Google Ads Grants Eligibility
Discover if your organisation can apply for $10,000 of free adversiting in Google
Google Grant Eligibility can be at times confusing, at times frustrating and always difficult to navigate. We hope this page will help you understand if your organisation is eligible for Google Ads Grant. Alternatively, you can fill in the questionnaire at the end of the page and we will review the information for you and let you know.
And if this is all too much and all you need Google Ads Grant help, remember, all you need to do, is ask. Just drop as a line and we can arrange a free 1 hour consultancy 🙂
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Google Grant Eligibility Criteria
If you’ve made it past this first barrier to entry, you’ll also need to consider other requirements Google has in place to ensure that all nonprofits receiving Ad Grants are legitimate charitable organizations. To qualify for a grant account, your organization must:
- Hold valid charitable status in your country. In the US, you’ll need to be registered as a 501(C)(3) organization.
- Be a registered organization based in one of the 50 countries where the program is active.
- Be registered with Google for Nonprofits and TechSoup.
- Have a functional website as recognized by Google and provides adequate detail on your nonprofit mission.
- Adhere to program policies for using your Google Grant funding. For example, you can’t use your AdWords money to promote anything outside the scope of your nonprofit’s true cause, and you can’t use the money to sell products that don’t contribute to your organization’s charitable efforts.
Google puts these standards in place to make sure that its grants are being given to valid, upstanding nonprofits who can actually benefit from the ads. Take some time to review their requirements as a team (or with your Google Grant management consultant) and make sure you’re up to code where it counts. If not, you can always look into alternative online fundraising strategies!
Types of organisation ineligible for Google Grant
Google Grants is an exceptional resource for many nonprofits, but it’s important to know that not all organizations can take advantage of this program.
Specifically, the following types of nonprofits are ineligible for Google Grants:
- Schools or educational institutions. (Google does have similar resources for educational institutions)
- Government organizations.
- Hospitals or healthcare organizations.
What can my nonprofit do to become eligible for Google Grants?
If your nonprofit meets the baseline requirements for receiving a Google Grant but isn’t quite ready to enroll, there are a few measures you can take to get your application approved on the first try.
The best strategy? Work with a Google Grant management consultant who can walk you through the application process from start to finish.
Your team can take the following steps to get your organization ready for your Google AdWords application:
- Register with TechSoup. If you haven’t already, make sure your nonprofit is validated with TechSoup.org. You may need to set up a new registration or claim an existing nonprofit account. Either way, this step is vital to Google for Nonprofits (and therefore, Google Grants) eligibility. It may take a few days to receive your validation, so make sure you add some wiggle room to your timeline.
- Make sure your mission is clear. Both on your website and your grant application, your nonprofit’s mission should be front and center. Make sure Google can quickly understand what programs or efforts you’ll be using Google AdWords to promote.
- Update your nonprofit website. You’ll need to tie your Google ads to your website, so make sure it’s in good shape before launching your account. Your website should be as optimized for both search and user experience as possible, with relevant content that’s readable by Google. This is a critical factor as the landing page experience is directly related to your Quality Score.
From there, you shouldn’t have much stopping you from securing your AdWords account and funding.
How does my nonprofit apply for a Google Grant?
Luckily, when it comes to managing your Google Grant account, the application is the easy part. As long as you’ve got your eligibility in order, just follow these guidelines to get your enrollment started:
- Sign up for Google for Nonprofits. Along with Google Grants, Google also offers other benefits to nonprofits as part of their Google for Nonprofits program. Once you’re a registered “Google Nonprofit,” you can also access the YouTube Nonprofit Program, Google One Today, and more. This application is fairly straightforward, so expect questions about your tax ID, non-discrimination policies, and general contact and organization information.
- Register for Google Grants. After your application for Google for Nonprofits has been processed and approved (which could take several months!), you can access Google Grants from your Google account. You’ll simply need to choose whether you’d like to register for Google AdWords or AdWords Express. To set up your Google Grant, sign up for Google for Nonprofits first. Then, you’ll be ready to work through the AdWords registration and approval process following Google’s guidelines.
- Create your AdWords account. Follow Google’s steps for account creation. You’ll need to enter some basic information first before you can get started creating your first ad campaigns, ad groups, and keywords.
- Get your account reviewed by Google. After you’ve finalized your setup, you’ll need to submit your account for Google’s review using your account ID number (which you can find by clicking the person icon in the top-right corner of your account). Google will review your account to ensure it’s in line with its AdWords policies, and you’ll be notified of your approval (or any errors that need to be addressed) via email.
That’s it! In just 4 simple steps, your nonprofit should be ready to get up to 10.000$ per month in free advertising in Google.
Can my nonprofit lose its Google Grants eligibility?
After setting up your account, managing your account, and maintaining your grant eligibility is an ongoing process. Google requires that accounts meet certain requirements in order to remain active. By paying attention to these goals, you can make sure your account stays in good standing and is successful. If you aren’t maintaining your AdWords account to Google’s standards, your grant funding may be suspended temporarily or indefinitely.
To keep your account in good standing, pay attention to a few key requirements for your Google Grant:
- Account activity. Google doesn’t give out money to organizations that aren’t using it! Show Google that you’re taking account maintenance seriously by logging in at least once a month and updating your account every 90 days.
- Ad relevance and geotargeting. In addition to having ads that accurately reflect your nonprofit’s cause, Google also requires that all ads are targeted to a specific geographic location. That way, users only see advertising that’s relevant to them. For example, if you are an organization that has different services locally and nationally, separate campaigns by geographic area.
- Monthly keyword evaluation. To keep your ads profitable, Google asks that you conduct their Keyword Performance Report once a month. This report can show you where your chosen keywords fall on Googe’s Quality Scale and help you optimize your keyword list for best results.
- A minimum 5% click-through rate. In order to improve ad relevance and user experience, Google requires that all nonprofit accounts maintain a 5% click-through rate (CTR) after their first 90 days as a grant recipient. Accounts that don’t meet this requirement will be notified within their accounts, and the account will be suspended if this goal isn’t met for 2 consecutive months.
- You should create at least 2 active ad groups per campaign, each containing a set of closely related keywords and 2 active and a unique text ad. These ad groups should contain at least 2 unique sitelink ad extensions.
- All the ads in your account must link to the nonprofit URL that was approved in your application process.
- The ads you are promoting must reflect the mission of your nonprofit. You can advertise to sell products as long as 100% of the proceeds are going to support your program.
- The ads you create cannot point to pages that are used to primarily send visitors to other websites.
- Your ads cannot offer financial products, such as mortgages or credit cards. Your ads also cannot be asking for donations in the form of large goods such as cars, boats, or property donations. Keywords related to this activity are also not allowed.
- Your website cannot display ads from Google AdSense or other affiliate advertising links while participating in Google Grants.
Though these are some of the most important eligibility and management requirements, they aren’t the only ones. It’s important that your team stays active in your campaigns and is consistently optimizing your AdWords strategy in order to maintain your account.
If these standards seem like a lot to keep track of, remember that you can always seek outside help of a consultant like us. We can take care of the registration process and manage your account for you, freeing up your time to other important tasks at your nonprofit.
