domain was submitted for activation in Google for Nonprofits.

If you never submitted it: open Google Workspace for Nonprofits, select Get started, and follow the activation submission steps. Verifying ownership alone does not submit the request.

If the dashboard already shows an activation request received: the review may have outlasted the trial. Contact Google for Nonprofits support, explain that the submitted request is still pending, and include its domain and any case number. Ask what is needed to complete activation and keep access while it is reviewed; do not assume you must choose a paid plan.

If the Workspace account is suspended or inaccessible, use Workspace support too. Once activation is approved, confirm the free subscription.

Activation is approved but the subscription looks paid or on trial

Sign in to the Admin console with the Workspace administrator account and check Billing → Subscriptions for the same domain that Google approved. Confirm that you are viewing the Workspace subscription, not another service or organization.

If the nonprofit edition is not active at no charge, contact Google for Nonprofits support with the approval email, domain, and current subscription details. Avoid selecting an upgrade or entering payment information simply to dismiss the prompt. Resume the free-plan check once resolved.

Our new accounts do not receive email

Nonprofit approval and a verified domain do not automatically configure Gmail delivery. Confirm that the recipient user account exists, then complete Google’s Gmail setup instructions. Email-routing records, called MX records, must direct mail to Google, and Gmail must be activated for the domain.

If the domain already receives mail elsewhere, create the needed accounts and plan the switch before changing those records. Then send and receive a test message. Continue with board account setup when delivery works.

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 for Nonprofits administrator and confirm whether they received an access request. This is access to the nonprofit program account, not necessarily the Workspace Admin console. Use the official account-access instructions when nobody responds.

A former officer already set this up

• Identify which access is missing: Google for Nonprofits, Workspace administration, or domain management. These are separate accounts.
• Ask the former officer to add current administrators to the affected account.
• 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.

If you’ve been waiting a long time

• Check spam and junk folders for Goodstack and Google messages.
• Use the Goodstack verification path for nonprofit eligibility, applicant affiliation, document review, and re-review problems.
• Use the Google for Nonprofits support form when Google Workspace product activation is stuck. Choose the Workspace product-activation category if offered; support-form labels may change.
• Include previous case or ticket numbers in the new support request so the team can find the earlier history.
• Use Google Workspace administrator support when the Workspace tenant itself is suspended or inaccessible.

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