Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits
The Google Ad Grant combines marketing and fundraising opportunities so nonprofits like yours can amplify their missions and reach larger pools of donors, volunteers, and advocates. By equipping eligible organizations with $10,000 in ad credits per month, the program enables them to increase website activity and digital conversions.
Your nonprofit can strategically leverage your website and push your mission forward by getting started with Google Ad Grants to establish a dependable marketing foundation. In this complete guide to Google Ad Grants, you’ll learn:
- What Is the Google Ad Grant?
- What Are the Google Grant Eligibility Requirements for Nonprofits?
- Which Organizations Are Not Eligible for Google Ad Grants?
- How to Apply for the Google Ad Grant Program
- How Nonprofits Can Use Google Ad Grants
- Maintaining Your Nonprofit’s Google Ad Grants Eligibility
At Innovative Digital Marketing, we specialize in Google Ad Grants management so nonprofits can take full advantage of the program. With professional guidance on the latest best practices, your nonprofit can effectively connect with a larger pool of motivated prospects. Let’s dive in!
What is the Google Ads Grant?
Google Ads are a digital marketing solution that businesses and nonprofits use to promote their products, services, and other content to web users. Essentially, advertisers bid on keywords that strategically target their ideal audience. If they win the bid, their ads will appear on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
The Google Ad Grant program is a free version of Google Ads for select charitable organizations. While regular Google Ad accounts have to pay per ad click, Google Grant participants can display their advertisements for free. That way, nonprofits can allocate less of their budgets toward marketing.
The grant gives eligible nonprofits $10,000 in free monthly advertising credits. As long as the organization complies with the program’s rules, the grant will automatically renew each month.
Organizations can use their grant money to bid on different keywords and promote specific pages on their website through text-based ads that will show up in Google Search. A majority of these pages will typically include:
- Service & Event Pages
- Donation Pages & Ways to Give
- Educational & Informational Content
For example, when you search for “human trafficking awareness” on Google, you’ll see advertisements from nonprofits & dedicated to supporting this cause with a call to action on how you can get involved. Some of these might go straight to a donation page with a call to action to support, while others are more informational pages that help bring awareness and educate people on how serious these issues are.
The program’s overall goal is to make a positive impact by enabling nonprofits to increase awareness of their causes. Since 2003, Google has awarded more than $10 billion in free advertising to more than 115,000 nonprofits across 51 countries.
While the Google Ad Grant program is entirely free, creating and maintaining your account will take substantial time and effort. To truly be successful, you’ll need to either devote staff time to managing your ad campaigns or outsource the work to a Google Ad Grants agency.
What Are the Google Grant Eligibility Requirements for Nonprofits?
To be considered eligible for the Google Ad Grant, Google requires that nonprofits meet several requirements. After all, $10,000 per month is a sizeable contribution. To apply for Google Ad Grants, nonprofits must first meet the program’s universal standards, which include:
- Holding current and valid charity status. For U.S.-based organizations, you must have current 501(c)(3) status, meaning that the IRS recognizes you as an official charitable organization and exempts you from tax obligations. Google requires organizations to be verified by Percent.
- Acknowledging and agreeing to the Google Ad Grant’s required certifications. You’ll need to agree to Google’s process of receiving and using donations obtained from the grant, as well as the Google for Nonprofits and Google Ads terms of service.
- Having a functioning website that provides valuable content on your nonprofit and mission. Any information you promote through Google Ad Grants has to live on your nonprofit’s website. As part of their standard eligibility check, Google requires that you own the domain, have unique website content, and feature a detailed description of your organization’s mission and activities.
- Having an SSL certificate. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and is a security protocol between a web server and a browser. It will cause a lock icon to appear in the navigation bar in Google Chrome. If there is no lock and you see the words “not secure” next to your website’s URL, it means SSL is not installed or there is another issue.
If your organization has a solid foundation in the digital space, it doesn’t take much to be eligible for the Google Ad Grant. However, to save time and trouble, Google Ad Grant managers can help you check your eligibility.
Which Organizations Are Not Eligible for Google Ad Grants?
While the Google Ad Grants program is widely available to many nonprofits, there are some exceptions. Organizations that are not eligible to apply for Google Ad Grants include:
- Governmental entities and organizations
- Hospitals and healthcare organizations
- Schools, academic institutions, and universities—however, the fundraising arms of educational organizations are eligible!
The Google Ad Grants team implements these requirements to ensure that only organizations that will genuinely benefit from the program apply. However, Google also offers a similar grant program for educational institutions in addition to the nonprofit program. If that applies to your organization, check it out!
