The Ultimate Guide to Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits

If you’re raising money for your non-profit, you’ve probably considered ads at some point in time. However, ad costs can get high pretty quickly. Luckily, there is a way to advertise your non-profit and avoid high ad costs at the same time.

google ads grant

You can get $10k per month in free advertising from Google for your nonprofit and in this guide, we’ll explain the benefits of Google Ad Grants as well as share helpful tips about using the Google Ad Grant.

What is the Google Ad Grant?

Google Ads are some of the most effective advertising techniques and with the help of the Google Ad Grant, you can easily start advertising your non-profit and jump to the top of Google.

Google ad grants

The Google Ad Grants for Non-profits program is geared for non-profits specifically and it gives you free access to various Google business tools as well as a $10,000/mo budget for free advertising on their Google Advertising platform.

Once you set up your ads using your Google Ad Grant account, your ads can appear in search results when people search for keywords and terms related to your non-profit.

It’s worth mentioning that your ads can only display on Google.com which means you can’t use Google Partners or Display Network to display your ads.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you will be in charge of managing your Google Ads account. Google won’t be managing it for you.

There are also budget restrictions to consider. Your daily budget needs to be set at $329 which amounts to $10,000/mo. You also can’t use keywords that have a CPC rate of more than $2.00.

Benefits Of Google Ad Grants For Non-Profits

There are several benefits to applying for the Google Ad Grant program.

It’s Easy To Get Into

If your non-profit qualifies, it’s easy to get accepted into the Google Ad Grants program. One of the main eligibility requirements is that your organization holds a valid and current charity status.

google ads grant

There are some exceptions, like hospitals and schools, where organizations aren’t eligible for the Google Ad Grant program, however, there are similar advertising programs for those organizations. Also, Ad Grants are not available for Fiscal Sponsored Non Profits. So if you’re non-profit has a fiscal sponsor and is under the umbrella of another 501(c)3, it’s generally not eligible for the Google Ad Grant program.

A few other requirements to be eligible for Google Ad Grant include:

  • You also have to agree to their terms of how you can receive and use donations obtained from the grant
  • Have a website that provides sufficient details on your non-profit organization.

Aside from that, all charities are available to apply, making the Google Ad Grant program one of the easiest grants to get.

Show Up As Relevant Result

Another benefit of the Google Ad Grant is that you can target specific keyword searches. This then shows your ads as relevant when people are searching for those keywords and terms. The best part about it is that you get the opportunity to use paid ads for free.

Appear At Top Of Google

Google Ads increase clicks and traffic to your website. Since people are already searching for particular phrases and terms, the goal of your Google Ads campaign is not to raise brand awareness. Rather, the primary focus of your ads should be to find people looking for those terms and converting them by getting them to donate or become volunteers themselves.

Google Ads Require Good Management

Once you’ve been accepted into the Google Ad Grant program, you need to maintain eligibility. Here are a few tips that will help you out.

Start With Research

Keyword research should be your first step in creating an ad for your non-profit organization. Without research, you won’t know which search terms are popular and you could end up targeting the wrong keywords. As a result, your ads won’t show.

You can use the Keyword Planner Tool that’s built into the Google Ads platform to start researching keywords to target and get additional keyword ideas.

Use Keyword Matching

Keyword match essentially determines how closely the keyword needs to match with a search term in order for the ad to show. There are different types of keyword matching: broad match, phrase match, and exact match.

Broad match will show your ads on searches that are related to your keyword but don’t necessarily contain it. In other words, this will display your ads to the largest number of users and will also consider the user’s search activities, contents of the landing page, and other keywords in the same ad group.

Phrase match will show your ads as a result on search terms that include the meaning of your keyword, whether the meaning is implied or the user entered a more specific form of the meaning.

Phrase matching is more targeted than broad matching but still flexible enough to show your ads to users who are searching for non-profits like yours as well as allow you to reach more users.

Exact matching will show your ads on searches that contain the same meaning or convey the same intent as your keyword. They are highly targeted and will give you the most control over who sees your ads.

If you want your ads to be successful, it’s worth experimenting with keyword matching and see which one gives you the best results for your ad spend.

Be Careful Adding Negative Keywords

Negative keywords will help you weed out irrelevant traffic. In essence, with negative keywords, you’re setting up keywords that you don’t want your ad to show up as a result for.

Google gives you $10000/mo to spend on ads. Too many negative keywords, might impact how your ads show and result in you not spending the money in your ad budget from the Google Grant. With that in mind, be careful when adding negative keywords.

Nail Down Demographics And Location Settings

Another thing that will help you in running a successful ad campaign is to nail down your demographics and location settings. You need to understand who would be searching for the terms that you’re targeting as well as where they’re located.

It makes no sense to display your ads to people outside of your location if your non-profit organization focuses on helping your local community.

But, if you have a global reach and the work you do helps people all over the world, targeting a wider demographic might be a better solution.

Make Sure Keywords Match Ad Copy And Landing Page

Your keywords should appear in your ad copy as well as the landing page. Otherwise, your users will be confused and are more likely to click the back button or not click on the ad in the first place.

If you add your keywords in the headline of your ad and in the description, they will be more inclined to click. Moreover, if they see those same keywords on the landing page, they’ll know they are in the right place and will be more likely to stay and take the action you want them to take.

Don’t Forget Landing Page Optimization

Your landing page needs to be optimized for conversions. For starters, use the StoryBrand framework to tell your story better as humans tend to relate to stories better, especially when you make them the hero of your story.

Use multiple calls to action to encourage visitors to make a donation or become involved with the work your organization does.

Focus on the benefits but do mention how you help and where the donations go so that visitors have a clear idea what happens once they make their donation.

Follow Google’s Guidelines

Lastly, be sure to follow Google’s guidelines to keep your account in good standing. In particular:

  • Make sure that all ads link to the non-profit URL you specified in your application
  • Log into your Google Ads account regularly (at least monthly) otherwise, Google might pause your account without notifying you
  • Make sure that the ads reflect the mission of your non-profit
  • Don’t point your ads to pages that take visitors away from your website
  • Your ads can’t offer financial products nor can you ask for donations in the form of large goods ie. property donations.
  • You can’t display ads from Google AdSense or other affiliate programs while you’re participating in Google Ad Grant program

What’s Next?

We can help you apply and get the Google Ad Grant and then set up your ads to help you achieve your goals and manage those ads for you. Get in touch with us today and let’s talk about your advertising goals.

google ads grant

We focus on beautiful web design that delivers results for your organization. Our specialty is creating customized WordPress websites.

Are you looking for more traffic, leads and customers? We provide on-going digital marketing to help you reach more customers and grow revenue.

About Us

Johnny Flash Productions

Johnny Flash Productions is a creative agency based outside of Washington D.C. that focuses on digital strategy, web design and development, graphic design and event production that helps businesses get better results from their marketing.