An officially registered nonprofit organization can receive up to $10,000 per month from Google for free search advertising. This is the Google Ad Grants program, which supports social, cultural, educational, and environmental initiatives. Getting the grant is possible, but keeping it is harder: Google has a number of rules, and breaking them leads to account suspension. Below is the whole path, from preparing your website to maintaining your account.
What Google Ad Grants is and how it works
Google Ad Grants gives nonprofits an advertising budget of up to $10,000 per month. It is not cash: it cannot be withdrawn or transferred to a bank account. The budget can only be spent on text ads in Google Search, shown when people look for information about help, social projects, citizens’ rights, the environment, or volunteering. The equivalent in tenge depends on the exchange rate at the time of calculation.
Who can get the grant
The organization must:
- hold valid legal nonprofit status in its country (for example, a public foundation, public association, or private institution);
- be verified in Google for Nonprofits through Google’s partner, Goodstack;
- have its own website that meets the Ad Grants website policy.
Who cannot participate:
- commercial organizations (LLPs, individual entrepreneurs);
- government bodies and organizations;
- hospitals and healthcare organizations (charitable foundations affiliated with them are allowed);
- schools, universities, and other educational institutions (there is a separate Google for Education program for them; philanthropic arms of educational institutions are allowed).
Step 1. Preparing your website
Most rejections are related to the website. Google requires your website to:
- belong to your organization: you own the domain and control the content;
- work over the secure HTTPS protocol;
- contain plenty of unique, substantive content about the organization’s mission and activities, with clear navigation;
- load quickly, have no broken links, and display well on phones;
- not be primarily commercial: if there are paid services or advertising, it must be clear how they serve the mission. Google AdSense ads and affiliate links are not allowed.
What is worth adding (not a direct Google requirement, but it builds trust and improves your chances of approval):
- the organization’s name, BIN, legal address, phone number, and e-mail, preferably in the footer of every page;
- a section with reports on projects and the use of funds;
- a way to donate through the organization’s official bank details or payment gateway (not through private individuals’ cards);
- a privacy policy page.
Step 2. Verification through Goodstack
Nonprofit status is confirmed by Goodstack, a partner of Google for Nonprofits.
- Open the Google for Nonprofits website and click “Get started”.
- Sign in with your organization’s work Google account and fill in the form: official name, BIN, contact details, domain.
- Watch your inbox, including spam: Goodstack will write from verifications@mail.goodstack.org and, if needed, request documents (the charter, the certificate of state registration of the legal entity, and proof of your affiliation with the organization).
- Wait for the decision. Most requests are reviewed within 3–5 business days, but if additional documents are requested, it may take longer.
Step 3. Activating Google Ad Grants
- After verification, go to your Google for Nonprofits account.
- In the Google Ad Grants block, submit an activation request (the Ad Grants eligibility form).
- Enter your website domain and answer the questions about your advertising goals. Use the same e-mail as for your Google for Nonprofits account.
- Google will check your website against the policy. If your application is rejected, the email will state the reason: fix it and apply again.
- After approval, you set up your Google Ads grant account and launch campaigns.
Pitfalls: how not to lose the grant
Getting the grant is only the beginning. Google requires you to follow the program rules (Compliance Policy), and some violations lead to suspension without warning.
- CTR of at least 5%. Click-through rate is calculated across the account for each month. If it is below 5% for two months in a row, the account is suspended.
- No single-word keywords. You cannot use single-word queries (for example, “help” or “foundation”): you need phrases such as “help for children” or “charitable foundation”. Exceptions mainly concern your organization’s name and some medical terms. Overly generic phrases unrelated to your mission are not allowed either.
- Keyword Quality Score of at least 3. Keywords scoring 1–2 must be paused or removed.
- Conversion tracking. The account must have goals set up (form submission, button click, donation) through Google Analytics 4 or a Google Ads tag, and at least one conversion per month must be recorded. New accounts also require conversion-based bidding (Smart Bidding).
- Account structure. Each campaign needs at least 2 ad groups, each group needs active ads (the rules allow responsive search ads), and the account needs at least 2 sitelinks.
- Annual program survey. If you do not respond to Google’s survey, the account may be suspended. Set a calendar reminder on the day of approval.
Google updates the program rules from time to time, so before launching, check them against the current version in the Google Ad Grants help center.
Need help getting or keeping Ad Grants?
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