My individual experience with Google Ad Grants.

[KingDoom]

Recently, a few forum members contacted me and askd about my experience with Google Ad Grant Accounts. Therefore, I have decided to share it on this public thread for anyone who might have the same questions.

Google has a program that provides $10,000 to non-profit organizations as long as they can furnish relevant documentation to prove their status. The grant money can be used to promote their mission. Here is my experience with the program:

a) The application process for the Google Ad Grant program is quite simple and easy.

b) However, there is a catch. Once you receive the grant, you are only allowed to advertise on the domain that was used to apply for it. This means that if you use an established non-profit's domain to apply, you will have to modify their pages to promote your desired content. Using a subdomain is one way to work around this issue, but sometimes Google may detect the subdomain as a separate domain and disallow promotion. If you are in control of the non-profit, this may be less of a problem, but it can still be relatively challenging.

c) The main issue with the Google Ad Grant program is that you must maintain a quality score of 5 or more at all times, along with a minimum click-through rate (CTR) (although I can't remember the exact number for this). This might seem simple, but it's not. Whenever you attempt a split test or make changes to your keywords to generate more leads, your score may drop, and your account will be automatically paused. You must then contact the Google AdWords team, explain your situation, and wait for them to review everything, which can take several hours. This process can be frustrating, particularly if you want to scale things up and conduct more tests.

d) If you are working with a non-profit organization, the best approach to earn money is to charge them a fee to unlock the grant and another amount to manage the account. However, this approach has additional tax-related restrictions that are longer and more complex than what most people are willing to deal with. Nonetheless, if you have any other queries, I am happy to share my experiences.

Have a nice day!

 

[Readdi]

Are there any rules about the type of non-profit or how old it has to be? What if I want to start a new non-profit today?

 

[KingDoom]

Are there any rules about the type of non-profit or how old it has to be? What if I want to start a new non-profit today?

No, not that I remember. You need to sign up for their program, and there’s usually a middle step, but this depends on the country. Some countries don’t qualify, and certain non-profits aren’t eligible either, but again, this varies by country.

 

[Readdi]

No, not that I remember. You need to sign up for their program, and there’s usually a middle step, but this depends on the country. Some countries don’t qualify, and certain non-profits aren’t eligible either, but again, this varies by country.

I have a UK non-profit that has been active for years, accepting donations, but now I want to open one in the USA. My question isn’t random—it’s more about whether they check how old the company is or if they need things like financial statements to prove something. Do they have those kinds of requirements?

 

[KingDoom]

I have a UK non-profit that has been active for years, accepting donations, but now I want to open one in the USA. My question isn’t random—it’s more about whether they check how old the company is or if they need things like financial statements to prove something. Do they have those kinds of requirements?

Not really. The age of the non-profit doesn’t matter as much. What’s important is that the non-profit meets all their requirements, like clearly explaining its goal and how the donations are being used, in order to get the grant.

 

[Calyxiard]

What types of niches do you think work best for these accounts without affecting the score?

 

[Readdi]

Not really. The age of the non-profit doesn’t matter as much. What’s important is that the non-profit meets all their requirements, like clearly explaining its goal and how the donations are being used, in order to get the grant.

For example, can I say I want to advertise my nonprofit to encourage businesses to donate so it can keep working on its mission?

 

[KingDoom]

For example, can I say I want to advertise my nonprofit to encourage businesses to donate so it can keep working on its mission?

The whole purpose of the AdWords account is for donations. You can't use it to "sell" anything— it has to be just for getting donations.

 

[KingDoom]

What types of niches do you think work best for these accounts without affecting the score?

It's really hard to make non-profit ads work for a long time. The best way is to use just one ad that you've already tested and know works well with certain keywords from other campaigns. If you keep changing the ads, keywords, and landing pages, the quality score will change too. If the quality score drops below 5, the account might get paused or suspended.

 

[Readdi]

The whole purpose of the AdWords account is for donations. You can't use it to "sell" anything— it has to be just for getting donations.

Thanks so much! How long does the Google review process take?

Once you're approved, can you start running ads right away, or do they need more approvals?

 

[Calyxiard]

It's really hard to make non-profit ads work for a long time. The best way is to use just one ad that you've already tested and know works well with certain keywords from other campaigns. If you keep changing the ads, keywords, and landing pages, the quality score will change too. If the quality score drops below 5, the account might get paused or suspended.

So, maybe a referral campaign for a donation site could work? Something like that?

 

[KingDoom]

Thanks so much! How long does the Google review process take?

Once you're approved, can you start running ads right away, or do they need more approvals?

You need to create an account with an organization that Google partners with to verify non-profits in your country. One example is TechSoup, but this can be different depending on the country. The process is usually simple and should take no more than a week (if I remember right).

So, maybe a referral campaign for a donation site could work? Something like that?

No, it has to be a link to "donate" only—no downloads, no sales, no shopping, nothing like that. Why? Because doing that could mess up the quality score, and also, depending on the non-profit's rules and the accountants, they can't "sell" anything. It all needs to be about donations.

 

[MagicGurl]

What's the link to apply, and do they accept applications from Asia or Africa?