Google Ad Grant management
Ten thousand dollars a month of free Google advertising, claimed and kept alive.
Google gives eligible non-profits 10,000 US dollars every month to spend on search ads, at no cost. The money is real and the application is free. Keeping the account alive is the part that defeats most organisations.
Google Ad Grant management is the work that happens after approval. Every month your account has to hold a 5% click-through rate, meaning at least five clicks for every hundred people who see one of your ads. It also needs its conversion tracking checked, its keywords and ad copy tightened, and a meaningful share of the budget actually spent. Leave those and the grant drifts towards suspension.
Who it is for
Any registered non-profit that has never applied, or that had a grant and lost it.
Ask about thisSound familiar?
- You have never heard of it, or you assumed your organisation would not qualify.
- You applied once, got rejected over the website requirements, and never went back.
- You have a grant, but nobody is running it, so it spends almost nothing and is drifting towards suspension.
- Your account was suspended and nobody could tell you why.
What it looks like
The searches an Ad Grant account gets built around.
Searches your ad can answer
- Ad shown
free counselling for teenagers near me
Someone who needs you
- Ad shown
how do i get food parcels this week
Someone who needs you
- Ad shown
donate to a youth charity in south africa
A donor
- Ad shown
volunteer with children cape town
A volunteer
Monthly budget, paid by Google
$10,000
A well-run account uses most of it. An unmanaged one uses almost none.
Example layout. Real search terms, the kind an Ad Grant account is built around.
What you get
What is actually included
Eligibility check
I confirm whether your organisation qualifies in your country, before either of us spends real time on it.
The application
Google for Nonprofits registration, the Ad Grant request, and the website changes needed to pass their policy.
Account build
Campaigns built around what people actually search for when they need what you do, not around your internal programme names.
Conversion tracking
Donations, sign-ups, enquiries and downloads tracked properly, which the grant requires and which makes the spend meaningful.
Monthly management
The ongoing work that holds the 5% click-through rate, prunes single-word and low-quality keywords, and refreshes ad copy before it stops earning clicks. It also keeps your conversion tracking alive and puts a meaningful share of the budget to work each month.
Recovery
If your grant is suspended or under-spending, I find the cause and fix it.
How it works
Check
One day to confirm eligibility and look at your site against Google's requirements. No charge.
Apply
I handle the registration and the grant request, and fix whatever blocks approval.
Build
Keyword research, campaigns, ad copy and tracking, set up to survive the programme rules.
Run
Monthly management and reporting, so the budget is used and the account stays alive.
Questions people ask
Is it really free?
The advertising budget is free and it does not touch your donor income. You pay me to apply for it and run it, which is the part that makes it worth anything.
Why do so many organisations lose it?
The account has to hold a 5% click-through rate, meaning at least five clicks for every hundred people who see the ad, every month. Two consecutive months below that and Google deactivates it. It also requires conversion tracking and automated bidding.
Can we spend the whole 10,000 dollars?
Most organisations do not, because grant ads are capped at a low bid and only show on search. A well-built account uses a meaningful share of it. I will tell you honestly what your cause can realistically absorb.
Does it work outside the United States?
Yes. The programme runs in over 50 countries, including South Africa, the United Kingdom, most of Europe and Australia. Eligibility rules differ by country and I check yours first.
How do I manage a Google Ad Grant month to month?
Four things need attention every month. You watch compliance, which mainly means holding the 5% click-through rate and keeping single-word and overly broad keywords out of the account. You check that conversion tracking is still firing on donations, forms and volunteer sign-ups. Then you tighten the campaigns, refreshing ad copy and pruning the search terms that waste impressions, so a meaningful share of the budget goes to work.
Should we manage the Ad Grant in-house or hire someone?
In-house works if somebody on your team has the hours every month and knows Google Ads properly. Most small organisations have neither, which is why so many grant accounts drift quietly into suspension. If you do have that person, I would rather build the account well and train them than bill you every month.
Who is eligible for a Google Ad Grant?
You need to be a registered non-profit, and the exact rules differ by country. The programme runs in over 50 countries, including South Africa, the United Kingdom, most of Europe and Australia. I check your country's rules first, before either of us spends real time on it.
Often paired with
Websites for non-profits
The site a funder opens before your meeting, and a person opens at their worst moment.
Read moreImpact reporting and dashboards
Proof your funders can open, instead of a folder of screenshots.
Read morePaid campaigns and appeals
For the moments the free grant cannot cover.
Read moreWritten on this
- Impact reporting a funder will actually readMost impact reports are written to survive scrutiny rather than to be read, which is why they are long, cautious and largely ignored. A shorter report built from data you already collect does more, and takes less time to produce.
- The look-you-up test, and what a funder sees before they agree to meetBefore a funder answers your email they search your name, and increasingly they ask an AI assistant instead. What comes back decides whether the meeting happens. Here is how to run that test on yourself and read the result honestly.
- The Google Ad Grant, and the rule that quietly kills most accountsThe Ad Grant gives an eligible non-profit $10,000 a month in free Google Search ads. Most granted accounts go quiet because of a click-through rate rule that runs in the background and deactivates accounts that fall below it.
Tell me about your organisation
A few lines is plenty. I will come back with what I would do first, in writing, at no charge. If I do not think I can help, I will say so.
Prefer to talk? Book thirty minutes.