An Idea....Google Workspace for Non Profits for Ward Leadership

----DISCLAIMER---OBTAIN ANY/ALL APPROVALS FROM YOUR LEADERSHIP BEFORE TAKING ANY ACTION ON AN IDEA LIKE THE ONE BELOW ----DISCLAIMER---

A while ago, I came up with an idea. Let me give some general background. I have been a Ward Exec. Secretary in 2 wards for over 5 years and for a short time was a Ward Clerk and Exec. Sec simultaneously for about a 6 month time. During this time I was always feeling that there was a better, safer way to provide a framework to Ward Leadership, especially the Bishopric for task management, scheduling, email communication, idea sharing, etc. For a short time I tried to use the Synology's NAS suite of tools like Office, Calendar, DSNotes and their email server and even their Chat service. This had some good points but proved to be just too hard to maintain and the learning curve for those who were not familiar with Synology's tools or mobile apps was steep. Enter Google Workspaces for Non Profits.

About a year ago, I registered a domain name for our Ward, contacted Google and asked if I could enroll that domain in Google Workspace for Non Profits. It took some emails, and some documentation from Church Headquarters confirming our non-tax status but I was successful. Since then I have provided all our Church Aux leaders and our Bishopric with a calling specific email so they could separate personal and church related info, Google Drive space for Docs, Sheet and Slides for their Auxiliary, shared Calendars. I have distribution email lists for Ward Council, Ward Youth Council, Activities Committee, Young Men or Young Women or any other group we put together. Some choose to use the the email provided, some don't and ask me to put their personal email as a secondary to the ward domain email. I have complete control over the security of the data in the Workspace. I have event and access logging. I can put data sharing polices in place, etc. I am toying with the idea of creating custom Chrome profiles to provide a consistent method of access to the data, with bookmarks for other online resources, etc. I created a form for Bishopric interviews so i just send a link to members who fill out the for and automatically get put on a shared calendar for Sunday interviews and create a task for myself to followup with them on Friday to confirm the Sunday appointment. If they want, they can get a calendar invite sent to them for their calendar. I have also put an NFC tag on the Bishop's door for members to get the link if I am not in the Clerk's Office. I am thinking about using the NFC tags and forms in Relief Society and Elders Quorum.

I post this here for a few reasons. 1) Feedback...How else could this be used? I am hoping for whatever diversity is in this group to show its value here with innovative and thought provoking replies. 2) Show an example (if you think this is a good idea)......If you are dealing with ward data (some sensitive) and shared docs spread all over members personal gmail accounts, this is a more secure, controllable way to consolidate it. 3) My own selfish motivations....I want to learn what others have done to solve these types of issues and adopt them where appropriate. 4) The biggest reason of all.....I feel that (at least for me) there needs to be more time spent in Ministering than we do now. I want to spend less time scheduling and more time serving, less time emailing and more time healing.

I've got two concerns: One, you're now responsible for the security of personal information. If there's a data breach, it's entirely possible you're going to get thrown under the bus as the church tries to protect it's deep pockets.

Secondly, there's legal implications when storing information electronically instead of randomly and/or on paper. I know at least at the Federal Government level, any systems with PII have to go though a Privacy Impact Assessment, while paper records are exempt.

Bottom line, the technical is straightforward. It's the legal you need to watch out for as it will guide the technical. When it comes to legal, too many techies don't even know what they don't know. (A blind spot they're not aware that they have.)

As well as Russell's comments about the legal side of things, as well as church policy side of things...

What are your plans for when you are released?

@caillines, that is a very valid question. Barring any unforeseen issues, I don't think I will be released any time soon (meaning within the next 3 or so years). I have been in the calling for about 2 years so far but who knows. I have always figured that I would provide whatever help I could in any capacity I could. There is already a load of documentation on Google Workspaces specifically, and I find many members are quite comfortable with Gmail, Google Drive and the Google suite of office apps.

I replied to @russellhltn's questions yesterday in a PM, but for transparity's sake, my reply is below in italics. It's been edited a bit but not significantly.

Thanks russellhltn, I honestly do appreciate your comments.

