Google for Nonprofits

Most people know that Youtube is an excellent tool for sharing videos, and that Google Apps are a powerhouse resource for any business. While researching how non-profits can benefit from using social media I found an article on Social Media Examiner titled “10 Ways Non-Profits can Benefit from Social Media.”  There are some excellent resources in this article and I highly recommend you take a look at it. What stood out in my mind was the YouTube Non-Profit program, and I decided to delve into what that entails and if it was a good deal for a non-profits. What I found was that Google offers 501(c)3′s a variety of tools for little or no cost.

First let’s talk about the program itself. Google has created a program called Google for Nonprofits that allows premium access, for free, to services that other businesses have to pay for. There are four tools Google has in this package; YouTube for Nonprofits, Google Grants, Google Earth Outreach Grants, and Google Apps for Nonprofits. These are available after a brief application process. Google has to verify your on-profit status before they give you access to the tools.

Google Grants is a great way to utilize Google adwords at no cost. This program provides free AdWords advertising to help promote your website through keyword targeting. Google Earth Outreach Grants provide free licensing on Google Earth and Maps API for Business. And Google Apps for Nonprofit is a free version of Google Apps that allows nonprofits to have up to 3000 users. The regular Google apps allows 9 users for free.

YouTube is a great way for non-profits to get the word out about their cause. Video is powerful a standard account is very useful. What makes the YouTube for Nonprofits program so valuable is that you are offered several features that a standard account does not provide. The program offers premium branding capabilities, which means you are able to use more graphics to advertise your cause. There is also an increased upload capacity which means you won’t be limited on the length of your video, you can even select custom thumbnail images for those videos (another feature not offered with a standard account). The best part of all is that you have the ability to have call-to-action overlay for videos, which means you can ask for donations right in your videos. If you want specifics on how to use YouTube or video in your marketing, Courtney McCallum is your go to gal in the collective!

This find is very valuable not only for the YouTube functionality but for all the services Google has to offer. I would recommend checking it out if are a 501(c)3, as it could save your non-profit some money that you could then turn around and use to help those your non-profit benefits.

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Sarah Garrison

Owner at Garrison Marketing Solutions

Sarah’s business—and her passion—is connecting local professionals with their community through social networking education. While Garrison Marketing Solutions has been around since November 2011, Sarah has always been considered a technology nerd. Sarah started Garrison Marketing Solutions so that she could provide social media solutions for businesses that range from training to full blown management. In her spare time she enjoys spending it with family, friends and her two puppies, fishing, hiking or traveling! Being asolopreneur, doesn’t allow for much extra time, but she takes what she can get! And her middle name really is Sunshine! If Sarah had to choose one thing she enjoys most it would be helping others, which is why she is passionate about helping non-profits. She believes that non-profits should not be held hostage by their technology and should be able to create systems that are easily followed if the non-profit decides to take on the work. Sarah’s extensive work with several non-profits in the Portland area has given her great insight into what these organizations need. There is little that surprises her when it comes to non-profits; she has worked with a diverse group already!

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I love to help connect local business professionals with their community through social networking education.

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