Are You Eligible for a Google Ad Grant?

If you run a charity or nonprofit in the UK, reaching supporters online can feel overwhelming; you’re constantly fighting a battle agains tight budgets. But what if you had up to $10,000 (approx £7,500) per month in FREE search advertising to promote your good cause?

This is what you get with a Google Ad Grant. Google Ad Grants are an official programme run directly by, well, Google, to help charities raise awareness, attract donors, recruit volunteers and connect with the people who need their services most.

Before you claim your monthly advertising credit though, you do need to understand how the programme works and who is eligible, as not every charity will qualify.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements for Google Ad Grants?

There are four baseline criteria your organisation needs to meet in order to qualify for a grant:

• Official charity status – your organisation must be registered with the Charity Commission (England and Wales), OSCR (Scotland), NICC (Northern Ireland) or recognised by HMRC as a tax-exempt charity.

• Google for Nonprofits account – you must have an account that’s been verified by Google’s non-profit validation partner

• Active, secure website – your website must be on your own domain, secured with HTTPS and offer original content that clearly explains your mission and the services you offer.

• Policy compliance – you must agree to Google’s non-discrimination and receipt certification terms

How to Keep Your Grant Active

Getting approved for a grant might be relatively straightforward, but staying compliant with Google’s requirements and policies requires active management.

• Maintain a 5%+ clickthrough rate (CTR) – your account-wide CTR must stay above 5% each month to avoid suspension

• Manage keywords – single-word terms (e.g. “charity”, “donation”) and low-quality keywords (those with a Quality Score under 3) are forbidden

• Conversion tracking – you have to set up valid Google Analytics (GA4) conversion tracking to track the actions visitors from your ads are taking on your site, e.g. making donations, signing up as volunteers or submitting contact forms.

How Can I Check if My Organisation Is Eligible?

Still not sure if you qualify for a grant? We’ve built a handy Google Ad Grant Eligibility Checker! Answer a few simple questions and we’ll tell you if your organisation is eligible to receive the free Google Ads credit each month.

Check your eligibility here

Is a Google Ads Grant Worth It?

For most charities and nonprofits, getting up to £90,000 a year in free advertising is likely to be a game-changer. However, with the ad spend comes the additional pressure to keep up with Google’s strict policy rules and keep your campaigns optimised for conversions. Many charities struggle as they simply do not have the resource to manage this, so often they do not get the most out of their spend.

Which is where a Google Ad Grant management agency comes in – a team of PPC experts who can do the heavy lifting for you and make sure your website is optimised, your keywords are relevant and your grant funding is allocated to the right areas.