Google Drive is a common option for chapters that need shared cloud storage for documents, photos, and other files. This article covers how chapters manage their own Google Drive/Google account, how to set one up with a role-specific email, and how to avoid some common pitfalls chapters have run into.
Chapters Manage Their Own Google Account
ASSP does not provide a society-supported Google Workspace or Google Drive account for chapters, and does not store, share, or reset Google account passwords. Each chapter is responsible for setting up and maintaining its own Google account for Drive if one is desired.
If your chapter's Google account is tied to a role-specific email address (for example, updates@[chaptername].assp.org), ASSP can help with access to that email account — for example, if an officer changes and the new officer needs access to the inbox. ASSP cannot reset or access the Google account itself; you'll need to use Google's own account recovery (at g.co/recover) once you're back into the email account.
Setting Up a Google Account with a Role-Specific Email
Using a role-specific email address (like updates@yourchapter.assp.org or secretary@yourchapter.assp.org) as the account's email — rather than a personal Gmail address or an individual volunteer's own email — is strongly recommended. This keeps the account, and everything stored in it, with the role rather than the person. When officers change, the next volunteer takes over the Drive account along with the email inbox, instead of chapter files staying locked in a departed volunteer's personal account.
To set one up:
- Go to accounts.google.com/signup.
- Choose the option to use an existing email address instead of creating a new @gmail.com address.
- Enter the chapter's role-specific email address and verify it through that inbox.
- Complete the Google Account setup, including recovery options (see below).
- Go to drive.google.com to start creating shared folders for chapter documents and photos.
Accessing Your Chapter's Google Drive
Once the account is set up, there are a few ways officers can get into the chapter's Drive:
- On a computer: Go to drive.google.com and sign in with the chapter's Google account.
- On a phone or tablet: Install the Google Drive app (available on the Google Play Store for Android or the Apple App Store for iOS), then sign in with the chapter's Google account.
Whoever is signing in needs the chapter's Google account credentials (the role-specific email and password) — not their own personal Google login, unless they've been added as a collaborator on shared folders (see "Folder sharing over individual file sharing" below).
Note: If you only need to view or edit files that have been shared with your own personal Google account (rather than logging into the chapter's account directly), you don't need any special setup — shared folders and files will simply appear under "Shared with me" in your own Drive.
Adding Collaborators to Chapter Folders
Rather than handing out the chapter's Google account login, the better approach is to share individual folders with each officer's own Google account (see "Folder sharing over individual file sharing" below). Here's how:
- In drive.google.com, right-click the folder you want to share and choose Share → Share.
- In the Add people, groups, and calendar events box, type the officer's email address.
- Use the role dropdown next to their name to set their access level:
- Viewer — can open and download files, but not change them.
- Commenter — can leave comments but not edit files directly.
- Editor — can add, edit, and delete files in the folder.
- Click Send (or Share) to grant access. The folder will appear under Shared with me in the collaborator's own Drive.
To change or remove someone's access later, right-click the folder, choose Share → Share again, find their name under People with access, and either change their role or select Remove access.
Tip: Anything placed inside a shared folder inherits that folder's permissions automatically, so you generally only need to set sharing once at the folder level — not on every individual file.
Setting Up Recovery the Right Way
This is the part most worth getting right, because it's the difference between a chapter being able to recover its own account and being permanently locked out of it.
- Do not use a personal cell phone number for 2-step verification or account recovery. If a phone number is attached to the account, whoever controls that phone can approve sign-ins or lock everyone else out — and if nobody at the chapter remembers whose number it is, there's no way to undo that. This has already happened to at least one chapter's account.
- Use a role-specific email address as the recovery method instead (for example,
updates@[chaptername].assp.org). This way, recovery is tied to an inbox the chapter controls and can hand off between officers, not to a single person's device.
- If a personal phone number is already attached to a chapter's Google account, identify whose number it is, log in, remove it, and replace it with the role-specific recovery email as described above.
Keeping the Password Secure
Don't store the account password in a shared document, spreadsheet, or officer transition packet in plain text. If a password needs to be handed off between officers, do it through a proper password manager or by having the outgoing officer reset the password with the incoming officer present, rather than writing it down somewhere it could persist indefinitely. If you find a chapter password written down somewhere, treat it as compromised and change it.
Storage Limits to Know
A free personal Google Account comes with 15 GB of storage, shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos on that account. This is often enough for chapter documents and a modest photo library, but can fill up faster than expected if the account is also used for chapter email or photo backups. If a chapter regularly runs low on space, options include archiving old files elsewhere, deleting duplicates, or having the chapter (not ASSP) decide whether to pay for additional Google storage (Google One).
Other Things to Keep in Mind
- Document the setup: Keep a simple note (in your chapter's officer transition documentation) of which email the Google account is tied to, what the recovery email is, and who currently has access to that inbox. Don't include the password itself.
- Folder sharing over individual file sharing: Share folders with chapter officers using their own Google accounts (personal or role-based) rather than routing everything through one shared login. This gives better visibility into who has access and makes it easier to revoke access when someone leaves a role.
- Review sharing permissions periodically: Google Drive makes it easy to share a folder and forget about it. Periodically check who has access to chapter folders, especially after officer transitions.
- Two-factor authentication, done right: Keep 2-step verification enabled on the account, but use backup codes stored with the chapter's officer transition materials, or the role-specific recovery email, rather than a single person's phone number.
For general Google Drive how-to questions (sharing files, organizing folders, managing storage), Google's own Drive Help Center is a good first stop.