How to Apply for the Google Ad Grant Program
If your nonprofit meets all of the eligibility requirements and is ready to apply for the Google Ad Grant program, follow these basic steps:
1. Enroll in Google for Nonprofits
You must have an active Google for Nonprofits account to apply for the Google Ad Grants program. If you already do, you can skip this step. Otherwise, the application is available through Google for Nonprofits.
With a Google for Nonprofits account (for U.S. organizations), you’ll receive access to Google Ad Grants, along with these additional services:
- Google Workspace for Nonprofits, which includes free access to Google’s apps like Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Meet.
- YouTube Nonprofit Program, which provides nonprofits with special features on YouTube, like a donate button.
- Google Earth and Maps, which helps users locate community programs and resources in their area.
To enroll in Google for Nonprofits, you’ll need to provide your tax ID number, contact information, and other relevant information about your nonprofit.
When getting started with Google for Nonprofits, you will also register your organization with Google’s technology verification partner, Percent. Just click the “Get Started” button on Google for Nonprofit’s home page and fill out the requested information. Google will forward your information to Percent to complete the registration process.
2. Make Sure Google Analytics is Installed on Your Website
While Google Analytics is important for your own website data tracking purposes, having it installed is also required prior to applying for Google Ad Grants.
Install Google Tag Manager on your website and set up conversion tracking goals for your site. To determine these goals, think of valuable actions that you want your audience to complete while on your site, like donating or signing up for your newsletter. These goals will guide your analytics strategies and provide insight into conversions for the pages that most effectively inspire visitors to take action.
3. Submit Your Website and Account to the Google Ad Grants Team for Review
After your Google for Nonprofits account is approved, you’re ready to apply for the Google Ad Grants program! You’ll need to submit your website for review to the Google Ad Grants team. They’ll certify whether you’re eligible by determining if your web presence and content are ready. This typically takes three business days. Once you’re approved, Google will send further instructions for you to start building out a basic Google Ads account, which you’ll also need to submit for review.
When you apply, you’ll be given the choice of a “Smart Campaign” or a “Classic” Google Ads account. To gain access to the full suite of tools and options, make sure you apply for the “Classic” account, as the “Smart Campaign” is a much more basic version of Google Ad Grants. Then, you’re ready to start building out your Google Ad Grants management plan.
How Nonprofits Can Use Google Ad Grants
The Google Ad Grant program does more than drive traffic to your website. It allows nonprofits to create targeted ads that spread awareness about a cause and recruit passionate supporters to take action.
Effective Google Ad Grants management empowers nonprofits to:
- Inform and educate the public about their missions by promoting educational content.
- Increase the visibility of upcoming events like webinars, conferences, and fundraisers.
- Share volunteer registration forms and other volunteer-related content to boost recruitment.
- Promote advocacy activities like online petitions or click-to-call campaigns.
- Share donation and sponsorship opportunities to boost revenue generation.
- Provide information to potential beneficiaries about the organization’s services.
You can promote a wide range of content with Google Ad Grants. Just think carefully about how the pages you choose support your nonprofit’s goals.
Maintaining Your Nonprofit's Google Ad Grants Eligibility
Rather than being a one-and-done event, Google Ad Grants eligibility requires ongoing maintenance. While regularly visiting the official compliance page is your best bet for up-to-date policies, here are the most important requirements to remember as you develop your campaigns:
- Don’t use single-word keywords unless it is one of the approved exceptions.
- Avoid overly generic keywords that don’t indicate the intent of the person searching, such as “free videos”, “e-books,” or “today’s news.”
- Ensure your keyword quality has a score higher than 1 or 2. You can determine keyword quality with expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience.
- Maintain at least a 5% click-through rate (CTR) each month. CTR is the number of clicks your ad receives divided by the number of impressions, or times your ad is shown. For example, if you had five clicks and 100 impressions, then your CTR would be 5%.
- Have valid conversion tracking set up through Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.
- Have at least one responsive search ad per ad group.
- Have at least two sitelink ad extensions that link to additional pages on your site.
- Respond to the annual program survey sent to the login email addresses on each Ad Grants account.
Frequently check (and consider bookmarking) the Google Ad Grants compliance page to ensure you stay up-to-date, as the rules occasionally change. Failing to comply with the Google Ad Grants policies will lead to your entire account being suspended. Here are the most common reasons for account suspension:
- Losing your organization’s 501(c)(3) status
- Failing to meet the eligibility criteria
- Abusing the ad network
- Failing to re-verify your account
- Repeatedly violating the program’s terms and policies
- Misrepresenting your organization
These limitations not only ensure your nonprofit remains eligible for the grant but also help you make the best use of the grant money. If you have any questions, your best bet is to rely on a dedicated Google Ad Grants management team that spends its time familiarizing itself with the program rules.