Pogstone Inc

Email, Calendars and Documents

Google Apps for Nonprofits ( Free for nonprofit organizations with official 501(c)(3) status )

Google Apps Education Edition ( Free for schools )

Google Apps Standard Edition ( Free for any organization with less than 50 people )

Upgrade from Google Apps Standard ( Use this link if you already have a Google Apps account, and wish to upgrade ) 

Google Apps provides individual email mailboxes, such as This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for everyone in your organization. They provide calenders that can can be personal, shared with 1 or more other people, or shared with the world. In addition, they allow storage and editing tools for documents. They provide other features which are explained in detail on their website.

After signing up with Google, they create a Google Apps "standard edition" account almost immediately. To upgrade to the nonprofit/educational edition, Google will attempt to verify your status using a variety of non-profit databases. For 501(c)(3)  organizations, they look up your EIN number at Guide Star. You can check if your organization is in the Guide Star database by going to http://www.guidestar.org.   If you are not in Guide Star, Google will ask you to email them a scanned copy of your official documentation from the IRS that clearly states your EIN number as well as your status as 501(c)(3). 

Please note that although many organizations qualify for 501(c)(3) status and have documentation on this, Google requires that the organization actually takes the necessary steps, and formally registers this status with the IRS. You can managing your domain and email with Google Apps
Standard Edition, which provides many of the same features and services free of charge.

Web Hosting

See our detailed guide and sign up for web hosts we like

Processing Payments

Currently we support 9 different payment processors. The ones in the list below are organizations we have had a good experience with and also offer good rates.  However, currently Pay Pal is the only payment processor to support 100% fully automated recurring payments within our software.  This means a donor can go to your organization's website and setup an automated recurring payment schedule with absolutely no need for a staff member to be involved.   Other payment processors offer recurring payments, but they require staff time to enter the credit card number and desired schedule,  then manually record the details within our software.

If this process seems confusing, do not hesitate to give us a call and we can guide you.

When signing up for a service, give them your email address as " This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " or another email address that is tied to your domain name.  Pay Pal ( and many other companies)  uses this address for many internal settings in your account that they will not change later on.   Do NOT use a hotmail.com or comcast.net or any address not tied to your domain.

Metro Merchant Services

Metro Merchant Services allows people to pay directly on your website. The visitor would never leave your website during the transaction, which improves the donor's experience.  Plus when the donor receives their credit card statement, they would see only your organization's name, not Metro Merchants Services name which improves the relationship between your organization and the donor. This option requires Pogstone to enable SSL on your website. This service also includes a virtual terminal. They also offer extremely competive rates, typically below 3%. Metro Merchant is known for their personalized service and experience with related processing services and equipment, such as point of sale equipment for your organization's gift shop.

Sign up for Pay Pal Non-Profit Edition
This is only available to registered nonprofits with official 501(c)(3) status. Pay Pal charges 2.2% + $0.30 per transactions, no monthly fee or setup cost.  For example there would be a $2.50 fee on a $100 donation  To sign up, you use the same form as a "Pay Pal Business Account" . During the sign up process, be sure to choose "Industry type" as non-profit. 

Sign up for Pay Pal Pro ( also known as a Pay Pal Business Account )
This allows people to pay directly on your website. It is typically $30 per month plus transaction fees. Transaction fees are typically $0.30 + 2.9%. So if someone donates $100, the transaction fee would typically be $3.20. Pay Pal Pro also requires security( SSL) to be turned on for your website. A web host typically charges extra for turning on security (SSL), the fees are usually $50 per year + $3 per month. Automated recurring payments are supported at no additional cost. As well as people paying by transferring money from a checking or savings account to your organization. This does include a Virtual Terminal.

Sign up for Pay Pal Premier ( also known as Pay Pal Express)
This allows people to pay with credit cards on your website, but part of the payment process is done on the Pay Pal website. It is obvious to the visitor that you are using Pay Pal to process credit cards. There is typically no monthly fee, only per-transaction fees. Transaction fees are typically $0.30 + 2.9%. So if someone donates $100, the transaction fee would typically be $3.20. This does NOT require security (SSL) on your website. Automated recurring payments are supported at no additional cost. As well as people paying by transferring money from a checking or savings account to your organization. This does NOT include a Virtual Terminal.

Domain Registrar

Sign up with Go Daddy  or  Sign up with Enom

Go Daddy and Enom are both good quality domain registrars.  What in the world is a domain registrar? The purpose of a registrar is to track who owns which domain names,  handle purchase of new domains, renewals of existing domains, and keep track of various services used with each domain.

For example, for the domain "mygroup.org" the registrar knows that the organization named "My Organization LLC" is the owner of the domain and responsible for renewals.  The registrar also knows that any email for This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it should be delivered to Google Apps. The registrar knows that any requests for the website at www.mygroup.org should be routed to BlueHost.    In many ways, a domain registrar is similar to the functions of a real estate title company or the registrar's office at a university.

Just as there are multiple real estate title companies, there are multiple domain registrars.  For an organization owning multiple domains, it is simplest to keep all domains at a single registrar. This makes keeping up with renewals and other updates much easier.

Internet Faxing

Trust Fax
Internet faxing is a great service that allows you to send/receive faxes from a website and email. For example, any inbound fax can be automatically sent to your email inbox as a attachment. Great for when you are away from the main office or need to forward a fax to someone else. It also can reduce costs as a phone line and fax machine are no longer needed.

All prices from outside companies are subject to change. Please read the fine print when signing up for any service.