Google Ad Grants provides free Google Ads advertising – up to AU $13,000 per month – on Google search result pages to eligible not-for-profit organisations. 

How Google Ad Grants works

Attract donors, raise awareness for your organisation, and recruit volunteers with in-kind advertising on Google Search.

You’ll receive AU$13,000 of in-kind advertising from Google each month to create text-based ads, and get access to tools to help you build effective campaigns that can display on Google Search when people look for information related to your not-for-profit.

Program basics

Please note that with Ad Grants accounts, there are limits on your Google Ads settings:

• A daily budget limit of $329 USD, which is equivalent to about AU $13,000 per month
• Only include keyword-targeted campaigns
• Only include text ads that appear on Google search result pages, in positions below the ads of paying advertisers.
• A maximum cost-per-click (CPC) limit of $2.00 USD for manual bidding. The Smart Bidding strategies Maximise Conversions, Target ROAS, and Target CPA can bid over $2.00 to help get more conversions if appropriate to your account goals. Note that other Smart Bidding strategies are capped at $2.00 USD CPC.
• There are a number of policies to adhere to. Check out Google's Account Compliance Guide for tips.

Register with Connecting up here.

To qualify for Google Ad Grants, your organisation must begin by applying to Google for Nonprofits. 

Eligibility:

Organisations that meet the following criteria are eligible to apply:

• All organizations must be verified as a nonprofit organization by Google for Nonprofit's validation partner Percent.

  • Learn more about getting verified by Percent.

• Organisations must be:
  • deductible gift recipients (DGRs) endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) OR listed by name in the tax law; 
  • charities registered with the Australian Charities and Nonprofits Commission (ACNC); OR
  • income tax exempt not-for-profit organisations as defined by the ATO.
• Organisations must be located in Australia or one of the following territories:
  • Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, or Norfolk Island.

You are not eligible for Google for Nonprofits if your organisation is:

• A governmental entity or organisation
• A hospital or health care organisation (charitable arms or foundations associated with healthcare organisations are eligible).
• A school, academic institution, or university (philanthropic arms of educational organisations are eligible).

Check out Connecting Up article "What is Google Ad Grants?" for more information about how to get started.

Connecting Up partner PN Digital has tailor-made an affordable service to help NFPs with managing their Google Ad Grant account. Details here.