FAQ

Coworking hours are between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Event spaces may be booked between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM, Monday through Friday. If your event is taking place after 5 PM we ask that you show up at 4:30 PM for a walk through and tech check.

Host is required to ensure that all guests are complying with City and County of San Francisco COVID protocols. Please refer to the latest local information and guidance from the CDC about COVID-19 here.

Each organization is allotted one event space per business quarter (every three months). Event spaces may be reserved up to ninety days in advance of the desired date.

To protect the Community Space and its visitors, we require proof of valid insurance through your event or coworking date. Your COI must be up to date in order to request an event through the Member Portal. Find specific coverage requirements here.

Tours of the space are optional but recommended! They last about 30 minutes and are offered a couple times a month and you can review our scheduled tours here and sign up for an available slot. If there are no available slots before your event, please email us with a day and time of preference and we’ll try to squeeze you in.

Our street address is 188 Embarcadero. Please advise your guests to arrive via the entrance near the Aurora by Ruth Asawa sculpture on Embarcadero and use the buzzer to be let in by Reception. Also note that the Front Door can not be propped open for your event. If you anticipate late arrivals, please post a volunteer or staff member in the lobby to assist with way-finding and late check-ins.

Our space is ADA compliant. Please note that special arrangements or accommodations for event guests will be the responsibility of event hosts. Listening devices are available; please let us know ahead of time if you will need these. Service animals are permitted in the space.

There is no parking available on site. Private garage options and street parking are available nearby. We are located close to multiple Muni stops, and the Embarcadero BART station is two blocks away.

There is no dedicated bike parking inside the building. No bikes are allowed inside the Community Space. Please kindly instruct your guests to leave their bikes locked outside. There are a few public bike racks on Steuart Street.

There are Gender neutral restrooms available between the Main Entrance and the reception area.

The space is equipped with a kitchenette (water/ice dispenser and microwave) and will be lightly stocked with snacks and beverages that you and your guests are welcome to access. Keep in mind that if you have an evening event, snacks might be running low by the end of the day. If you would like to provide heavier food options for your guests, please read through our catering related questions below.

Guest lists keep the Community Space safe by ensuring all visitors are supervised by an authorized event Host. This information is referenced by our front desk team and security. Please note, all attendees must be pre-registered so no walk-in registrations are allowed. We recommend adding tentative guests to your guestlist submission.

Members can request event and coworking space, as well as participate in Google-hosted programming. There is no cost associated with membership.

Organizations must be registered 501(c)(3)s in good standing that is furthering the mission of Google.org, or be a local city and county government department, and located in the Bay Area. The Bay Area includes the following counties: Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Marin County, Napa County, San Francisco county, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Solano County and Sonoma County. Keep in mind, we receive a large number of applications and may be unable to accept every organization.

Once you apply for membership, we will check your nonprofit organization status through our partner site, Benevity. If your organization has already completed all onboarding steps with Benevity, we will process your membership application as quickly as possible. If your organization has not yet completed all onboarding steps with Benevity, please reach out to Benevity (charities@benevity.com) to complete the sign up process. Please monitor your email for communications from Benevity as they may include important action items or request additional information requiring your timely response. For local city and county applicants, please apply directly on our site and we will verify your government affiliation using the email address associated with the application. Your organization only needs to apply for membership once! If you are unsure whether your organization is already a member of the space, you can enter your EIN on the membership application form. The form will indicate if your EIN is already associated with an active member organization.

Please insure Commercial General Liability on an occurrence basis of $1,000,000 minimum per occurrence and a “general aggregate” of $1,000,000 minimum. Please insure Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability of $1,000,000 minimum per occurrence. If any sale of alcoholic beverages will take place during your event, Organization will carry "dram shop" or liquor insurance coverage (if consumption but not sales will occur, a "host liquor liability insurance" is required instead) in the amount of at least $2,000,000 per occurrence. Please name Google LLC and Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc as Additionally Insureds on each line item. The company providing insurance should have an A.M. Best rating of not less than A-VIII. Further details are outlined in the Google Community Space Terms of Use.

Go to the login page. Your username is connected to the email address that you used to sign up for membership or request to use the space previously. To login, select one of the providers from the menu and enter your email address. Make sure to use the email address that is linked to your membership account - likely your business email and not your personal email. If your team does not use Google, Outlook, or Slack, you can easily create a Google Account here. Note, this does not require you to setup Gmail - you can enter in your existing email address (eg, @hotmail, @yahoo, @aol) and it will create a Google Account with your existing email address. Once you've gone through the setup steps, log in again using the "login with Google" option. Having issues? Reach out to communityspace@google.com. If you aren’t sure who at your organization is an active contact or is eligible to login to the portal, please reach out and we can assist you!

Login to the Member Portal. In the Member Portal, click “Account” from the top navigation bar. You will land on the "Organization" tab (it will show up as underlined, in blue font), find the next tab to the right titled “Insurance”. Select the “Upload certificate of insurance” button. Once a file has been selected and required fields filled in, click submit. The Community Space Team will need to review and approve the new COI before you are able to submit an event request.

Log into the Member Portal. Under the "Account" tab, you will find all of the contacts related to your organization. Hover over the cell that you would like to edit and click the grey pencil icon that appears. Please do not edit an old contact and replace it with a different contact (this will not work). If you need to add a new contact, click the "New" button above the contact list and share the contact intake form with your colleagues. Once the form is submitted, the system can create a portal user record and they will receive a welcome email with login instructions. To edit any of your information, you can navigate to the “My Profile” page in the top right of the portal.

If you wish to remove a former staff of the organization from the contact list, please contact us at communityspace@google.com.

