Nonprofit organizations that are open to the idea of adopting new software and IT solutions may want to get in touch with Google.  This afternoon, the search giant announced a program called Google for Nonprofits, and it’s designed to help charitable groups save money and reach more people.

For the cynics out there: yes, this also happens to serve as a push to increase usage of Google’s products and services.  The company isn’t just offering to lend nonprofits its accountants and buy everyone a few billboards.

Still, a post on the Google Nonprofits Blog explained, “If you work for a nonprofit, this program provides you with several new benefits. . . .  If approved, you can access our suite of product offerings designed for nonprofits: up to $10,000 a month in advertising on Google AdWords to reach more donors, free or discounted Google Apps to cut IT costs and operate more efficiently, and premium features for YouTube and our mapping technologies to raise awareness of your cause.”

Then the post noted a couple more perks, continuing, “We’ve also developed other online resources such as educational videos, case studies and better ways for you to connect with other nonprofits.”

Organizations seem to be responding well so far, as the video below shows.  And of course, as a worst case scenario, Google for Nonprofits is just something an organization can ignore.

More information is available here if you’re interested (or if you’d like to email a link to whatever charitable groups you support).