These were both concerns when I started this "idea." I decided though, that if I "knew better" I should "do better" so that is my hope in going forward.

From the technical side, I am comfortable putting security controls in place that are appropriate for the kind of data we have. Honestly I think the security controls I have already applied are much more than what the average member or church leader would have on their personal accounts. In a way I believe I am raising the security expectations we should have of members and local church leaders regarding this type of data.

From the legal side, I believe that the risk I am personally assuming is minimal. I don't store any "significant" PII (SSN, Financial or HIPAA data) Just the run of the mill type stuff the normal member would find in LDS Tools.

Thanks,

Brad

Although it's good to be "comfortable" with your personal judgement, I definitely would consult with at least the Stake President to get approval on any non-standard electronic data storage (your OP states that leaders should be consulted, I just am clarifying that the local unit leader is not enough in my mind). And I would be careful with skirting around the edges of what's approved.

Not that it's necessarily wrong to do something like this, but the safeguards exist in part to protect you and the Church from unexpected consequences. Often two pieces of innocent data, when stored together, become problematic, and even if appropriate controls are in place it might not be an approved method. I personally think it would be good to let the Stake President know not only the general idea of what you're doing, but also specifics. That way if any issues arise down the road (you never know), it's all out in the open and approved.

Again, your OP does state that disclaimer, but I've seen a lot of similar types of posts over the years in the Forum, and I don't remember many of them saying that they had the Stake President's approval already. So I'm interested in knowing how many of these "good ideas" actually ever get approved by their own Stake President, or if people just keep doing them without actually getting approval...

Good points @BrianEdwards! I have spoken with the Stake President and he is aware we are using it on a Ward level. I have purchased a domain that could be used on a Stake level but are not using it yet and as my calling is a Ward calling, anything on a Stake level would go to others to administer after a detailed discussion regarding security controls and appropriate use.

So I was just called as the TS for my ward. My profession is IT and Network Administration. One of my first thoughts when my bishop explained the vision he had for the ward immediately brought my thoughts to this and just now happened to find this forum. My bishop and I are about to call church headquarters to get our 501c3 info to submit to Google so we could get the non-profit business workspace. I have gone through the process with a conservation organization that I co-founded. I was hesitant on proceeding because I was not sure on how our non-profit status would work with google as far as setting up our ward if another ward had already gotten approved with google for this? does google do just the Ward as the organization or does it take the church in as a whole? My Bishop is already contacting our Stake pres. on this but since I saw this posted I thought I would ask here. @bradhokanson
My ward also already has a domain and website as well.

Hello,

I came across your thread and joined the forum so I could comment on your post:

There are many technology related innovations that can be envisioned to assist with serving in the Church.
However, as @russellhltn mentioned earlier in this thread, data security and data privacy laws are HUGE issues to consider.
Legislation (for these two issues alone) can vary from country to country (and even from state to state/province to province, etc. within the same country) and are subject to change at any time.

I don't have the Church Handbook handy, but I believe it effectively states that Church data should NOT be made available to any software except the official/approved Church software systems. Following this restriction will help protect you (and/or whoever makes Church data available) from any legal repercussions should an inadvertent data security/data privacy issue arise.

Other thoughts:
Some members don't want any of their information stored on (e.g. popular Cloud based systems)
When you are released someday, your replacement will have to pick up where you left off. If they don't have the same training and background you do, things will fail.
Failures lead to data security and data privacy issues.
Ideally, you'd be able to help your replacement understand your custom system, but if you (e.g. move unexpectedly) that may not be option.
Your replacement's potential lack of experience/ background training may lead to more security/privacy issues.
(Or you'll be tempted to try and remotely train them via screen share software which [may lead to more security/privacy issues...])

In summary, I'm sure your ward/stake will benefit from your IT & Network Admin skills and I'd definitely recommend you share your thoughts/suggestions with the Church via their Feedback facilities, but I would not venture to moving data outside of the approved systems.

