Are you a non-profit organisation nervous about allocating your marketing budget to ads? Or are you perhaps a very small charity that doesn’t even have a marketing budget to spend? Whatever category you fall under, fear not - there may be a solution.
With Google Grants, you can get the ball rolling with digital advertising without having to spend a dime. Sounds too good to be true, right? Below, we break down what a Google Grant is, who is eligible and how to obtain one.
The Google Grant lowdown
Google Ads Grant is a $10,000 grant available to nonprofits and charitable organizations that are enrolled in the Google Grants Program. This money can be used on Google Advertising or in other terms, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. What’s even better? This $10,000 is a monthly allowance! So, if you’re an NFP reading this article and you haven’t enrolled in the program yet, time is quite literally, money people!
So, who can apply?
Of course, the opportunity to snag some extra cash would get the best of us overexcited - but before you get ahead of yourself, here’s the checklist to ensure your organisation is eligible.
- You must hold a current and valid charity status. In Australia, this means being registered and listed on the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) Charity Register.
- Your organisation must acknowledge and agree to Google Grant’s required certifications regarding how to receive and use donations obtained from the grant.
- Your website needs to be fully functioning and provide adequate detail on your organisation.
And - who can’t
Unfortunately, those ineligible for Google Grants include:
- Governmental organisations and related entities.
- Medical groups (including hospitals).
- Education centres, schools, universities and childcare centres.
There are, however, some exceptions and caveats to these exclusions, so it’s important to do your research in case all is not lost.
Why use it?
Did we not have you at the free money part? Yes, yes we jest - but seriously, there really is a myriad of things you can do with Google ads that will immensely benefit your organisation. Here are some of our favourites:
- Attract donors. While this may not happen straight away, having PPC ads helps to build trust and with trust (will eventually) come donations.
- Advertise job vacancies and recruit volunteers. Through Google ads, you can tailor your candidate search and access a larger talent pool to find the right people.
- Drive more traffic to your website. This seems like an obvious but oh-so-important one. There are over 60,000 registered charities in Australia, so yep, achieving decent web traffic may be a tad challenging without the help of Google Ads.
Keen to know more? Lucky for you we have a real-life success story of an organisation benefitting greatly from the Google Ads Grant - Heide Museum of Modern Art.
