The Best Ways to Use Google Grant Money for Nonprofit Ads (And Mistakes to Avoid)
Imagine gaining up to $10,000 a month in free Google Search ad credits — without dipping into your nonprofit’s budget.
That’s exactly what Google Ad Grants offers to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations.
(And who doesn’t want free advertising in Google search results?)
And if you keep reading, you’re going to learn the difference this grant can make in getting your organization found by the right people online, including:
For many nonprofits, paid search advertising can feel out of reach; allocating precious funds toward Google Ads often means diverting resources from mission-critical programs.
But in this post, we’ll demystify how Google Ad Grants works (and how your organization can benefit from it).
We’ve drawn on insights from a recent interview with Jordan O’Neal, Senior Enterprise Marketing Consultant at Cause Inspired Media (one of our 4aGoodCause partners), to provide real-world guidance on making the most of this program.
Whether you’ve never considered Google Ads or you’re already enrolled and seeking to optimize, this guide will serve as your roadmap to success.
What is the Google Ad Grant?
The Google Ad Grant provides eligible 501c3 nonprofits that meet certain criteria with $10,000 in free monthly ad spend for paid search ads, resetting daily with a $329 limit.
With Ad Grants, you can use Google Search to:
Drive awareness of your organization
Increase website traffic, and
Produce valuable outcomes, like serving your target populations, donations to a new campaign, newsletter sign-ups, or volunteer inquiries
And you can do this all without spending a dime of your operating budget.
As nonprofit marketing consultant Jordan O’Neal explains, “Essentially, think of it like a credit that you receive from Google every month. It’s $10,000 in free ad spend for just paid search ads.”
Google allocates an in-kind credit of up to $329 per day (which equates to roughly $10,000 per month) that nonprofits can use to run text-based ads on Google Search.
These ads appear just like any other paid search advertisement, helping organizations reach potential supporters at the very moment they’re searching for terms related to the nonprofit’s mission or services.
Here’s a quick example — with more examples discussed below:
Let’s say you work on the fictional fundraising and development team for the Bruce Wayne Bat Sanctuary (our favorite faux-charity).
If you have the goal this year to get more new subscribers to your newsletter (so you can develop a relationship over time and later pitch your monthly giving program), you’d likely want to ensure your organization shows up in the search results for the query [how to protect bat populations].
It’s likely that someone searching for this particular query in Google has a high interest in your organization’s cause. And that means putting your marketing resources into getting more visibility for this particular search query are well-spent.
What’s the best way for a nonprofit to use the Google Ad Grant?
Jordan advises that the Ad Grant funds work best when you’re using them to gain new users to your organization.
Think about how people actually use Google and what they search for, and ensure your ads are targeting appropriate search intent.
“No one’s ever Googling ‘Where can I donate my money?’” Jordan explained to our team with a chuckle. “But maybe during the holidays, you’re looking for creative gift ideas for animal lovers, and an [animal shelter giving program] would show up in that instance.”
Depending on your goals for your Google Ad Grant spent, you may want to use the funds to:
Draw people that you service to your website to increase community outreach. If you’re a cancer support center, you might use your ad funds to gain visibility for a blog post about what to pack in their bag for long treatment days.
Increase newsletter signups. You might target groups interested in supporting your cause so you can pitch them your monthly giving program over time.
Drive visibility in your local community. You can use data from actions users complete on your site (actions that you want them to complete!) in order to find the right people in your area. Or you can highlight your community fundraising events for people looking for events near them.
Advertise volunteer or job opportunities with your organization to your local community. If you run a community mental health center, you might advertise that your community mental health center has multiple part-time jobs for licensed social workers available.
There are plenty of ways your organization could benefit from the grant to reach the right audience — the most important thing to keep in mind is what experience you’re giving those new website visitors (and what you’re communicating to them!) once they arrive on your site.
Make sure to have a complete messaging plan in place to make the most after that first click.
Keeping all these things in mind, let’s explore the common mistakes the Cause Inspired Media team sees nonprofits making when using their Google Ad Grant funds.
1. Target search queries or terms that people are actually searching for, versus the terms you want to be seen for
Jordan often sees nonprofits missing out on targeting the right terms for their intended audience. Oftentimes, the core keywords you want to get visibility for in Google Search aren’t the ones your audience is likely using.
This can feel counterintuitive, but people are using Google to search for things while using natural language that makes sense to them. Therefore, the highest volume keywords aren’t always the ones that will offer your organization the best results.
For instance, you might want to appear in a search for [entrepreneurial education] if you’re a nonprofit that develops high school curriculum in this topic.
However, it would likely be a better strategic play to target searches like [education curriculum for high school] or [entrepreneurship curriculum for high schools], since more teachers are likely to search using that language.