- A brother who works (outside the church) as a software engineer and is all too familiar with the necessity and headaches of data security and data privacy

As this remains of interest to Forum members, has anyone actually followed GHB 33.9.1.3 and contacted the DataPrivacyOfficer email listed there? I know the O.P. states that they received some "documentation from Church Headquarters confirming our non-tax status ", but I'm interested if anyone can speak of a specific response they received from the Church about this type of data implementation. I'm not convinced that simply getting the Church to confirm tax-exemption, is enough to also then have the okay to start storing member data in a domain. Even if a custom implementation would be ten times better protected than the data the Church has on their own systems, if it's not approved for use, then it doesn't matter how safe it would be.

With the 3 recent posts, I figured I should reply to everyone in the thread. And for the sake of transparency, I did reply to BrianEdwards, mdigi, and omegalds individually.

These are all great questions and concerns and although I can go into more detail about how I am using Google Workspace for Non Profits and the security controls and processes I use, I think BrianEdwards asked the right question of has anyone really asked Privacy about this type of setup. I am not aware of anyone in the Forums who has done so but I certainly don't mind asking. I will ask, find out what I can and post what is appropriate here when I get more info.

I think open discussion and conversation like this is healthy and needed. I welcome the feedback on things I might have missed or didn't consider. It gives us more information to make better decisions.

Brad

That's really great. I know I've asked questions a few times on the Forum, figured something out, and then never circled back to close the loop with what I found (oops). So if you can share your experience with Privacy, I think that will help us all (now and anyone finding this later on), to know how much space we have to try out something like this, and what to consider. It's likely country-dependent (and perhaps even locally), but whatever you find out will be a good reference point.

Great points, a lot of it will be teaching the auxiliaries what can and cannot be done with it. However most of the use for us would be the consolidation of info that needs to be past between auxiliaries and coordinating events. I have a meeting with my bishop and stake pres. today to contact the church. So we will see how that goes and I will bring up the questions in the thread. @bradhokanson I tried to reply to your pm but it looks like I don't have permission to use that feature yet....

omegalds wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 8:21 am @bradhokanson I tried to reply to your pm but it looks like I don't have permission to use that feature yet....

You should have that now.

The fact is that the majority of people serving in church leadership are storing some type of confidential church information on (technically) unauthorized cloud servers. As a church leader who is constantly swamped in admin, this route looks mighty appealing. More will continue to trod this path and, unfortunately, it is solely down to a failing of the church in not providing sufficient tools and platforms to fulfil our duties. Things are certainly improving, and no doubt will continue to, but the pace is dreadfully slow. There are huge holes right now in areas such as unit communication, scheduling and data storage. Modern tools help us to be more efficient with our time and to focus on what matters most. Realistically, where else are leaders supposed to turn to?

@russellhtln thank you for the heads up on the pms.

@Bryce2787 I totally agree as far as a lack of resources to utilize the many technology advancements their are. I do see where it is not as high of a priority for the church when a large number of our members in the church struggle with just using a cell phone. It will be nice to see the church create something though. Since my ward is all single adults (ages 31-45) the technology usage is a lot easier to teach if needed. I hope the google workspace works out how we are hoping in my ward. My Bishopric and Ward Clerks are very excited at the possibilities this will give us.

I asked my Bishop about the concerns of GHB 33.9.1.3. He immediately pulled it out to read it and said it was a very cut dry policy that he saw no issues with but has instructed me to put together a training for all those to take before they are given access to it.

We also inquired our Area President ( I think that is his title) about using google workspace for non-profit and this was his response if others are interested:

["In reading through this I believe your first question is answered in that this option could be pursued. It is a reputable source and we would assume that great care would be taken not to share confidential information.
Here is the quote from the website that gives a basis for this response.
“ There are many internet cloud file–sharing services that allow organizations to share documents and collaborate through discussions. Only use reputable solutions that provide controls to limit who can access documents. Be careful not to share documents in these systems that contain confidential or sensitive matters. Document access should not be public. Sharing must be configured to use private access controls, sharing only with users in the group or specific individuals. Ward and stake leaders should counsel with their leaders to determine the proper use of document sharing.”
Here are some additional guidelines from the website:
“More than one administrator should be assigned to be responsible for the online resource. This can provide continuity when a person’s calling or assignment changes. It also keeps one person from being burdened with updating and monitoring the resource.”
“Online resources should not duplicate tools and features that are already on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, Member Tools, or other Church resources.” ]

bradhokanson wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 3:24 pm These are all great questions and concerns and although I can go into more detail about how I am using Google Workspace for Non Profits and the security controls and processes I use, I think BrianEdwards asked the right question of has anyone really asked Privacy about this type of setup. I am not aware of anyone in the Forums who has done so but I certainly don't mind asking. I will ask, find out what I can and post what is appropriate here when I get more info.

