What Google Advertising Is Doing for Nonprofits

As competition increases among nonprofits for new donations, there is one advertising avenue worth exploring: Google Ad Grants advertising. Whether you are trying to attract volunteers, drive or increase donations, or achieve greater recognition for your nonprofit’s mission and initiatives, Google Ad Grants can provide you with a free tool for creating a custom marketing strategy. The best news? Nonprofits may qualify for up to $10,000 per month for free AdWords, Google’s online advertising tool. 

How it Works

If your organization qualifies for Google Ad Grants, you’ll receive up to $10,000 per month in in-kind AdWords advertising to promote your mission on Google search results pages. When people are searching for a nonprofit like yours, they will be more likely to find your message. The more often your ads appear next to Google search results, the more awareness of your nonprofit you will generate. As a grant recipient, organizations get to create a custom marketing strategy to promote their goals within the following parameters:

• Daily budget of $329
• Run only keyword-targeted campaigns
• Only appear on Google search result pages
• Only run text ads that appear on Google search pages
• $2 maximum cost-per-click (CPC)

Getting Started

• Your nonprofit must hold current and valid charity status. Click here to check eligibility
• Apply for a Google for Nonprofits account
• Set up an AdWords account
• Choose the program that’s right for you; you’ll have options of how you want to manage your account:

• If you don’t have a lot of time, you can use AdWords Express to manage where and when your ads appear. However, keep in mind that your AdWords and AdWords Express accounts will share the same $10,000/month budget
• If you’d rather be hands-on, you can choose your own AdWords and use tools to create and target your campaigns
• Submit your account for review

There are additional resources to help optimize your account, such as using a keyword planner, analytics and conversion tracking. Click here for helpful resources and to get the most from your Google Ad Grants program.