Google Ad Grants

Google Ad Grants management for nonprofits and churches

Google gives qualifying nonprofits up to $10,000 a month in search ads at no cost. Keeping the grant takes steady work, because Google requires conversion tracking, a 5% click-through rate across the account and ads that follow its rules. We set up the account, build the campaigns and manage them each month, so more of the people searching for what your organization does can find your website.

What Google offers

What Google for Nonprofits includes

Google for Nonprofits is free to join for organizations with 501(c)(3) status. Once Google approves your organization, these programs are available to you.

Google Ad Grants

Up to $10,000 a month in text ads on Google search, pointing to your own website. The ads can promote your programs, events, services, volunteer openings and giving page.

Google Workspace for Nonprofits

Google Workspace at no cost for qualifying organizations, with email on your own domain, shared calendars and Drive. The larger Workspace plans are offered at a discount.

YouTube and Google Maps

Access to the YouTube Nonprofit Program and credits for Google Maps Platform, which help if your organization shares videos or shows locations on its website.

Google's rules

What it takes to keep an Ad Grants account active

A 5% click-through rate

Google looks at the whole account each month. If fewer than 5% of the people who see your ads click on them for two months in a row, Google can pause the account until it's fixed. We keep the ads on specific searches that match what your organization does.

At least one conversion a month

Every account needs conversion tracking for actions like donations, volunteer signups, contact forms or event registrations, and it has to record at least one a month. Google also requires automated bidding, which relies on that tracking.

A website that meets Google's policy

Your ads have to point to a domain you own, served over HTTPS, with pages that load quickly and work on a phone. Google also looks for working links, original content about your mission, and your address along with your EIN or an annual report.

What we do

What our Ad Grants setup and management includes

Help with the application

We help you apply to Google for Nonprofits and get through the verification Google uses to confirm your status, then request Ad Grants once your organization is approved.

Campaigns built around your programs

We build campaigns for your programs, events, volunteer openings and giving, with the ads, sitelinks, location settings and keywords that Google's rules call for.

Conversion tracking

We track the actions that matter to your organization, like donations, volunteer signups, contact forms and event registrations, so the account meets Google's requirement and the bidding has real goals to work toward.

Monthly management

Each month we check the click-through rate and conversions, adjust keywords and ads, pause what isn't working, and keep the account within Google's rules to keep the grant active.

Questions

Questions about Google Ad Grants

Who qualifies for Google Ad Grants?

In the United States, your organization needs 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, or it can belong to a group exemption under a 501(c)(3) parent organization. Government agencies, hospitals and health care organizations, and schools and universities don't qualify, although their charitable foundations can.

Can churches get Google Ad Grants?

Yes, if the church is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3). Churches are tax exempt automatically and don't have to apply to the IRS, but Google only accepts organizations that are listed in the IRS database of tax exempt organizations. A church without its own IRS letter may still qualify through a group exemption from its denomination. We explain the details in Google Ad Grants for churches.

Is Google Ad Grants really free?

Yes. The Google Ads grant covers up to $10,000 a month in search ads, and your organization isn't billed for them. Our setup and monthly management are quoted separately after a short call, based on how many programs and campaigns you need.

How long does it take to get started?

Google says nonprofit verification usually takes 2 to 14 working days. The Ad Grants review comes after that, and your website has to meet Google's policy before the ads can run. We'll give you a timeline on the call.

Does our website need changes first?

Sometimes. Google won't run grant ads that point to a domain you don't own, a site without HTTPS, or a site with very little about your mission. We'll check your site against Google's website policy, and if it needs work, we also do nonprofit and church website design.

Can we run Google Ad Grants ourselves?

Yes. Google offers free training, and plenty of organizations manage their own accounts. It takes regular time each month to keep the click-through rate and conversions where Google wants them, and we can take that work off your staff's plate.

Learn about our nonprofit marketing, church marketing and nonprofit website design, see the Church at Bergen case study, or read about our Google Ads management for local businesses.

Talk to us about Google Ad Grants

Book a call and tell us about your organization and the programs you want more people to find. We'll go over what Google will ask for, what your website may need, and how we would set up the account.