Any response from Privacy about this? I'd like to set up a workspace for my ward/stake as well.

I'm curious to know where this all stands now, as well. My current ward and other units I've worked with in the past have commonly used personal Google Gmail / Drive accounts along with solutions from other vendors for shared document storage, etc. Issues usually arise with the transfer of ownership when callings change. I've thought about Google Workspace for nonprofits as a possible solution, but have most of the concerns mentioned in this stream. Handing the new person a thumb drive with everything on it isn't very elegant (or all that secure), but relieves us of the need to essentially create an IT department for the ward. Sorry, I guess there isn't much of a question there. Just mulling it over....

** Update**
I have had several meetings with different people in Data Privacy about using Google for Non Profits to support the Ward and Stake efforts to manage administrative tasks. (email, document management, schedule for appointments with forms (not for building reservation), etc) and those meetings have been positive and informative. Basically the council and direction that I was provided was what we have discussed here and what has been previously published in the General Handbook section 33 Records and Reports. Of course there was council about not storing confidential membership information in cloud-based services and whatever information that is stored should be protected from unauthorized access or disclosure.

That being said and after having several other professional colleagues who also work in Information Security give me a sanity check, I am moving forward in using this for our Ward and Stake. Another colleague has already purchased a domain for his Ward and Stake, has received the necessary paperwork from Church Finance, submitted the information to Google and is waiting for verification and the login email to start using it.

A previous member of our High Council was called to a Bishopric position in an Orem YSA Ward and has also asked to start using this in his Ward. He has mentioned it to his Stake President with a positive response. So I imagine a 2nd Stake is in the near future.

I am taking a strict approach on security in this environment; there is no access without 2 factor and currently no document sharing to any email domain outside the ones I have registered in my Workspace instance. For the moment, this is working great.

Brad

A work colleague mentioned to me that Microsoft also offers their Office365 Suite to Non Profits as well. So I have successfully gone through the validation process of setting up an non profit instance on their framework. My thought is to look at the service offerings of both platforms and see which one meets the need of Ecclesiastical leadership best.

Brad

I'm curious to know how others have passed the "Google for Non Profits" application process for a ward. I've been rejected a couple of times. Although they gave little feedback, I did find this in the eligibility documentation when I searched on the rejection text: "The organization must be a separate branch covered through group exemption. Fiscally sponsored organizations and separate departments within the same organization are not eligible." I'm guessing a ward or branch could rightly be described as being a "fiscally sponsored organization" within the larger Church organization (if that means what I think it means). Any thoughts?

@bradhokanson

My ward Bishopric and Executive Secretary are using GDrive for document storage and calendaring, but they have been using a non-business GDrive. To replace it, I would love to set up a Google Workspace for the ward so that I can have shared drives and create workspace emails for individuals (so they can separate church email from personal email), among other benefits. We're willing to pay the $6 per user per month if needed, but would love to get the free version through the Google for Nonprofits program.

1) Could you share more details on how to get the info needed from Church HQ for the Google for Nonprofits program. In particular, who did you contact?

2) Also, what information do I need to get? Do I need anything more than Google asks for in the Google for Nonprofits application?
- Org's EIN
- Org's physical address
- Org's online contract information

3) Is the domain fee the only thing you have to pay (by the ward), assuming you're getting the free tier of Google for Nonprofits?

Thanks,
Evan

Hi @jevanlewis!

I am glad to share what information I have and give an update to what I know today. First, to answer your direct questions.

