A Guide to Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits in 2024

google ad grants

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The goals of each non-profit are unique. Using Google Ad Grants helps you reach your goals, whether building awareness, attracting volunteers, attracting new donors, or increasing donations. 

For the past 14 years, Google Ad Grants have assisted non-profits with communication, recruitment, and fundraising. By maintaining strategic partnerships, non-profits can accelerate their progress toward their goals.  

If non-profits wish to take full advantage of this opportunity, they need to be able to obtain Google Ad Grants, manage them, and take advantage of them as well.  

Google Ad Grants for non-profits can give non-profit organisations a strong foundation for advertising.   

The free advertising in this program can help your non-profit get more website visitors, increasing its impact. Additionally, Google Ad Grants are very simple to apply for, unlike most grants. 

We have outlined how Google Ad Grants can benefit your organisation in our Ultimate Guide to Google Ad Grants. 

 

How is Google ad grants different from the usual ads?

 

Using Google Ad Grants is like having your secret weapon.  

You can use the service to connect with your followers, spread your message, and rank highly on Google, among other things.  

The Google Ad Grant may not be a name you are familiar with, or you may have heard of it for the first time. Regardless, don’t worry – you will no longer miss out.  

The Google Ad Grant program offers eligible non-profit organisations $10,000 each month (a daily maximum of USD 329) to spend on Google search ads.  

You can rank highly on Google without spending a dime with Google Ad Grant grants.   

You are paid by Google when people click on your ad spots. It is possible to spend $10,000 per month on clicks. Google Ad Grant allows you to reach a lot of people for free if many people are searching for what you provide. It’s a delightful program and one of the least utilized resources that non-profit organisations have at their disposal today. 

 

Who Qualifies for Google Ad Grants?

 

Google Ad Grants are only given out to eligible non-profits members of the Google for Nonprofits program.   

Google Ad Grants are only available to organisations that meet the following requirements: 

  • Be an active and valid charity.The Australian Non-Profits can check the definition for charity status. 
  • Consent to the terms and conditions regarding how donations will be received and used by Google Grant. 
  • Maintain a robust website that offers information and is functional. 
  • Websites should meet the standards outlined by Google. Additionally, the website must be hosted on a domain owned by the organisation ( e.g. “makehomenonprofit.org) 
  • The website you apply for the Google Grant with must have an SSL certificate installed (which is indicated in Google Chrome by a lock icon). 
  •  In Chrome, if you see “Not Secure” next to the URL of your website, it means SSL is not installed or that there is a configuration issue. 

 

Google Ad Grants cannot be granted to the following organisations: 

  • Entities and organisations related to the government 
  • Educational institutions, childcare centres, and universities 
  • Medical groups, health care and hospitals 

 

How do you stay eligible to receive a Google Ad Grant?

 

Maintaining eligibility is one of the biggest challenges to receiving a Google Ad Grant. But how can you make sure you remain eligible? 

Google Ad Grants are offered to organisation that meets the following criteria. 

  • Make sure that your account CTR is at least 5%.
  • Make sure that your keyword quality score is at least 2.
  • A campaign must have at least two active ad groups.
  • Sitelink ads must consist of at least two extensions.
  • The account must have geotargeting enabled.
  • Please avoid using single-word keywords except those on this list. And please refrain from using overly generic terms. Branded keywords are another exception to the one-word keyword rule, but competitors’ brands are not allowed.
  • At least one change must be implemented every 90 days on an account. You will have to request reinstatement from Google if you don’t display active management.

 

Google Ad Grants: How to Apply?

 

You are to log in with your non-profit account with the appropriate TechSoup token to apply for the Google Ad Grants. Here is how to proceed: 

  • Add Google Analytics to your website. 
  • Join TechSoup to register your non-profit.
  • Join Google for Nonprofits. 
  • Sign up for Google for Non-profits using the TechSoup token. 
  • Apply for the Grant through the Google Ad Grants page. 

 

Are any restrictions imposed on the Google Ad Grants?

 

So far, we have discussed the grounds of your non-profit status and what you are allowed to do. Now let’s take a look at Google Ads restrictions for non-profit organisations. 

1) Your daily budget will be around $329 ($10,000). 

2) You cannot have keywords with CPC over $2.00.  

3) The advertisements are displayed on the Google search engine. 

 

And the biggest part, if you don’t use the free fund of $10,000 every month, you are sure to lose the fund.  

Some non-profits might struggle to find ways to spend the fund of $10,000 per month completely.  

 

How do you start with the Google Ad Grant?

 

How can you make the most of the Grant now that you have it? The Grant gives organisations a total of $10,000 worth of monthly ad credits that they will not be able to utilize in full.  

Even non-profits that don’t raise the full amount can achieve their goals and achieve unprecedented results. 

However, credit for ad campaigns does not carry over from month to month, so you should do everything possible to maximize your results. 

A Google Grants account is beneficial to a non-profit’s overall marketing and fundraising strategy.  

Besides driving the organisation’s mailing list and social media followers, Google Ads can also be used to convert visitors into donors.  

Visitor introductions must first occur, then, they must be converted to subscribers and, ultimately donors.  

 

Following are a few simple, easy steps to dramatically improve your campaigns:

 

1. Running five campaigns at max  

Your Google ad account must have 3 to 5 campaigns. So when developing one, choose the campaign you want to run. 

 

2. Specific ad groups  

Your targeted ad group should be focused. For the non-profit serving animal shelter, the “adoption” campaign can get launched. You should include a wide array of related keywords and ads within the campaign. 

 

3. One RSA per group  

At least one responsive search ad should be included in each ad group. Google will adjust its algorithm to mix and match these headlines and descriptions to increase your click-through rate if you use RSA.  

 

4. Experimental approach to the headlines  

Don’t skip the description and headline portion. Limit the use of characters to maximize the ad space.  

  

How to keep track of Google Ads and Grant Conversions?

 

Are you doing anything to ensure your marketing effort is generating results?   

Tracking conversions is one way to do so.  

Your ads can lead people to take action if you set up conversion tracking, such as: 

  • Donations received  
  • Phone calls made to the organisation  
  • Submission of contact forms 

Tracking conversions allows you to obtain meaningful metrics about how traffic is directed to and interacts with your website. 

 

What are the Best Practices for Making the Most of Google Ad Grants?

 

Each key action that non-profits want to track should be set up as a conversion in Google Analytics, and conversion goals should be created for each action. In Google Ads, conversions are used once Google Analytics is configured. 

 

Here are the best practices for making the most of Google Ad Grants, 

  • Selecting the right keywords representing the non-profit organisation. 
  • Correct placement of negative keywords. 
  • Organizing the ad groups and campaigns. 
  • Getting the right hold of the landing pages.  
  • Don’t ignore the Geo-setting for targeting the location.  
  • Focusing on the conversion. 
  • Measuring the achievements via Google Analytics.  

 

Conclusion

 

Ad Grants from Google are an effective way for your non-profit to reach its target audiences, increase donations and product sales, and raise awareness by sending new visitors to your website each month. 

Thousands of organisations reclaim their place at the forefront of users’ minds with Google Ad Grants. These grants have helped non-profits participate in online platforms for more than a decade.  

Many non-profits have difficulty managing Google Grants effectively due to a lack of Google expertise, insufficient staffing, or a lack of available time. 

For managing your Google Grants account, you might want to consider bringing in a Google Grants Expert. Google Ads may be too much for a non-profit to handle. If that is the case, you might consider hiring a firm that specializes in the management of Google Grants. To know more about your non-profit grant status in New South Wales, Australia, contact us!

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