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The highest volume keywords aren’t always the ones that will offer your organization the best results.
Jordan O’Neal
Senior Enterprise Marketing Consultant at Cause Inspired Media
2. Bid on “broad match” terms — not only exact match terms
Jordan and her team at Cause Inspired advise on setting up your Google Ad campaigns using broad match queries and terms, rather than exact matches.
Google defines broad match terms as searches that relate to your target keyword, not just searches that contain your target keyword.
Many nonprofits who aren’t familiar with running paid ad campaigns through Google Search might miss using the “broad match” approach, which allows for your site to capture visibility for related terms, too.
For more information about the difference between broad match, phrase match, and exact match keyword types, check out this Google Ads Help Guide.
3. Don’t skip out on mobile-response design
If your landing pages and ads aren’t optimized for smartphones, you’re leaving conversions on the table.
Does your site render poorly on a phone? Users will bounce before they even see your mission.
Jordan cautions nonprofit teams to “pay attention to where your calls to action (CTAs) are on both a desktop and a mobile. If you want new site visitors to start the donation process or sign up for a newsletter, where is that CTA within the page? And how many times do you make that ask to them?”
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When you have all of those items optimized, that's when it works.
Jordan O’Neal
Senior Enterprise Marketing Consultant at Cause Inspired Media
🤯 Did you know?Even non-technical team members can launch mobile-responsive donation and fundraising landing pages in minutes (no coding or design required!) with 4aGoodCause. Your templates come with built-in best practices for seamless engagement and conversions, so you can focus on impact, not tech.
Jordan also advises to watch out for large images or excessive white space on webpages that could cause experience issues on mobile or hide essential content “below the fold,” or beyond the first scroll for web and mobile users.
“When you have all of those items optimized, that’s when it works,” she encourages.
To ensure a seamless mobile experience:
Use a mobile-first template: Choose a responsive theme or framework that automatically adjusts layouts, fonts, and buttons for small screens. (Like 4aGoodCause donation pages.)
Prioritize load speed: Compress images, minify scripts, and leverage browser caching so pages load in under 3 seconds. Slow pages frustrate users and hurt your Quality Score.
Keep CTAs thumb-friendly: Place primary buttons (“Donate Now,” “Sign Up”) within easy reach.
Test regularly: You don’t have to get complicated with your tests. Find a free Use Mobile-Friendly Test Tool or use Google Chrome’s Developer Tools to view a mobile layout of your pages. Or simply use real-device checks to catch formatting issues before they impact your campaigns.
By making mobile responsiveness non-negotiable, you’ll capture more clicks, reduce bounce rates, and maintain the 5%+ CTR required to keep your Google Grant funds flowing. However, if you’re using your Ad Grant for Performance MAX campaigns, they are exempt from this CTR requirement.
4. Make sure the content you’re directing users to through paid ads is rich and high-quality
Paid ads work well when the landing page delivers on the promise of your ad and meets search intent.
As Jordan puts it, “If [a piece of content] is going to work well for you organically, it’s going to work well for you on the paid side, too.”
Here are a few ways to ensure you’re using high quality content for your ad experiences:
Leverage your best blog posts and resources: Identify pages already ranking or driving traffic organically, then use those URLs in your Grant ads. You’ll benefit from existing SEO equity and strong user engagement.
Match ad copy to page content: If your ad promotes a “Free Volunteer Handbook,” send visitors to a landing page with that exact guide front and center—don’t drop them on a generic homepage.
Update content periodically: Keep information fresh by adding new data, rotating testimonials, and ensuring links and resources are current.
“
If [a piece of content] is going to work well for you organically, it's going to work well for you on the paid side, too.
Jordan O’Neal
Senior Enterprise Marketing Consultant at Cause Inspired Media
More resources about nonprofit content marketing strategies:
5. Set realistic expectations and goals for your Google Ad Grant outcomes
One of the biggest watch-outs that Jordan cautions against is having unrealistic expectations for the outcomes of your Google Ad Grants.
She explains that marketing professionals should guide nonprofits in understanding and setting realistic goals for their Google Ad Grant campaigns.
“Not everyone is looking for ways to give away money [via Google],” Jordan explains with a chuckle. “We don’t say this is going to help you increase your donations. Or that you’re going to see X% increase in donors every year… We do say you’ll have new users, so therefore, you could possibly increase your donations.”
A Google Ads campaign’s goal is to drive new visitors to your site (ie, new users) and then either:
Convert immediately – e.g. register for your golf fundraiser or apply for a position.
Nurture over time – build awareness and trust via email and/or retargeting so they become long-term supporters.
So having a holistic marketing strategy in place that knows what to do with those new site visitors after they arrive on your website is crucial.
