Used by small businesses world over, a GMail account is one tech-tool for a SNP to help it deliver on its mission and improve volunteer experience.

For many small non-profits (SNP) and people, GMail is a God send and a truly remarkable offer on the part of Google. Creating a GMail account not only gives you an inbox but also 15 GBs of storage in a drive. Plus, you get access to a very adequate set of productivity tools akin to Microsoft Office.

It is Okay to Use GMail and What We are NOT Talking About Here

To say that ‘GMail’ has become ubiquitous is an understatement. Every fourth email on the planet is opened by one of these accounts. Launched in 2004, it quickly displaced Yahoo for its email services and has since expanded beyond that niche to become the workspace of choice for many people. One of the advantages of GMail, is that you are not restricted to a single account and an average user has 1.7 (I have four, that I can remember!) [1].

Perhaps most important, it is now ‘okay’ to use GMail as a business account making it even more okay to use for a SNP with limited budgets. A quick note, this blog is about a GMail account only. There are other variations on this such as a Google Work Account which are not discussed [2].

Do You Have a GMail Account?

If you are under thirty, there is nearly 66% chance you have at least one GMail account. Given Google’s use in schools, perhaps this is not too surprising (and a brilliant strategic move on the part of the company in introducing its product early) [1].

Google’s products can be used by signing in with other accounts but quite frankly, don’t do it – it is too clunky. As a result, require new board members or volunteers to have a GMail account. Older individuals may resist this so training and coaching is critical Don’t worry, they can still get emails to their ‘setupin1999@yahoo.com’ address.

Identity and Access – the Core of a GMail Account

So, now that you forced your newest volunteer to get a GMail – what exactly did they get? More importantly, if your SNP has just created a brand new account, how can you use it to reduce ‘The Burden of Volunteering‘?

Identity. Perhaps the most important thing a GMail account gives you is an identity. Each account has its own identity and interacts with others.

Sharing. Because you have an identity, you can now share content created in your own Google-verse or access content created by other Google-ites. This is in a nutshell the most profound functionality of a GMail account. Somehow it seems so normal 30-years into the internet and is the basis for everything discussed below.

The Amazing Suite of FREE Google Resources [3]

Now that Google knows who you are, let’s talk about what you or a SNP can do with a GMail account.

Google Maps. I am the webmaster for (Stewards of Alberta’s Protected Areas Association (SAPAA)). For this organization, Google maps is the most valuable app as we are a geo-focused organization. If spatial content is part of your organization’s mandate, this is an easy(ish) resource to master. Heck, even if you just want to map out your bottle-drive routes, this is a useful tool.

Storage Space and the G-Drive. Second only to the email application, the G-Drive is likely the most valuable app to most SNPs. Through controlled access (via identity and sharing), volunteers can read, contribute to, create, and clean up after themselves. This is great news and a content-management disaster waiting to happen (see my next blog).

Office Tools. Either stand alone or integrated into the G-Drive, a GMail account gives you a free set of office tools. Myself, I find them less intuitive than the Microsoft Office suite, but I have also being paying for Bill Gate’s retirement for the past three decades. Better still, the Google Apps mostly play nice with the native Office equivalents (Docs to Word, Slides to PowerPoint, etc.). The degradation increases with complexity but for drafting and converting things like a simple agenda or minutes – they work fine.

Forms. Now we come to Forms, an app with much promise and requiring the greatest technical skill and finesse. To be honest, I have never made a Google Form work the way I thought it should – mostly likely the idiot creating rather than the tool.

Lots of Others. AND there are lots of other Google products of varying degree of relevance to a SNP [4]. Certainly, many are focused on a person and their GMail account (Android Auto, Chromecast, Digital Wellbeing, etc.). Many are on the bubble depending on the focus of the SNP (e.g. Finances – an investing club, Arts & Culture – an art appreciation club, Google for Education – organizing training, etc.!). Poke around and see what fits.

GMail – Perfect for SNPs

In summary, a GMail account is easy to create, an individual can have as many as they like, and a SNP can benefit from a plethora of free applications. These can help the SNP deliver its mission and create a better volunteer experience. Next up, some ‘rules of engagement’ related to email and then the G-Drive.

References and Further Reading

1. 52 Gmail Statistics To Show How Big It Is In 2023 (techjury.net)
2. The difference between Gmail, a Google Account and Google Workspace accounts | TechRepublic.
3. This blog will not discuss how to create a new account. There is lots of material online about this including this excellent primary from Google itself: Create a Gmail account – Gmail Help (google.com).
4. For a complete list of tools, see: Browse All of Google’s Products & Services – Google (about.google).