Part 1: How Not-for-Profits Apply for a Google Ad Grants Account

Need help marketing your Not-for-Profit (NFP)? We have good news for you! Every year, Google helps 35,000+ non-profit businesses by offering up to $10,000 worth of free advertising in Google AdWords Grants.

Welcome to our Google Ad Grants for NFPs series, Part 1. In this article, we’ll show you how to apply for a Google Ad Grants Account. It’s a fairly simple process, just follow our detailed steps below:

Find out if you’re eligible

To be eligible for a Google Ad Grants account you must be:

• Registered as a charitable organisation
• Registered with the local TechSoup partner and validated as non-profit.

Australian organisations also:

• Must be (1) deductible gift recipients endorsed by the ATO or listed by name in the tax law; (2) charities registered with ACNC; or (3) income tax-exempt not-for-profit organisation as defined by the ATO.

You are not eligible if you are one of the following:

• Government Entity or organisation
• Hospital or Health Care organisation
• School, academic institution or university

Apply for Google For Non-Profits

Go to the Google for Non-Profits website: https://www.google.com.au/intl/en/nonprofits/ and start your application. Simply click the ‘Start Now’ button and follow the steps.

You will need to:

• Agree to non-discrimination statements
• Fill out basic organisation information (eg. name, address, mission statement)
• Fill in contact information and;
• Select communication preferences.

You should have your application approved by Google within two working days and you will receive an email to let you know.

Enrol in Google Ad Grants

Once you’ve been approved in Google For Non-Profits, you will need to create your AdWords account to begin the enrolment into the Google Ad Grants program. You can choose to use a Google Express account if you have limited time for management or you can choose a full Google AdWords account allowing you access to make use of tools to manage and optimise your account yourself.

*Note: You will need to set your account up with USD as currency (regardless of your usual currency)

Create your account

Once you’ve made your choice between Google Express and Google AdWords, it’s time to create your first account.

When creating your account, keep in mind you will need to follow some Google Grant account guidelines:

• Your ads need to be entirely text-based.
• All campaigns must be keyword targeted
• Your daily budget should be set at $329 USD which is roughly $10,000 USD a month.
• If using CPC bidding, all bids need to be $2.00 USD or less. You also have the option of using an automatic bidding strategy ‘Maximise Conversions’ which will automatically set bids for you.

Submit your account for review

When your campaign is set up and following all requirements you can submit your account to be reviewed. This can be done from your Google for Non-Profits account. Once approved, you are ready to start receiving up to $10,000 free Google advertising.

If you are managing your own Google AdWords account, you will need to ensure you are following some specific Google Ad Grant policies. You can read more about those policies in our blog here: Google AdWords Grants Updates in 2018.

It’s important that you understand the basics of how Google Ad Grants work. Read Part 2 of this series for a simple overview of the program.

If you don’t have time to manage your own account but like the flexibility of the Google AdWords over a Google Express account, TheOnlineCo is here and ready to help. Contact us to find out how we can assist you and your organisation.