The article above is just one of many ways that Google Apps for Work can help your nonprofit. It’s also a very specific use case: How does G-Suite specifically improve workflow for nonprofits? That may seem like a general statement about any organization, but there are advantages to being a nonprofit that set you up for success with Google Apps. You already have an established mission and principles, which means there are fewer decisions to make upfront. You’re organized around serving others, so there will be less IT wrangling over what apps you want to adopt and how they serve the public good. Your donors expect you to use technology responsibly, so you won’t have nearly as many arguments about why it’s necessary. But while these are distinct advantages of using G-Suite as mentioned above, it doesn’t mean it’s not valuable to every organization or business no matter its tax status. Here are some of the benefits of Google G-Suite for Nonprofits specifically:
Email Management
Email has been the default method for asynchronous communication for decades, and it’s used across industries. Since it’s so ubiquitous, it’s a great opportunity to improve internal communication and collaboration. G-Suite’s tools for email management are some of its most basic and essential features. You can set up auto-labeling for incoming emails so that you can sort and prioritize them more efficiently. You can also add predefined responses to common requests or questions so that you don’t have to waste time on redundant tasks. With email, you can also set up rules to route specific messages to different folders based on sender, subject line, or other criteria. This is a great way to keep your inbox from becoming cluttered with emails that don’t need to be there. You can also create email templates that can be reused when sending messages to the same people, which makes it easier to format your emails consistently.
Calendar Management
Google Calendar is built into G-Suite, so it’s already part of any organization’s workflow. This means that you don’t have to rely on an outside service to keep track of your schedules and appointments. You can access shared calendars that are set up for particular projects or teams and get notifications about important events so you don’t miss anything important. While Google Calendar may not be the first calendar management app that comes to mind for most people, it’s a great tool for nonprofits. Some of the main reasons include: These advantages make Google Calendar a convenient and efficient way to manage your team’s calendars and stay organized.
Document Collaboration & Storage
When you’re working with documents, you don’t want to be limited to a single type of file. You may need to keep certain documents in Microsoft Word, but you may also want to keep research in Google Drive. G-Suite allows you to use all three: Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations, respectively. You get a few added benefits with these tools, as well. Google Docs and Sheets let you see who is collaborating on the document and allow you to easily share the document with others. You can also track changes to the document so you can see when someone makes an edit and view a log of who made those changes.
Video Conferencing
G-Suite’s video conferencing tool is also part of its Drive package, so every organization can take advantage of it. This tool allows you to host online meetings with your colleagues or clients and participants don’t need to download any software. You can create a meeting room and then invite people to join the meeting through email or their G-Suite account. You can record the meeting so you can review it later, invite participants to ask questions during the meeting, and share links to other resources during the discussion. G-Suite’s video conferencing tool provides a way for you to connect with your team members or clients remotely without having to use an outside service.
Organization & User Management
While G-Suite’s organizational tools are useful for managing your team’s workflow, its user management features are useful for setting up security and accessibility permissions. You can control who can view and make changes to documents, calendars, and other items. This is especially important for sensitive information that’s related to your organization’s mission. It’s best to keep it within the confines of your organization’s network, rather than putting it on a cloud service. G-Suite’s user management tools make it easy to control who has access to what while still allowing people to collaborate on documents and share information within the organization. You can also use its email management features to add contacts to a list so that you can easily keep track of who has access to what.
Takeaway
G-Suite’s tools are useful for any organization, but they have special significance for nonprofits. Many of these tools are already built into G-Suite, so they’re easy to implement and you don’t have to purchase additional software. G-Suite’s tools for email management (including auto-labeling, predefined responses, and rules for routing messages), calendar management (including shared calendars), document collaboration and storage (including Microsoft Word, Sheets, and Slides), video conferencing, organization and user management are all essential for managing an organization’s workflow.
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