Ever consider using Google Voice for your non-profit organization? Today I’m starting a series of posts explaining why Google Voice could help your team, PTO, PTA, club, church group, or service organization.
A brief background of Google Voice: Google Voice is a free service that provides a phone number, not a phone line. You need to already have your own phone service, and most of us do in the form of a mobile phone and/or land line. When someone dials your Google Voice number, it will forward the call to the phone you already own. Think of it as your cell phone having two phone numbers: the one it came with and now the Google Voice number.
Even cooler than having a second phone number, when you get a call, Google Voice will forward a call to whichever phones you want. That’s right: phones. A call to Google Voice can ring several phones at once. Connect both your land line and your cell phone to your Google Voice account, and when someone calls your Google Voice number, your land line and your cell phone ring. Or you can get fancy and specify that certain callers can ring only your cell phone, certain callers can ring only your home phone, and certain numbers can ring all of the phones in your account.
Think about what a Google Voice account could do for your organization:
- One phone number that people can call for information/questions/updates. On Monday, it forwards to your phone. On Tuesdays, it forwards to someone else’s phone so that you’re not on call duty every day. And this happens simply by changing a setting on Google Voice’s website. Or if it’s a weekend tournament or opening day, a call to the Google Voice line forwards to several people’s phones to ensure that someone answers.
- Send texts for free from your Google Voice account. Yes, Google limits the number of texts to prevent abuse, but wouldn’t it be cool to be able to text key members of your organization by typing a quick message on your phone or directly on the Google Voice website so that information is sent out right away? Use the built-in contacts & groups to make this task even easier.
- Google Voicemail will handle recorded messages for your organization. Rain canceling the day’s activities? Members of your organization can call the Google Voice number and receive a recording of the updated info. This is much better than having many people calling someone’s personal cell phone or land line.
- Free long distance calls. Instead of running up your phone bill or using your plan’s minutes, use Google Voice’s long distance calling. Can’t be the price: free.
The next part of this series will look at how Google Voice can specifically benefit schools.
Ready to get a Google Voice number? Visit Google Voice or send me a message – I still have a few Google Voice invites to hand out.