This comprehensive guide will help get your not-for-profit using Google Ad Grants and start getting $10,000 in free advertising dollars to spend each month on Google Ads.

Before You Start

Before requesting a Google for Nonprofits account, find out if your organization qualifies, what you’ll need for verification, and what to expect. To request a Google for Nonprofits account, you must be a nonprofit charitable organization in good standing and meet the full eligibility requirements in your country.

Enroll in Google For Nonprofits

Register Your Organization With TechSoup to Receive Your Validation Token

To begin the process of applying for Google for Nonprofits you need to register with TechSoup. It is a simple form that includes your charitable registration number and any other supporting documents (differs by province). The approval process will take between 7-10 business days.

Register for Google For Nonprofits

Once you are approved, you will get a validation number, which will need to be entered when applying for Google for Nonprofits. This program provides non-profits with access to a variety of different Google resources.

To enroll in Google for Nonprofits, you will need your tax-id number and your TechSoup validation token.

Apply For Google Ad Grants

Once you are enrolled in the Google for Nonprofits program, you can apply for Google Ad Grants.

For more information on to apply for Google Ad Grants click here.

Google Ad Grants Activation

Create Your Ad Grants Account

When you create your Ad Grants account, you will use the same user name for your Google for Nonprofits account. For example, if you signed up for Google for Nonprofits using giants@gmail.com, you must use the same user name for your Ad Grants account.

Next, you will then set your “billing country” where your organization is located, select your time-zone, and set the currency to US Dollars regardless of the country you are located in.  Once complete, you will click submit

Submit The Pre-qualification Survey

A simple 10-minute survey is intended to identify organizations eligible for the Ad Grants program and to help Google learn more about those organizations.

Complete Ad Grants Training

In order to participate in the Google Ad Grants program, your account must meet all program policies and criteria. Google provides a 5-minute video that explains participation guidelines and tips for how to succeed in the program. You must watch the video, then complete a short quiz. Ad Grants accounts will not be activated unless the Ad Grants training and quiz is completed accurately.

Submit Your Account For Pre-qualification Review

1. In the top-right corner of your Google Ads account, locate your customer ID. Your Google Ads customer ID is in the format of xxx-xxx-xxxx.
2. Sign in to Google for Nonprofits.
3. Click Activate under Google Ad Grants.
4. Under “Part 1: Pre-qualification,” enter your customer ID.
5. Click Submit.

Ad Grants Creation Guide

Create Your Campaign

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account. Sign in with the same username that you used to create your Ad Grants account in Part 1.
2. On the ‘Campaigns’ page, click +New campaign.
3. Under ‘Select the goal that would make this campaign successful to you’, click Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance.
4. Under ‘Select a campaign type’, click Smart
5. Under ‘What action do you most want customers to take?’, select the goal most closely aligned to the action that you want users to take when they see your ad.
6. Click Continue.

Describe Your Organization

1. On the ‘Describe your business’ page, you’ll enter information about your non-profit organization.
2. Under ‘Business name’, enter your organization’s name.
3. Under ‘Business website’, enter the URL of your organization’s website.
4. Click Save

Select Where To Show Your Ad

1. On the ‘Where are your customers?’ page, click either ‘Set up a radius around your business’ or ‘Set up specific areas’.
2. Select the appropriate locations where your organization serves or markets to your audience.
3. Click Next

Define Your Product or Service

1. On the ‘Define your product or service’ page, select the language that you want to advertise in.
2. Under ‘What is your business category?’, select the category most specific and relevant to your organization.
3. Under ‘What specific products or services do you want to promote in this ad?’ add specific products or services that further describe your organization. You can also add from the auto-populated keywords in the ‘Suggested for you’ section.

Create Your Ad

1. On the ‘Let’s write your ad’ page, follow the step-by-step instructions to create your ad.
2. Under ‘Clicks on your ad go to’, include the specific page on your website that you want your ad to direct to. Make sure that whatever you speak to in the ad, users can find easily on the page. Users might leave your website if they don’t find what they expect.
3. While only one ad is required for Smart campaigns, we recommend creating 2-3 ads to improve performance. To do so, click Write another ad and follow the instructions above.
4. Click Next.

Set Your budget

1. On the ‘Set your budget’ page, enter $329 USD or less. If you create more than one campaign, your total spend will not exceed $329 USD per day across all campaigns.
2. Click Next.

Review Your Ad Settings

1. On the ‘Review your ad settings’ page, review your ad and make edits if needed.
2. Click Next.

Submit Your Account For Review

1. Make sure that your account meets all of the criteria above before you submit your account for review.
2. In the top-right corner of your account, locate your customer ID by clicking the person icon. Your Google Ads customer ID is in the format of xxx-xxx-xxxx.
3. Sign in to Google for Nonprofits.
4. Click Activate under Google Ad Grants.
5. Under ‘Part 2: Account Review’, enter your customer ID.