Google Grants is a donation program that distributes free in-kind advertising to select 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Participating non profit organizations are eligible to receive up to $10,000 per month in in-kind advertising within the AdWords search engine marketing platform. As of June 2010, Google has awarded over $600 million in grant money to non profit organizations.[needs update][citation needed]

Eligibility

Google specifies a number of organizational criteria in order to be eligible for a Google Grant, including:

  • Participation in the Google for Nonprofits program
  • Current 501(c)(3) status
  • Organization website to which ads can be linked

Google Grants for charities are not available to the following organisations:[1]

  • Government entities and organisations
  • Hospitals and medical groups
  • Schools, childcare centres, academic institutions and universities
  • Restrictions on spending AdGrant

Restrictions

Google Grants for nonprofit organisations available in many countries.[2] The following restrictions apply:[3]

  • A daily budget set to $329, which is equivalent to about $10,000 per month
  • A maximum cost-per-click (CPC) limit of $2 USD
  • Only run keyword-targeted campaigns
  • Only appear on Google search result pages
  • Only run text ads

Grantspro requirements

The Grantspro program offers eligible charities an increased budget cap of $40,000 USD per month instead of the standard $10,000 USD per month, to be eligible to apply, there are a number of additional requirements.[4] Beneficiaries of the Grantspro programme must:

  • Install conversion tracking and be successfully tracking at least one conversion, where conversion means a substantial action on their site, such as a newsletter subscription or volunteer sign up
  • Spend at least $9,900 of their budget for at least two months over a six-month period
  • Maintain an average click-through rate (CTR) of 1% or higher over the last six-month period
  • Have a dedicated member of the organisation who maintains the account at least once a fortnight
  • Complete an end-of-year survey to share impact data

Application and management

Eligible nonprofit organizations can apply for Google Grants online.[5] The application process can take up to 6 months[citation needed] and is administered by the Google for Nonprofits team. Upon receipt of a Google Grant the grantee is responsible for setting up and managing their Google Grant AdWords account, including its various campaigns, ad groups, ads and keywords. Most Google Grant recipients choose to manage their grant independently, while others seek search engine marketing consultants to optimize their grant performance.

References

  1. ^ "Google Grants For Charities". Retrieved 28 January 2015. 
  2. ^ "Google Grants available in these countries". Retrieved 20 January 2015. 
  3. ^ "Restrictions on Google Grants". Retrieved 20 January 2015. 
  4. ^ "Is your nonprofit eligible for Google Ad Grants?". Retrieved 9 July 2015. 
  5. ^ "New to Google Grants?". New to Google Grants?. Retrieved 23 March 2011. 

External links