Google Offers Free Ads For Qualified Nonprofits
Let’s start with the fact that I am by no means a techie. Techy? Not even sure how to spell it. But I write the content for TIV Branding so I’m going to embrace the opportunity to use what I’ve learned through hours of tech-focused meetings over the years and explain some important services we provide in layman’s terms.
Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits
As it turns out, Google has a program that will grant registered and qualified nonprofit organizations up to $10,000 per month in free advertising for Google Search Campaigns and YouTube ads and videos. That’s a substantial number! It's based on the number of applicable keywords. According to their website, Google has awarded over $10 Billion to over 115,000 non-profits in 51 countries. Check it out.
Program Requirements
To be included in the program, the nonprofit must be approved by Tech Soup. You should expect the approval process to take 2-14 days. Big picture, the requirements are that the non-profit must be in an approved country (yes, the US is approved), not be a government entity, not be a hospital or healthcare institution and not be an Academic Institution. However, if you’re an Academic Institution, Google has established a separate program for you. Again, a nonprofit must apply with Tech Soup to gain approval.
Once established, you must log in and review the account at least once per month to avoid the cancellation of the account. We recommend a weekly review of recommendations and search terms to ensure that your account is fully optimized and that you are being found in relevant searches for your organization. This is good practice for this type of marketing anyhow. Not only do you need to make sure your approach is working, but there’s a lot to be learned from what isn’t working that can be applied to your marketing strategy as a whole.
Our Experience So Far
The Google Grant Program for non-profits has been a valuable asset for some of our clients. Even though the account must be set up and optimized just like any other google ads account, you don’t have to be a seasoned digital marketing pro. Google offers helpful tips with a newsletter and optimization suggestions. This info should be enough to at least get you started.
If you dive in and realize you need further help or have questions about the Google Grant Program, feel free to reach out to us at TIV Branding. We see so much value in this program for nonprofits that we’re happy to give a free consultation (let’s keep it to 30 minutes) to get your Google Grants account up and running. We got you.