google ad grant for nonprofits
The Google Ad Grant is a unique program that offers eligible 501 C3 nonprofits up to $10,000 a month in free ad spend in Google ads. Started in 2003, it has to date awarded over $9 billion to over 115,000 nonprofits worldwide. However, with all free things there is a catch: the program can be somewhat difficult to manage. The processes surrounding how to maintain your Google Ad Grant eligibility are changing constantly, requiring you to constantly monitor for any updates. In addition, there are certain thresholds you have to meet and maintain in order to keep your eligibility, such as a minimum click-through-rate (CTR), high-quality keywords scores, staying within the bounds of the policies that govern your industry, and much more.
In order for the Google Ad Grant to perform at its peak capacity, you need to cast a broad net at the stars. Typically this is done with a general awareness/brand awareness campaign in order to put your organization’s name and mission in front of as many eyes as possible. The main function of the Ad Grant is brand awareness, so by focusing on that first, you can feed Google’s systems enough data to refine its targeting algorithms to filter out those who are not part of your intended audience. Once that is done and your ad spend is at a high level, you can start to introduce more specific campaigns to focus on things such as fundraising, donations, and events you have coming up that you want to advertise for, and targeting niche audiences.
The team at Great White Bison has years of experience running and managing Google Ad Grant accounts and have an extensive understanding of the policies that are in place, and are a certified Google Partner. We also have systems in place that will notify us when any major changes occur and constantly revisit the full list of Google’s extensive documentation on their policies to review what is new, what has changed, and what policies are coming down the line. By doing this, we free you up to focus on what matters most: running your business and not having to worry about Google’s constant changes. We monitor accounts on a weekly basis and have notification systems in place if any drops in ad spend, click through rate, quality scores, and other important metrics occur so that we can catch issues before they become problems.
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who is eligible for the Google Ad Grant?
- Almost all charities are eligible for the Google Ad Grant. The Google Ad Grant is available for 501(c)(3) organizations (or the equivalent in your home country). All 501(c)(3)’s must be validated by TechSoup, Percent, or equivalent organization. Governmental organizations, healthcare organizations, universities and schools are not eligible; however, if those organizations have philanthropic arms those specific entities would be eligible.
What should I expect starting out in terms of ad spend?
- Upon launch of a Google Ad Grant campaign, it can take anywhere from 2-6 months to reach the maximum spend for your charity. Every campaign goes through a 30-45 day ‘learning phase,’ where Google evaluates the responsive search ads for quality and effectiveness towards the target audience. Brand-new campaigns, campaigns with intense local competition, and limited-scope charities take longer to reach fruition than others.
Does anyone ever spend the full $10,000?
- Yes! Many recipients of the Google Ad Grant are able to spend the full $10,000 per month. Spend is dictated by the number of searches for ads of your type in your area. As long as there are a sufficient number of searches, then reaching the max spend is possible.
Is there a limit to how many ads I can run?
- There is no limit to the number of ads that can run. Ad accounts are only limited by the $10,000 monthly spend cap ($329 per day).
