What does Google Workspace for Nonprofits include?
Google Workspace for Nonprofits is free for unlimited users. It includes Gmail on your own domain, Drive, Docs, Meet and a shared calendar, alongside the separate Google Ad Grant worth up to $10,000 a month in search advertising. When we talk to nonprofits about technology grants, Microsoft usually dominates the conversation. But Google has a substantial offering that many South African NPOs overlook entirely. That's a mistake.
Google Workspace for Nonprofits offers free access to the dedicated Nonprofits edition for your whole team. This includes Gmail with your custom domain, pooled Google Drive storage shared across your organisation, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet for video conferencing, and more. For a small NPO, this is easily R40,000+ of annual value at zero cost.
What exactly is included in the free nonprofit tier?
The free tier gives unlimited users Gmail on your own domain, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet and shared calendars, with the Ad Grant available separately.
- Gmail with Custom Domain: info@yourcharity.org.za looks professional. Free Gmail doesn't allow this. This alone is worth the registration effort.
- Pooled Cloud Storage: Google now provides storage as a shared pool across your whole organisation rather than a fixed amount per person. For most NPOs that comfortably covers everyday documents and email, and you can top it up with a discounted paid upgrade if you outgrow it.
- Google Meet: Video conferencing for up to 100 participants with no time limits. Perfect for virtual board meetings, volunteer coordination, and donor calls.
- Shared Drives: Team storage that persists even when staff members leave. Essential for institutional knowledge.
- Admin Controls: Manage users, set security policies, control sharing, all from a single console.
Google or Microsoft: which is better for a nonprofit?
One important update: Microsoft retired its free Business Premium and Office 365 E1 grants for nonprofits on 1 July 2025. Today the free Microsoft tier is Business Basic, which is web and mobile only, with no installed desktop apps. To get the full installed Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, nonprofits now buy Business Premium at a heavily discounted rate (often around 75 percent off). Google's free offer is also entirely browser-based, with no desktop apps. So if your team genuinely needs offline access to full-featured Office applications, budget for the discounted Microsoft licences rather than expecting them for free.
However, Google includes something Microsoft doesn't: the Google Ad Grants programme. Eligible nonprofits receive $10,000 USD per month in free Google Ads credits. Per month. That is over R2 million Rands per year in advertising value for your cause.
For nonprofits with websites, donation campaigns, or programmes they're promoting, this grant can be transformative. Suddenly your shelter for abused women appears when people search for help. Your environmental project shows up when people look for volunteer opportunities. Your cause reaches people actively looking for what you offer.
Can a nonprofit use both Google and Microsoft?
Yes, and it is often the best answer. Run internal operations on Microsoft 365 and take the Google Ad Grant for marketing, since the Ad Grant does not require you to use Google Workspace for email. Here's what smart NPOs do: use Microsoft for internal operations and Google for marketing.
Microsoft 365 handles email, documents, and identity. Many NPOs run the free Business Basic tier for web-based email and apps, then add discounted Business Premium licences for the staff who need installed desktop apps, deeper security, and seamless Windows integration.
Google Workspace is claimed separately, specifically for the Ad Grant. You don't need to use Gmail or Docs, but you do need an active Google Workspace nonprofit account to access the advertising credits.
The one thing you absolutely should never do: run two separate email systems. Email fragmentation is an administrative nightmare. Pick one for email and identity (we usually recommend Microsoft for established NPOs due to better device management), but claim Google for the advertising value.
| Google for Nonprofits | Microsoft for Nonprofits | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Google Workspace for Nonprofits, unlimited users | Microsoft 365 Business Basic, up to 300 users |
| Desktop Office apps | Not included; browser and mobile apps only | Only on the discounted Business Premium tier |
| Advertising grant | Ad Grant worth up to $10,000 a month in Google Search ads | No equivalent |
| Device management | Basic mobile management | Intune on Business Premium |
| SA verification | TechSoup South Africa | TechSoup South Africa |
How does a South African nonprofit qualify and apply?
The same verification covers both programmes, so it is worth doing once and claiming everything you qualify for. Our nonprofit IT checklist lists them side by side.
South African nonprofits qualify by holding valid NPO or PBO registration and verifying it through TechSoup South Africa, which both Google and Microsoft accept as proof. Both Google and Microsoft require NPO status verification. In South Africa, this typically means being registered as an NPO with the Department of Social Development, or being a Section 18A approved public benefit organisation.
Application is through Google for Nonprofits directly. The process is free but takes 2-4 weeks for verification. Plan ahead, you can't rush this when you suddenly need it. Not sure whether your organisation qualifies? Run it through our nonprofit eligibility checker, or see everything we do for NPOs on our nonprofit IT page.