May 31, 2013 In Google Ad Grants, By Media Cause Team

Google for Nonprofits Vs Google in Education

Difference between Google for Nonprofit va Google in Education

Recently I was asked to explain the Google for Nonprofits program and how it was different from Google in Education. After all, aren’t both philanthropic programs through Google, and don’t both offer free stuff to good causes? Well, yes. However, where Google In Education and sister program Google Giving focus on creating new projects designed to improve the world, Google for Nonprofits gives organizations the tools to do it themselves.

What’s Google in Education again? For those of you who work with schools, you might be interested in knowing more about Google in Education. Google in Education is the umbrella program for a number of initiatives Google has focusing on school children. This includes free lesson plans for teachers, science competitions for students, and even a free version of the nifty Google Apps program administrators (more on that later). Again, Google in Education is not one single program but a bunch of different projects that happen all over the country and even the world. Requirements differ for each program, but many things that Google offers to educators, such as its Google a Day Game, are free and available to anyone who’s interested.

What about Google for Nonprofits? Nonprofits, I believe, got the better end of the bargain. The Google for Nonprofits program offers a suite of 4 online programs that support your organization, particularly your outreach and fundraising efforts. The 4 programs are Google Grants, Google workspace, Google Earth Outreach, and YouTube for Nonprofits (Google owns YouTube). The nonprofit program is open to most charities, though requirements vary by country. The really nice thing about Google for Nonprofits is you only have to apply once. After your application has been accepted, you are qualified to use any of the 4 programs within the suite.

#1 Google Grants

Now, if you have spent any time on the Media Cause blog, you should already know all about Google Grants. If not, here’s a quick run down: Google Grants is an in-kind grant of $10,000 per month for advertising on Google.com. These ads will appear at the top and in the sidebar on Google search result pages. If a user clicks on one of your ads, he or she is taken directly to a page on your website of your choosing. It’s a great tool for creating awareness and soliciting donations. Best of all, it’s an evergreen grant, meaning you can get $10,000 in advertising money for the life of your nonprofit. Want to learn more? Read our article Getting Started with Google Grants written by our founder Eric Facas.

#2 Google Workspace

This is the one program that Google for Nonprofits and Google in Education share. Google Workspace is an office software solution package; think of Google workspace like Microsoft Office Suite but better. Google Workspace offers all the standards, such as a word processor, slideshow maker, spreadsheets, email, and calendar. However, because it’s based “in the cloud”, i.e. stored online, you have the added advantage of being able to pull up the program anywhere and on any device. Additionally, sharing documents with coworkers is a lot easier with Google Workspace simple-to-use share drive.

#3 YouTube for Nonprofits

If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine the worth of 30 frames per second! There are a lot of things to like about YouTube for Nonprofits. First off, it allows you to put links into your movie that take viewers directly to your website and even your donation page. Don’t have a way to collect online donations yet? You can add the Google Checkout Box onto your organization’s main page (or “Channel” in YouTube speak), so people can give to you through a secure online system. My favorite tool, though, is the annotations feature. For those of you of a certain age, you might remember VH1 Pop Up Video. Annotations are like that, but less silly. You can place annotations anywhere and at any time within your video. I use them to provide facts and statics on the mission, or to give viewers a call to action.

#4 Google Earth Outreach

Imagine soaring over the Amazon rain forest, then zoom in on an ancient Aztec temple, before panning out back out to see the entire southern hemisphere. That’s all possible with Google Earth, a free 3D mapping software accessible online. Google Earth Outreach is an online community for nonprofits to get started with this technology. Environmental groups, in particular, love this program because it allows them to show supporters exactly what they are protecting. Additionally, you can customize maps by inserting icons, photographs, and text boxes. The coolest feature by far has to be its Narrated Tours. It’s like a video, but one where the user can interact with the surroundings.

Create eye-popping 3D maps and global tours with Google Earth

In Summary

Educators, your cool, free Google stuff can be found here
Google For Nonprofits offers you a suite of 4 programs for FREE
Google Grants give you $10,000 in Google Advertising Dollars for life!
Google Apps is like Microsoft Office except better
Google Earth Outreach lets you create custom 3D maps and audio tours
YouTube for Nonprofits lets viewers interact with your organization

Yes, nonprofits definitely get a suite deal from Google (sorry couldn’t resist the pun). Looking for help to get started? Get in touch.