6. Understand all campaign types available via the Ad Grant
Another mistake that Jordan and the Cause Inspired Media team often see is that nonprofits don’t fully know how to take advantage of all the campaign types available via the Google Ad Grant.
Performance Max campaigns offer other search visibility opportunities outside of the traditional Google Search bar to your organization, and there are also options for increased visibility with local searchers within Google Maps.
You don’t want to miss out on these!
But if this all sounds like a lot for your small team to take on, we get it.
Both 4aGoodCause and the Cause Inspired Media team have built our missions around yours: Reducing the complexity and hassle of running everything behind the scenes… so you can focus on your impact.
How long does it take for nonprofits to see results from their Google Ad Grants?
Jordan explains that it can take about six months after deploying your Google Ad Grant strategy before nonprofits can begin to see a significant lift in new visitors finding your organization.
It takes some time to gather the data needed for your site to ensure the ads are working as designed within Google algorithms (and Cause Inspired Media can help you with this work).
And after six months, you may need to adjust some of your strategy to see the desired results.
If you need support making the most of your Google Ad Grant, get in touch with the Cause Inspired Media team.
With marketing plans that work within a nonprofit budget, they can assist with overall Google Ad Grant management — including setting up your bidding strategy, conversion tracking, the user experience of your website, ad messaging, and even helping you with grant reactivation if you made errors in the past.
And if one of your intentions with the Google Ad Grant is to meet your fundraising goals faster this year?
Let 4aGoodCause help. Raise more and stress less by launching and growing your monthly giving program.
Plus, your whole team can create streamlined, mobile-friendly fundraising and donation pages and manage payments with ease with the 4aGC toolkits.
Get true partnership in meeting your fundraising goals — not just another fundraising platform.
“
In year one—our very first campaign [with 4aGoodCause]—you could immediately see how much easier it was for people to use.
Jeff Lowenstein
San Mateo Rotary Foundation
Common questions about the Google Ad Grant
Below, we tackle a few common questions from nonprofits about the Google Ad Grant.
Have a question you don’t see here? Feel free to get in touch with the 4aGC team. We’re here to help!
According to Jordan, the program reflects Google’s commitment to helping nonprofits raise awareness and achieve their mission goals.
This means your nonprofit can better compete — at least on the search results page — with for-profit organizations that are paying for ads.
However, it’s not simply a “set it and forget it” program; Jordan advises that your success depends on having:
The right website content,
A smart paid ads strategy, and
Ongoing management to use these funds wisely.
Who qualifies for the grant?
Most nonprofits qualify for Google Ad Grants, with a few restrictions. Jordan lays out the basic eligibility criteria:
501(c)(3) status: Only U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits are eligible. Hospitals, government organizations, and schools aren’t eligible. See the full guidelines from Google here.
Valid EIN and registration: You must register with Google’s validation partner, Goodstack, and verify your 501(c)(3) status. Google’s verification process typically takes two to three weeks.
Website requirements: Jordan notes that the more quality content you have, the better. Your organization must have a live website (no under-construction or “coming soon” pages) that clearly outlines your mission, programs/services, impact, and contact information. You also have to meet certain click-through rate requirements.
One of the most critical things that nonprofits need to keep in mind with the Google Ad Grant is ongoing compliance.
Jordan explains that the grant “is an ongoing grant as long as the organization remains compliant with Google’s policies.”
Can my nonprofit lose its Google Grants eligibility?
Yes! Your nonprofit can lose eligibility if it fails to comply with Google Ad Grants policies or program requirements.
Common triggers include letting your campaign’s click-through rate (CTR) fall below the required 5% minimum, running single-keyword or overly generic ad groups, or allowing your account to go inactive for more than 30 days.
Google also audits websites for policy compliance; if your landing pages lack sufficient mission-focused content or contain broken links, your grants account may be suspended.
Connect with an expert at Cause Inspired Media to help your team better understand how to preserve your Google Ad Grants eligibility and reduce the risk of future suspension.
If my nonprofit organization has lost Google Ad Grants eligibility in the past, can we get it reactivated?
Yes, you can get your access reactivated, but it does involve an in-depth process. Reactivating a suspended Google Ad Grants account begins with identifying the exact reason for suspension, which Google typically outlines in its notification email.
Keep in mind that the review process may take several days to a few weeks, depending on Google’s queue. To streamline this process and avoid common pitfalls, consider engaging with Google Ad Grant experts who can help you with a thorough audit.
Raise more with less effort—our fundraising platform makes it simple.
Ronald is the President and Founder of 4aGoodCause, the fundraising CRM that makes recurring, monthly giving a breeze for small nonprofits.
For over 25 years, Ronald has had the joy of doing what he loves, building online solutions that make a difference in the world. He’s helped raise millions of dollars online for small nonprofits across the country. Connect with Ronald on LinkedIn.
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