Google Ad Grants & Microsoft Ads for Social Impact

Google Ad Grants offer $10,000 of free Google search advertising per month to approved nonprofits. There’s also the Microsoft Ads for Social Impact grant, which once* offered $3,000 of free Bing search advertising per month. Both programs are an amazing in-kind donation every nonprofit should consider.

But nonprofit professionals have A LOT on their plates, and these grants may be something you can easily and affordably outsource. I can help you:

  • apply for the Google and Microsoft grants
  • set-up the accounts properly, including connecting the Ad Grants to GA4 and optimizing for conversions, such as donations
  • set-up robust campaign structures
  • manage the accounts and maintain adherence to the program policies
  • determine if you should provide the “match” Microsoft now requires
  • evaluate existing campaigns and provide an easy-to-read assessment document
  • reactivate accounts and troubleshoot ads or keywords that have run afoul of Google policies

*Microsoft paused its grant program for new nonprofits in spring of 2023 and changed the rules for existing grantees as well. By clicking the link above, you can add your organization to the waitlist.

Experience and Results with Google Ad Grants & Microsoft Ads for Social Impact

I manage the Google Ad Grants for six nonprofits and Microsoft Ads for Social Impact for three nonprofits. These organizations include a national environmental nonprofit, a national children’s literacy organization, a foundation supporting a state park, and a homeless services organization, among others. With this breadth of clients, my experience ranges from large, complex accounts to locally-focused campaigns.

Here are some previous successes I’ve had with Google Ad Grants and Microsoft Ads for Social Impact, to show what we might do together:

  • Increased clicks 108%
  • Increased impressions 129%
  • Increased conversion rate 65%
  • Decreased management fees by 80% when taking over from a large, expensive digital agency.
  • Managed account to Google specifications so well they doubled our budget – to $20,000/month – for nine months in 2021!

Additional Projects to Consider

Google and Microsoft both require the ad grant accounts connect to Google Analytics (GA4) and conversions. Some nonprofits haven’t made the switch from Universal Analytics to GA4 yet, and some conversion types require technical skills beyond those found in the usual marketing or communications job descriptions. I would be happy to help with either.

If ongoing management is not in this year’s budget, we could still consider a short-term assessment / building project or a “Power Hour” one-on-one consultation. I’ve also conducted workshops for nonprofit associations and of course managed advertising on paid channels, including Google and Bing, as well as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

If you would like to learn more about any of those projects, click the links above or contact me.

Next Steps

I would love to speak with you about Google Ad Grants and your nonprofit! Please fill out this Contact Form.

I’ll respond as soon as possible, and we’ll arrange a meeting over Zoom. This 30-60 minute discovery call is entirely free, and the purpose is twofold: to articulate what the project is and determine whether we would like to work together. After the call, and if we would like to proceed, I’ll develop a proposal / scope of work, which outlines the project, budget, and timeline. If we’re on the same page then, I’ll send a contract.

Let’s start with just a little more info first. Complete the contact form here, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Recommendations

Recommendation Laura Paolillo at Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity
Recommendation Jaime Purinton at Anza-Borrego Foundation
Recommendation from Scott Kindred, President at SafeHouse Web
Recommendation Iris Towery
Recommendation from Shireen Karimi, Director of Digital Communications at Green America

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