To request an event, log into our Member Portal and submit your request. You will select a date, time and room to fit your group size. We will check for availability and do our best to respond to your inquiry within five business days. You will receive an email from us with confirmation of your request.

There is no cost to become a member or book an event in the space, but your membership and event request must be approved. Your organization will be responsible for catering costs and specialty equipment rentals.

Chromebooks (15)

Microphones (2 handheld per Main Event Space and Workshop Space)

Virtual & Augmented Reality Devices (4 Cardboards)

Assisted Listening Devices (10)

Director’s Chairs (4)

Registration Table (1)

Cocktail tables and linens (must be rented)

The Chromebooks, microphones, assisted listening devices, and Cardboards are stored in the Tech Closet, items must be requested prior to the event and will be available upon arrival. You can leave the items in the room after your event is over.

The space is designed to be DIY and there is no dedicated onsite staff, so we encourage members to schedule a time to visit the space a few weeks before your event as well as arrive early on the day of your event to familiarize yourself with the space and equipment. The rooms have been designed to be “plug and play” and instructions and adaptors are provided at the podium in each space.

We provide local presentation cables (HDMI, USB, and USB-C) and power cords. These are available at the podium in each space. If you’re concerned about connecting your device to the projectors/screens, we recommend reserving a Chromebook and transferring your presentation/video to the device by USB drive or email. Chromebooks must be requested prior to the event.

Please factor in setup and breakdown time in to your event request form. Feel free to rearrange furniture in any format that best serves your event needs. Keep in mind that here at the Google Community Space, we practice Google’s “campsite rule” -- leaving spaces better than you found them to ensure the space is comfortable and productive for all. This includes returning any items or furniture you have moved to their proper place before you leave, as well as ensuring that no guest belongings are left behind.

Once in the building, the event host will need to check in with the front desk or security staff before proceeding to the Community Space. Event hosts will receive sticker badges to distribute to all guests. When your guests arrive, they may ring the doorbell and announce the name of the organization or event over the intercom. Once inside, they can proceed directly to the assigned room. It is encouraged that you create your own guest registration process to identify and direct incoming guests.

You have a few options! You can purchase catering once your event has been confirmed through Google by visiting sfo-catering.catertrax.com. Your order must be confirmed with the catering team five business days prior to the event. You’re welcome to bring pre-prepared food, however if you'd like to work with an outside caterer they will need to provide a Certificate of Insurance at least one week in advance of your confirmed event.

No, we do not allow any type of heating equipment. There is a microwave in the kitchenette you may use to warm up any food items.

We do not allow any outside alcohol in the Community Space, but you’re welcome to work with Google Catering if you’d like to provide alcohol for your guests.

We do not have storage space or personel to secure your items. We kindly ask that you do not drop anything off before your event’s scheduled start time. We also ask that you take all items with you at the end of your reservation time.

Yes, provided you comply with all applicable laws.

Yes. We want your event to be successful. Event hosts can share the space name and address, but should not use Google logos or other trademarks for external promotion of any community events.

Yes. Keep in mind, press can only access the event space on the first floor. We recommend providing badges or identification during your registration that clearly highlight members of the press.

Yes. Please notify us with confirmed government official guest list 5 days in advance of your event.

Yes, as long as there is no representation of your event being Google-endorsed, or as being sponsored by Google. You are responsible for securing all other legal rights and permissions related to the shoot. Also, please keep in mind that your shots cannot include other groups in the space unless you've explicitly received their permission. Avoid displaying the Google sign or logo in your shots unless you have written permission to use Google's brand.

The Main Event Space is ideal for annual meetings, organization training, learning sessions and receptions.

The Main Event Space can be configured as: 150 theater, 90 cluster (15 tables), 24 boardroom (8 tables), 60 classroom (20 tables), 26 U-shape (10 tables), 300 reception.

Workshop space can be configured as: 50 theater seating, 30 chairs in clusters (5 tables), 15 in classroom (5 tables), 10 chairs in boardroom (5 tables), 10 chairs in U-shape (5 tables), or 159 standing reception.

We kindly ask that you do not place any signage on the outside of the building. Please refrain from hanging anything or using any type of adhesive on any interior walls. You are responsible for any damage to the room. The rooms come equipped with whiteboards and flip chart pads for your usage.

If you need to cancel your event, we ask that you do so at least 5 business days before your event date so that someone else may be able to use the space. To cancel your event, please login to the Member Portal. Click the event card under "Upcoming events", and navigate to the 3 dots in the upper right side of the card. From there, select “cancel event”.

To book a seat, log in to our Member Portal and submit your request. We will check for availability and do our best to respond to your inquiry within three business days. Coworking seats are not assigned and available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Please use headphones with a built-in microphone when speaking on the phone, attending webinars or listening to music.

Coworking spaces are shared spaces so anything you discuss will not be treated as confidential, and may be used by others sharing the space, including Google.

A maximum of three people can join for a single coworking session. For meetings of more than three people, it’s best to book an event room. If you’re interested in staying in the space after an event to work from the coworking area, please also book a coworking session.

The coworking area is limited and, therefore, not intended to serve as a replacement for an office space. This space is meant to complement your office space for meetings, collaboration sessions or a central location option in San Francisco.

Members can reserve coworking up to 30 days from their desired date.

All programming provided by Google is for nonprofit member organizations. If you are a registered 501(c)(3), click here to apply for membership.

Details of these events will be shared on our programs page.

Google volunteers can advise on topics such as digital marketing, business development, engineering and UX solutions, and much more. To tackle a specific skills-based challenge facing your organization, submit your long-term project proposals to our San Francisco team here.