1) Yes. I can provide my contact at CHQ. I will send a PM with that info.
2) I provided just the info that Google requested in the Google for Non Profits application. They use several 3rd party services to validate that info. If i recall correctly, any info that I was lacking, I had in the signed documents CHQ gave me.
3) Registering the domain was the only cost I have paid for my Google for Non Profits setup. There are many many registrars you can register the with ranging in cost and services. I generally use one registrar for domain registration and then a different provider for DNS. (layered security) I have paid on average 15$ a year for each of the domains I have registered and I have more than a few.

Last time i posted here i mentioned a colleague had told me about Microsoft suite of services for non-profits and I said I would look into them as well. I have now registered another domain and enrolled it with MS non profits without an issue. The value with this one is they also provide several free licenses of Office365 and pretty much a full Azure Cloud environment. I haven't spent too much time playing around it in but I plan to in the coming months. One thing to note is it seems that MS and Google shared at least 1 3rd party service in common that validates the tax info.

Any other questions, let me know.

@paule

I know of one friend who was also denied by Google but it seemed a bit unusual since the 3rd party said they tried to contact the Church for validation via email but I don't believe they did. When asked to try validating again, we didn't hear back from them at all.

Brad

@bradhokanson

Thanks you for the detailed response. When you get a chance, please send me your contact at CHQ.

I've been trying to setup this for my ward as well, what's the best way to get the required information?


Kind regards,
Greg

ammonone79 wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2024 1:47 pm I've been trying to setup this for my ward as well, what's the best way to get the required information?

Your account can now send/receive Private Messages, so I would send one to bradhokanson (2 posts above yours). He can assist you further.

jevanlewis wrote: Thu Feb 15, 2024 5:11 pm @bradhokanson

Thanks you for the detailed response. When you get a chance, please send me your contact at CHQ.

You can now Private Message bradhokanson directly. I don't think he realized you couldn't before.

Hi All,

My apologies if you are waiting on info from me thinking "This guy really needs to learn how to manage his email better". You are right that I could be better. In an effort to remedy that, Please send me what I can do to help again. I will be watching this forum more closely and should be quicker to respond.

Thanks

Brad

Hi!

Same question in re how to get google permission. Our ward has been paying for google workspace for a few years, but i was called to be Ward Clerk and realized we could get it for free. I tried to request access and google told me they can’t verify that I am affiliated with the church. I’d appreciate any guidance on that.

Thanks,
Jeff

I feel lucky to come across this thread! I just got called to relief society president and realize our ward is lacking in the communication side of things! I was getting ready to set up a r.s. email through gmail but now am interested in this. If I too can get CHQ contact that would be great. I will reach out to our bishop and stake president as well. Thanks so much!
Naomi

My ward is looking at resources that allow for myself (Bishop), my finance clerk, and my executive secretary to administer a calendaring tool to set up appointments for tithing declaration and other matters. We've identified the resources offered by Google to do that. I'd love to have the contact information needed for the "online contact information" requested by Google in setting up the non-profit Workspace account with them.

Any help there would be great.

Thank you!

I thought I would share another possibility - with many of the same concerns and issues -

Data storage is always an issue and a blessing - I wish it was easier !

Google Work Space for Non-Profits is possible --- but Microsoft MS365 also has a Non-profit options ! I know because I was able to arrange to access and set up an account

10 - full licenses with MS365 premium + up to 300 cloud only access and even more

We have done this for a very specific reason to organize the Areas "Self Reliance Resource Centre". This was under Area direction and our Stake Presidency asking for options
The set up was actually very easy when you have a few key piece of information and documents. The FM group helped out with the correct contacts

This is all fine for myself who was able to figure this out and set up - We now use "Teams" and all the related product "Planner boards" and "Outlook"
and yes you need a domain and a website. So there is a small cost for domain hosting and website, but mostly time and energy

This is still a concern after I am released ?? Most people will not be able to manage this - hand off will be needed or shut down properly

So why did I do this move to MS365 - the options and setup is just much better with great security options - There are Key APPS that just work on PHONES IPAD PC etc.

It still take work to instruct those using the products - most people have difficulty using even Outlook well. So for a small group 10 -15 it is possible with alot of one on one training

I have also had some issues with my trail of Google Work space which I will not get into here. We had tried some paid licences to test out.

