Google Grants: an introduction
Could your nonprofit organization be entitled to $10,000 free ad spend a month?
What is a Google Grant and how do you qualify?
A Google Ad Grant is $10,000 a month of free AdWordsadvertising that Google gives to selected charities to promote their websites. It entitles the charity to run free keyword-targeted text ads on Google search results pages.
If you meet certain criteria, you can also upgrade to $40,000 a month with Grantspro.
Are there any restrictions on how I can spend the advertising budget?
Yes, you are limited to a budget of $330 a day and the maximum bid you can place in an ad auction (the system Google uses to decide which ads are displayed next to search results) is $2 per click. You are also only allowed to run text-based ads on Google search results pages, not on any of Google's other search and display networks. So you couldn't run a banner ad on the Guardian website or a video ad on YouTube. For that, you would need a separate paid AdWords account.
Is my organization eligible to apply for a Google Grant?
You're eligible if you're a charity or nonprofit organization based in the UK and registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator or the Inland Revenue. However, some nonprofits are ineligible, including governmental entities and organizations, commercial organizations selling goods and services, membership groups, and political or religious groups, so it's worth checking the eligibility criteria. Google Grants are also available in other countries.
Sounds great! How do I apply?
If you think your organization may be eligible, read through Google's explanation of how it works and then (if your organization is based in the UK and registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales) apply to the Google for Nonprofits programme. You'll find most of the information you need in your organization's mission statement, the Charity Commission website, and Google Analytics. You may also want to do a bit of keyword research using the AdWords Keyword Planner.
Organizations in Scotland and Northern Ireland should apply here. Other countries have their own application process.
How long do I have to wait?
Google will review your website and application and will notify you by email whether or not you've been successful. If you're approved, you will then have to set up your AdWords account and submit that for further approval before your $10,000 monthly budget is activated. It can take up to four months for Google to approve the application. In our experience, it took a month for Google to approve the initial application and a further month to active the AdWords account once it had been set up. In total, it took three months from application to getting the first ads up and running. But it can take much less than that.
Torchbox is a Google Partner.
