Online advertising is one of the best ways to promote your organisation in today’s internet-dependent world. Every company wants to maximise their online presence, particularly on Google.

However, for non-profit organisations, it is not easy or affordable to maintain their online presence, which can be both time consuming and expensive.

Fortunately, Google offers an advertising solution for these non-profit organisations, called Google Ad Grant and provides free advertising on Google.

What is the Google Ad Grant?

Like other grants, Google Ad Grant provides $10,000 USD every month, to any qualified non-profit organisation. You can only use these funds for Google Ads advertising.

Many organisations use the grant to increase donations, recruit volunteers and raise awareness.

Google displays these adverts on their search network. When you search on Google, you’ll see these adverts labelled as “Ad”. This is what separates the link from all other unpaid results.

Eligible non-profit organisations can receive up to $120,000 USD in advertising credit each year. Google not only displays the ad, but also ensures that there is a strong volume of incoming traffic to the website. This helps the organisation bring in more donations due to the increased online traffic from Google.

Who Is Eligible For Google Ad Grants?

As mentioned above, Google only offers this grant to eligible non-profit organisations. However, there are some eligibility requirements regarding who can apply and receive the grant.

Consequently, any non-profit organisation interested in receiving a Google Ads Grant should check whether it meets the following eligibility requirements:

Your non-profit organisation must be a valid charity: Each country follows its own validation process. For example, having a current 501(c)(3) status makes you a valid charity in the U.S.
Complete the Ad Grants pre-qualification process after enrolling in Google for Non-profits.
Review and accept Google’s non-discrimination and donation receipt certifications.

However, there are a few exceptions to the list:

Government establishments
Hospitals and other medical intuitions
Non-philanthropic educational institutions such as schools, colleges, universities or other academic bodies.

How can my non-profit organisation become eligible for Google Ad Grants?

If your non-profit fits Google’s eligibility criteria, then you need to ensure all mandatory requirements are up to date and properly maintained.

First and foremost, you need to ensure an authorised body validates your charity or non-profit. Google will not accept applications from any unregistered or non-validated organisation. Your country’s relevant authority must recognise your organisation as a valid non-profit, and you must register with Google for Non-profits.

Having an informative website is essential. The goal and mission of your organisation should be clear to all visitors. Your Google ad will direct people to your website where you can increase traffic, awareness and donations. Therefore, having an optimised, user-friendly website is vital.

What are the requirements for Google Ad Grant?

Now that we have covered who is eligible and what to look for if you are planning to apply. Google requires your organisation to meet the following requirements before awarding a Google Ad Grant.

Registering organisations: As covered before, your organisation must be a validated practice by your country’s government. It also needs to be registered with Google for non-profits.
Website maintenance: It is required to link the Google ad to your current up-to-date website, where the visitor can learn about your organisation’s missions and goals.
Minimum of two ad groups, each with two ads: Once an organisation starts with Google Ads, they need to maintain a minimum of two ad groups, each with two adverts. Ad groups are defined by the different categories. For example, one ad group can be about fundraising, another for volunteering.
Negative keywords: These exclusion words help improve performance by preventing your advert appearing to irrelevant customers. They are also a part of Google best practice guidelines.
Geo-Targeting: This helps non-profit organisations target a specific geographical area, for your Google ads to appear in.
Site link Extensions: Allow visitors to navigate different parts of your organisations website quickly and easily.
Five percent Click Through Rate: A Click Through Rate is a measurement of how engaging your adverts are to your target audience. An important requirement is to maintain a minimum Click Through Rate of five percent over 30 days.
Account optimisation: Regularly logging into the account to make improvements, update negative keywords and ads is required. A dormant account that has not been optimised over 30 days will have the Google Ad Grant withdrawn.

How can my non-profit apply for a Google Ad Grant?

Google awards several non-profit organisations across the globe with $10,000 USD to spend on Google ads every month. This can significantly increase traffic to your website and enhance the number of donations received.

However, to get there, you need to follow a set of steps and check through your eligibility.

Signup for Google non-profits: Under this program, you may be required to produce documents such as tax ID, non-discrimination policies and associated documents.
Register your organisation: You need to either register under Google Ads Express or Google Ads, once your account is registered, you can access your grant.
Create your Google Ads account: You can use a Google Ads agency to help build your organisation’s account in line with Google’s best practice and polices.
Account review: Your account will need to be reviewed by Google prior to going live.

How to use Google Ad Grant?

Securing a Google Ad Grant is often the most challenging part of the process. Once Google approves your application, follow these three steps to make the most of your grant.

Maintain your account regularly: Keep your Google Ad Grants account active and up to date. Review and optimise your campaigns regularly, or hire a professional to manage them for you. If you leave the account inactive for more than 30 days, Google may suspend or withdraw your grant.
Creation and planning of Ads: You need to have at least two ad groups. These ad groups are there to manage and organise different types of ads. You can have one for charitable purposes and another for raising donations for the organisation. Each ad group must contain a minimum of two ads.
Analyse and improve performance: Google Analytics is recommended with Google Ad Grant to successfully run your marketing campaigns. You must be able to see how the Google Ads and grant are helping your organisation. Google Analytics makes it easy to analyse this and helps by identifying which ad is bringing in traffic and those that aren’t.

Can Google Ad Grants eligibility be lost?

Your grant eligibility can be lost if you don’t follow the criteria covered above. This would cause Google to temporarily or indefinitely suspend your account.

By maintaining the following steps you ensure you will continue receiving the Google Ad Grants.

Ongoing maintenance: Your account needs to be active for Google to award grants. Ensure your marketing department logs into the account at least once a week and updates it every 30 days.
Ad relevance and geo-targeting: Your ads should reflect the cause of your non-profit organisation and target the correct geographical location.
Keyword evaluation: Optimise your keyword list and carry out Google’s keyword performance report once a month.
5% click through rate policy: To enhance user experience and relevance, your account needs to have a minimum of 5% click through rate.

Conclusion:

Google Ad Grant is a fantastic initiative for all charities that can increase exposure and make a real difference. Whether you’re looking to increase volunteer sign ups, raise awareness or simply boost donations, Google Grants is an essential marketing opportunity for all non-profit organisations.

Get in touch with Addicted 2 PPC so we can help with your Google Ad Grant.