There is no comparison with MS365 and the included products and features - while G Suit Work Space has a place the support is non-existent when you have a problem - no phone support and circular online AI support ??

@wgotzmann,

It's great to see others taking an active approach to solve these kinds of problems and discussing them here!

I agree that Microsoft's 365 Resources for Non Profits solution has some very appealing options which many users are familiar with; Outlook, MS Teams, OneNote, etc. I still have a domain registered with their service but haven't taken the time to get deep in the details yet. Perhaps it's time to look at it again.

I am still using our Google for Non Profits instance extensively. When I started it was at the Ward level but I have stared using it a Stake level as my calling changed to Stake Asst. Clerk. It will take some time to get everyone fully invested but I think its possible and those who have embraced it find it easy to use.

One thing I have done that I think has been very successful is a Google Site "Dashboard" for Stake Leadership. It's a very simple website (sign in required) that gives scheduling, contact info and links to items in Google Drive. (also authenticated access only) I am also testing Managed Chrome profiles which will push down bookmarks, start tabs, and the ability to restrict extensions (which are the up and coming vector for compromise) No more "Can you send me the link to that site?" I just add it to the managed Chrome profile and when they log in, they have an additional bookmark.

For those who are still interested, have reached out the in past and feel I have forgotten you, please reach out again. I am recommitting (again) to help anyone who wants to give it a shot.

Brad

@bradhokanson

I am trying to get this set up for my stake would you be able to provide the contact information you used to get the documentation needed. I don't have the ability to PM you.

@bradhokanson

Would love to set this up for our ward as well. What information is needed? I also am unable to PM you. Thanks in advance!

@bradhokanson - I am going to set up a Google for Non Profit for our Coordinating Council to use mainly for storage of Light the World and Giving Machine media. Any tips for getting started?

flvsstudent238 wrote: Sun Aug 03, 2025 4:15 pm @bradhokanson

I am trying to get this set up for my stake would you be able to provide the contact information you used to get the documentation needed. I don't have the ability to PM you.

PM sent to you.

Brad

brmo wrote: Fri Nov 28, 2025 2:04 pm @bradhokanson - I am going to set up a Google for Non Profit for our Coordinating Council to use mainly for storage of Light the World and Giving Machine media. Any tips for getting started?

PM sent

sheinzen.034 wrote: Thu Nov 27, 2025 1:54 pm @bradhokanson

Would love to set this up for our ward as well. What information is needed? I also am unable to PM you. Thanks in advance!

PM sent....

Brad

Morning Brad

Because of some inquiries by memeber I am interested in setting up a Google workspace account for the Stake - which can be used by leaders

Better feature and controls and in particular "multiple the Booking of interviews for leaders"

So many are using gmail for their calling in wards already - so familiarity is present

Can we discuss in detail what you have done

I believe we will need a domain name set up for our stake and work around this so we can administer the emails data etc.

The draw back is someone needs to continue doing this after I am released.

bradhokanson wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 1:40 pm @wgotzmann,

It's great to see others taking an active approach to solve these kinds of problems and discussing them here!

I agree that Microsoft's 365 Resources for Non Profits solution has some very appealing options which many users are familiar with; Outlook, MS Teams, OneNote, etc. I still have a domain registered with their service but haven't taken the time to get deep in the details yet. Perhaps it's time to look at it again.

I am still using our Google for Non Profits instance extensively. When I started it was at the Ward level but I have stared using it a Stake level as my calling changed to Stake Asst. Clerk. It will take some time to get everyone fully invested but I think its possible and those who have embraced it find it easy to use.

One thing I have done that I think has been very successful is a Google Site "Dashboard" for Stake Leadership. It's a very simple website (sign in required) that gives scheduling, contact info and links to items in Google Drive. (also authenticated access only) I am also testing Managed Chrome profiles which will push down bookmarks, start tabs, and the ability to restrict extensions (which are the up and coming vector for compromise) No more "Can you send me the link to that site?" I just add it to the managed Chrome profile and when they log in, they have an additional bookmark.

For those who are still interested, have reached out the in past and feel I have forgotten you, please reach out again. I am recommitting (again) to help anyone who wants to give it a shot.

