Google Ad Grant & 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. However, Microsoft paused its grant program for new nonprofits in spring of 2023 and changed the rules for existing grantees as well. 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:

  • maintain adherence to the Google Ad Grant policies
  • determine if you should provide the “match” Microsoft now requires
  • connect the Ad Grants to GA4 and optimize for conversions, such as donations
  • evaluate the campaigns and provide an easy-to-read assessment document
  • design campaigns that really reflect your organization, culture, and mission
  • monitor the campaigns regularly and optimize for results, such as donations and email sign-ups

My Experience and Results

I manage the Google Ad Grants for six nonprofits and the 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.

Each client is treated with care, and I’ll work with you to find out what you want to achieve. Your goals could be brand awareness, website traffic, new donors, and more. We’ll identify the campaigns and objectives to get you there.

Here are some previous successes, 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!

Additionally, I’ve helped nonprofits:

  • set-up Events and Conversions in GA4
  • transition from Universal Analytics to GA4
  • connect GA4 to Google and Microsoft Ad Grants
  • apply for the Microsoft Ads for Social Impact grant

I’ve also conducted workshops for nonprofit associations and managed advertising on paid channels, including Google and Bing, as well as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Next Steps

If you’re interested in working with me or learning more, we’ll start with a free meeting to discuss the mission of your organization, how you currently use the Ad Grants (or if you want to apply for them), and what the scope of work might be.

If we agree to work together, we’ll embark on a brief Learning Phase. I’ll log into your Ad Grant accounts, learn how they’re currently set up, and take notes. Next, we’ll move on to the Assessment Phase, if you already have an account set-up and campaigns running. I’ll go through my checklist of best practices and write up a document that explains what I recommend, what Google and Microsoft requires, how we might change or grow the account, and our “homework” for the next few months.

Once we go over the assessment, I’ll proceed with the homework in our shared document. I hesitate to call this the Maintenance Phase (how boring!) because it might even be the Rebuilding Phase or Growth Phase. In this phase, not only will I work on the projects I outlined to improve your accounts, I’ll also provide regular updates, monthly reporting, new ideas, and an open inbox for your new programs, seasonal appeals, and end-of-year giving.

Some clients choose to add quarterly check-ins – meetings via Zoom – to the package, which is a wonderful way to connect and brainstorm new ideas.

If you’re interested in meeting, I would love to hear from you! Please complete my Contact Form, and I’ll respond asap. 

If you’re already managing one or two Ad Grants, it may be helpful to have a colleague in the weeds with you, someone you can ask questions of, brainstorm around trouble spots, etc. If that’s the case, consider reaching out for a Power Hour.

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