Google Ad Grant Accounts

Are you a non-profit? Get up to $10,000 ad credit each month from Google.

Support for your Google Ad Grant Account.

A Google Ad Grant Account (GAGA) is a special type of Google Ads account designed to help eligible nonprofits spread their message through Google Search Ads. If your not-for-profit is approved for a GAGA, you can get up to $10,000 ad credit each month from Google. However, you’ll still need to create, monitor, edit, and manage the account. That’s where we come in.

If you’re running a not-for-profit, Google Ads probably aren’t your highest priority. You’re already coordinating paid staff, volunteers, fundraisers, donations, events, raising awareness, and more. It’s no wonder marketing slips off the list! We can support your organisation by managing your GAGA for you. That’s one less thing for you to think about, and the ads run in the background while you keep your not-for-profit running smoothly.

The benefits of a Google Ads Grant Account.

The purpose of Google Ads, whether through a GAGA or regular account, is to drive traffic to your website. However, unlike a regular account, approved nonprofits have access to free ad credit from Google — up to $10,000 each month. That’s $120,000 of free advertising a year; an opportunity way too good to pass up! This is obviously the main benefit of advertising through a Google Ads Grant Account.

There are also a range of ways you can structure and utilise your ads. This includes event promotion, finding volunteers, encouraging donations, and getting your organisation in front of the right people.

FAQ

What can I use my GAGA for?

Off the top of our heads, here are a few ways you can utilise your $10,000 ad credit each month.

Help your non-profit get found by people who are interested in the causes you support. They’re probably actively searching terms like, “food relief”, “animal rights”, “poverty support”, “emergency relief”, and so on (or whatever issues you fight for).

Use Google Ads as a part of your wider fundraising efforts to attract donors.

Put your organisation in front of people looking for volunteering opportunities.

Promote an event or fundraiser.

Place your services in front of the people who need them most. For example, if your organisation supports people who struggle with mental illness and hoarding, you might offer a free house cleaning service. Target search terms such as “hoarder help, “free cleaning near me”, “hoarding cleaning service”, and “emergency cleaning”.
How will I know if my GAGA is generating results?

First, we’ll sit down with you to discuss and define exactly what “results” means for your nonprofit. For example, you might be looking to have 30 more volunteers on deck by the end of the year, need to reach a monetary goal for a new cause initiative, or want to sell 200 tickets for your next fundraiser. Once we know what you’re looking to achieve, it’ll be easy to tell whether we’re generating results.

How do we do that? Using powerful analytical software, our digital experts continuously track and report on how your ads are performing. We can tell you exactly how many people saw your ad, clicked on it, what grant money went to what ads, and which ads should be scrapped. If you sell products to support your cause, we can tell you how many people found and bought your products from a Google Ad.

We’re always monitoring and adjusting your ads in order to maximise that $10,000.
Can I do more ads on top of the grant?

Yes, if you use your full $10,000 allocation each month and want to do even more ads, you can do this through a separate Google Ads account — it can’t be through your GAGA. However, unless you’re a very large (national or global) nonprofit, you probably won’t need to do this.
How much does Helium charge for managing my GAGA?

Management of a GAGA falls under our Marketing Essentials offering. This is an innovative subscription-based marketing partnership — without a lock-in contract.

Marketing Essentials is a bundle, which means the package also includes heaps of extras. As well as managing your GAGA, we can also handle, SEO implementations, dedicated landing pages, website coaching, and more.

You can see all our inclusions — including and our prices — here.

Is my non-profit eligible for a Google Ad Grant Account?

Google doesn’t just hand $10,000 ad credit to any organisation. These accounts have strict eligibility criteria, and you’ll have to complete an application process in order to see if your nonprofit is a suitable candidate. Some of the eligibility criteria includes being in an approved country (which Australia is) and being a registered nonprofit in that country. You also can’t be a government entity, hospital, or school, and must have a website that meets Google’s Ad Grant standards. See the full list here.

The best way to see if you’re eligible is to start the application process. You can do that here.

Can Helium set up my account for me?

Applying got a Google Ads Grant Account is fairly straightforward and Google breaks the process down into easy-to-follow steps. However, if you get stuck or would prefer to have some practical help, we can help you through the process.
What if my website doesn’t meet Google’s Ad Grant standards?

Thankfully, websites are our specialty! We can either edit your existing site to make it fit with Google’s requirements, or build you a new one. Often, building a new one is actually easier, but this is evaluated on a case-by-case basis and we can discuss it with you when the time comes. If you suspect you might need a new website before establishing your GAGA, you can see our website packages here and check out some of the beautiful nonprofit websites we’ve built in the past.

Are there any drawbacks to using a Google Ads Grant Account?

Yes, a few. The free money being thrown at is closely monitored by Google to ensure it’s being used responsibly and appropriately. For example, you can’t sign up for GAGA for your nonprofit, but then try and sneakily use it to promote another business.

Here are some of the obligations and restrictions you should be aware of when it comes to utilising your GAGA. If any of these requirements aren’t met, Google will suspend, and maybe even cancel, your grant account.

The monthly $10,000 grant is broken down into smaller daily chunks. This is to prevent you from spending the full amount in a single day, or even a week, which is a good thing. However, very rarely, the daily amount also might not be enough. For example, say you run a TV ad and use the GAGA to support it — you might have an influx of people suddenly searching your nonprofit’s name, and the daily budget will quickly be used. In this case, you could use a regular Google Ads account to supplement your GAGA.

Your campaigns must have at least two unique site link ad extensions. This is just Google’s way of helping you maximise your ad exposure and uses. Site links give you additional space to explain your cause and how people can support you.

Your GAGA campaigns must utilise conversation tracking. We do this for you by linking your GAGA with Google Analytics. If you don’t have a Google Analytics account, we can help you set one up and link it to the GAGA for you as well.

One of the requirements for keeping your grant is that you must maintain a minimum click-through rate of 5%. That might not seem like much, but 5% is often difficult to achieve and maintain. This is why it’s really important to have your GAGA professionally managed, and one of the reasons many people who self-manage their account have it shut down by Google.

Among many elements, reaching that 5% involves doing significant research on the correct keywords, optimal ad time placements, and understanding your audience’s search intent. Don’t worry — we’ll do all that for you.

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Ads done through GAGA are only compatible with text ads (also called Search Ads). So, you can’t use your GAGA for display ads or shopping ads. For most people, this isn’t a deal breaker though.

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Ready to share your mission with a Google Ad Grant Account? Contact us today.

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