Brad

Hi Brad,

I am curious to do the same thing for our ward in order to get more organized. In fact, in order to leverage the tool Asana, we need to create a domain and google workspace account.

Can you provide the details on how you were able to prove that you were associated with the church once you created your domain. Like who can we contact from the church? For now all we have is the 501(c) document but nothing more. Each attempt at applying for google workspace is a denial because we are unable to be tied to the church itself. We are really hoping to be able to get the free version of google workspace.

Happy to connect offline as well.

Thanks,

I hope I'm still on time to jump on this bandwagon. Where can I get the info needed to get the nonprofit Google Workspace? Bishopric counselor here trying to get something like this going in our ward. Thanks in advance!

bradhokanson wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 9:06 am ----DISCLAIMER---OBTAIN ANY/ALL APPROVALS FROM YOUR LEADERSHIP BEFORE TAKING ANY ACTION ON AN IDEA LIKE THE ONE BELOW ----DISCLAIMER---

Hi @bradhokanson what information did you submit to Google to get approved? Would you share it with me? javierpioquinto.lds@ gmail.com

Here's one example of why one doesn't want to use software outside an organization's approved software:

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3064782 ... mails.html

Good intentions can quickly lead to "Ooops" and then you find yourself under the bus.

[Note: I have no idea if MSFT 365 is approved by the organization, just pointing out that you don't want to be the one who self-approved it, or another vulnerable software/service when lawsuits start to fly]

mdigi wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2026 4:39 pm Here's one example of why one doesn't want to use software outside an organization's approved software:

It's an example of why one should keep one's private communications separate from a company that integrates "AI" software, much more than it is about using organizationally "approved software". I got news for you, the Church uses Outlook.com (aka Microsoft 365) for their email communications; if that isn't sanction, approval, or promotion, I don't know what is.

ambldsorg wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2026 8:53 pm It's an example of why one should keep one's private communications separate from a company that integrates "AI" software

Agreed.

ambldsorg wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2026 8:53 pm I got news for you, the Church uses Outlook.com (aka Microsoft 365) for their email communications;

I don't doubt it, but large organizations (like the church) also routinely mandate specific configurations with their service agreements; So it's completely possible that an [eg. Outlook.com] account associated with the Church's O365 service agreement forbids AI.

Anyway, my point in posting the news article was not to cause disagreement, but just to highlight the risks of not following policy, even when done with good intentions. This type of mistake could literally cost one everything they physically own in this world.

mdigi wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2026 4:39 pm Here's one example of why one doesn't want to use software outside an organization's approved software:

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3064782 ... mails.html

Good intentions can quickly lead to "Ooops" and then you find yourself under the bus.

[Note: I have no idea if MSFT 365 is approved by the organization, just pointing out that you don't want to be the one who self-approved it, or another vulnerable software/service when lawsuits start to fly]

The issue is not using the technology that is available, the issue is how safe we are being with it. AI is everywhere and weather you use google workspace or not AI is on our phones, computers, ipads, laptops. We just have to be careful with the information we send. We don't use SSN in the church so there's no reason that would be at risk. I know people are afraid of AI but we can't escape it just like we can't escape screens or rated R content, we just have to learn to recognize what is safe and what is not. Google and Microsoft are renown and put a lot of effort in making safe and secure products, does this article describe a weakness in their product? Yes. Are we sending sensitive information like private confessions? I hope not ever over email or text. (GH 32 & 33 for more insight into church policy regarding privacy).

mdigi wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2026 4:39 pm

[Note: I have no idea if MSFT 365 is approved by the organization, just pointing out that you don't want to be the one who self-approved it, or another vulnerable software/service when lawsuits start to fly]

Also, I also would hope no one person is doing this without Bishop or Stake Pres approval first. I'm in our bishopric and I'm putting together an information packet for our Bishop to review and approve.

We've been utilizing Google Workspace Non-Profit, specifically for Google Shared Drives, at the stake level for the past 7+ years. Some may be aware the church's missionary department uses the same Non-Profit Workspace platform for full-time missionaries. Our stake president connected with our Area Seventy when we were initially pursuing this to provide transparency of what we were doing and ensure no concerns (and it's now also used at the coordinating-council level).

