We learned of the name change to Google Maps Engine at the Location Intelligence Conference, but I guess it was not the right venue to announce free licenses for non-profits.
We didn’t think “Earth Builder” reflected the true capabilities of the product or vision that we have for easily accessible geospatial data. So, today we're renaming Google Earth Builder to be called Google Maps Engine. Today we’re also announcing the launch of our Google Maps Engine grants program for nonprofits.
I for one always found the "Builder" name awkward and was never sure what Google Earth had to do with it.
