How does a not-for-profit organisation qualify for Google Ad Grants?

The short answer: an Australian organisation qualifies for Google Ad Grants if it is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), agrees to Google's certifications on non-discrimination and the use of donations, is accepted into Google for Nonprofits, and runs a website with real, substantial content about its mission. Once approved, the grant is worth up to US$10,000 a month of Google Search advertising, every month, for as long as the account meets the program rules.

Who is eligible in Australia

• Registered charities. Google validates Australian applicants against the ACNC register, so the organisation's ABN and charity registration need to match what you enter in the application.
• Organisations that accept Google's certifications on non-discrimination and on how donations are received and used.
• Organisations with a working website on their own domain, secured with HTTPS, with enough content to explain what you do. A one-page site with a donate button usually gets rejected.

Who is not eligible

• Government entities and agencies.
• Hospitals and healthcare organisations.
• Schools, childcare centres, academic institutions and universities. Their philanthropic arms, such as a university foundation, can apply.

The application, step by step

1. Confirm your ACNC registration is current and the details match your ABN.
2. Apply for Google for Nonprofits with a Google account the organisation owns, not a staff member's personal account.
3. Once approved, activate Google Ad Grants from the Google for Nonprofits dashboard and complete the eligibility form.
4. Build the account to the program rules before you switch campaigns on: conversion tracking in place, at least two ad groups per campaign, at least two ads per ad group and sitelinks on every campaign.

Getting approved is the easy part

Most grant accounts that fail do so after approval. Google expects a 5% click-through rate across the account, no single-word keywords (outside a few exceptions) and no keywords with a Quality Score of 1 or 2. It also expects meaningful conversions tracked and a yearly program survey completed. Accounts that slip below these rules get suspended, and the free spend stops until they are fixed.

That is why we treat a grant like a paid account. For one foundation client we gave away all 10,000 art packs within eight weeks at $1.04 per acquisition, and the foundation ordered more stock to keep the campaign going. Our guide to Google Ad Grants for Australian not-for-profits covers the rules in more detail, and our not-for-profit ads service handles the application, the build and the monthly compliance checks. If you are also running paid campaigns alongside the grant, see how we manage Google Search Ads.