I will have to say -- there is a learning curve involved in being the Workspace administrator and coming to understand the 10% that really matters and ignoring the rest. We have Google Shared Drives setup for our stake presidency, high council, stake council, general membership (public docs), and several wards that have opted in -- it's all managed under the same Workspace account. In my opinion, it's too much work and doesn't make sense for every unit in a stake to go through the application process, manage their own domains, struggle to retain an administrator, etc. -- it's really best for it to be sponsored/overseen at the stake level and overseen by (preferably) a couple of members that with have long tenures .

A few things to consider per my experience if you're looking to move forward:

• Google no longer provides domain management via Google Domains (was sold off to Squarespace), which made it a bit easier to manage - so, there's the domain mgmt part as well
• You'll need to determine a domain to associate with your Workspace account, so be considering one that will work for you (also has nominal yearly registrar fee)
• The admin should be someone that will be diligent in helping to promote 'best practices' as people come in/out of callings, including occasional clean-up efforts
• You'll want to have admins that can help for years to come (i.e. not tied to a leadership calling of 2-3 years)

You're welcome to private message me if you'd like copies of documents I've put together to help support our stake effort.

ericb wrote: Mon Feb 23, 2026 10:46 pm You're welcome to private message me if you'd like copies of documents I've put together to help support our stake effort.

Hi ericb I've tried sending private messages but I believe there needs to be an admin who approves the private messages and I don't think there are any admins rn. Would we be able to communicate privately? javierpioquinto.lds@ gmail.com. The more I logically think about this the more it makes sense to have this be managed at a stake level since all the admin work does need someone long term not just a 2-3 yr calling. Thanks!

jvp44 wrote: Tue Feb 24, 2026 10:28 pm Hi ericb I've tried sending private messages but I believe there needs to be an admin who approves the private messages and I don't think there are any admins rn.

New members can't send a PM, but you should be able to.

jvp44 wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2026 12:26 am

bradhokanson wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 9:06 am ----DISCLAIMER---OBTAIN ANY/ALL APPROVALS FROM YOUR LEADERSHIP BEFORE TAKING ANY ACTION ON AN IDEA LIKE THE ONE BELOW ----DISCLAIMER---

Hi @bradhokanson what information did you submit to Google to get approved? Would you share it with me? javierpioquinto.lds@ gmail.com

I would love to know what information you used as well. I tried setting up an account but it was rejected. I can be reached at mark.macconnell@gmail.com.

Hello Brad I am in the middle of apply for a google licence because our Stake Split and I have the same new calling !! Stake Tech Rep

Its a little different in canada but - It would be good to hear some details on your path to obtaining the access, it is something we all really need

There are alot of purposes and ways to look at using these tools - since you are there it would be good to see and hear how this is operating

Thanks

bradhokanson wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 1:40 pm @wgotzmann,

It's great to see others taking an active approach to solve these kinds of problems and discussing them here!

I agree that Microsoft's 365 Resources for Non Profits solution has some very appealing options which many users are familiar with; Outlook, MS Teams, OneNote, etc. I still have a domain registered with their service but haven't taken the time to get deep in the details yet. Perhaps it's time to look at it again.

I am still using our Google for Non Profits instance extensively. When I started it was at the Ward level but I have stared using it a Stake level as my calling changed to Stake Asst. Clerk. It will take some time to get everyone fully invested but I think its possible and those who have embraced it find it easy to use.

One thing I have done that I think has been very successful is a Google Site "Dashboard" for Stake Leadership. It's a very simple website (sign in required) that gives scheduling, contact info and links to items in Google Drive. (also authenticated access only) I am also testing Managed Chrome profiles which will push down bookmarks, start tabs, and the ability to restrict extensions (which are the up and coming vector for compromise) No more "Can you send me the link to that site?" I just add it to the managed Chrome profile and when they log in, they have an additional bookmark.

For those who are still interested, have reached out the in past and feel I have forgotten you, please reach out again. I am recommitting (again) to help anyone who wants to give it a shot.

Brad