Your nonprofit has $10,000 a month in free Google ads. How much of it are you using?
Google gives eligible nonprofits up to $10,000 a month in search ads. Plenty of accounts use a small share of it, and one missed rule can pause the account entirely. I audit your Ad Grants account, show you what's holding it back, and tell you what I'd change. No pitch. You keep the report.
Takes 24-48 hours. You keep the report regardless.
Running Google Ads since 2007 and managing Ad Grants accounts for nonprofits since 2021. Google Partner.
Free ad money only counts if the account can spend it.
The grant isn't cash. It turns into visitors, volunteers and donors only when your ads win searches. In the grant accounts I review, the usual problems are broad keywords that drag down click-through rate, bidding settings that no longer meet Google's rules, and conversion tracking that counts page views instead of real actions.
Figures are from Google's Ad Grants policies. The grant is a spending limit, not a guarantee: what you actually get depends on your keywords, ads and bidding.
Four things that decide how much of the grant you get.
Every audit covers the whole account, but these four areas decide whether the grant keeps running and how much of it turns into results.
Policy Compliance
The rules that can pause an account: the 5% click-through rate floor, no single-word or overly generic keywords, no keywords with a Quality Score of 1 or 2, at least two sitelinks, and location targeting that matches who you serve. I check each one and flag anything that puts the account at risk.
Conversion Tracking
Google requires at least one meaningful conversion a month, such as a donation, volunteer sign-up or information request. Time on site and page views can be tracked, but they can't count as conversions. Many accounts I review count exactly those, so the results look great while the bidding chases the wrong visitors.
Bidding
Ad Grants accounts must use conversion-based Smart Bidding, such as Maximize conversions or Target CPA. Campaigns still on Maximize clicks or manual bids are out of policy and usually lose the searches that matter most.
Grant Use and Structure
How much of the $329 a day you actually spend, and why not more. The fix is usually campaigns built around what you deliver, like programs, events, volunteering and donations, with keywords specific enough to hold the click-through rate floor.
Three steps. 48 hours. No fluff.
I keep it simple on purpose. The point is for you to understand what I found, not to sit through a 60-minute presentation.
Share read-only access
You add me as a read-only user on your Ad Grants account. Takes about two minutes. I can see campaign data but can't make changes.
2 minutesI pull the data and build the report
I check the account against every Ad Grants policy, then review campaigns, keywords, search terms, conversion tracking and how much of the grant you use. You get a complete written report, not a slide deck.
24-48 hoursReview it. Decide what's next.
I walk you through the findings on a call. Some nonprofits take the report and run with it. Others ask me to manage the account. Either is fine, and you keep the report.
Your callBuilt for nonprofits on Google Ad Grants.
Whether your grant has been running for years or just got approved, the same questions come up: is the account in compliance, is the tracking real, and why isn't more of the $10,000 being used?
Nonprofits Already on Ad Grants
Organizations with an active grant that aren't sure what it produces, or are using a small share of it.
- Spending well under $329 a day
- Got a compliance warning from Google
- Conversions look high but donations and sign-ups don't
- Campaigns set up years ago and rarely touched
- Staff or volunteers too stretched to manage it
New or Paused Accounts
Nonprofits that were just approved, or whose account was deactivated and needs to come back.
- Just approved through Google for Nonprofits
- Deactivated for click-through rate, tracking or structure
- Need conversion tracking set up from scratch
- Want campaigns built around your programs
- Not sure where to start
From 1% of the grant to 46%.
A nonprofit on Google Ad Grants. Same free grant, account rebuilt in March 2023.
Calendar-year averages from the account's own Google Ads data, 2022 compared with 2024.
Common Questions
Yes. No cost and no commitment. I review your Ad Grants account, write up what I find, and walk you through it. If you want help after that, we can talk about it. If not, you keep the report.
The grant comes through Google for Nonprofits, and your organization has to be approved there before an Ad Grants account can run. If you're still applying, reach out anyway and I'll tell you what to set up so the account starts out in compliance.
Yes. Google lets you request reinstatement once the account is back in compliance. The audit shows which rule was missed, whether it was the click-through rate floor, conversion tracking, bidding or account structure, and what to change before you ask.
Actions that show real engagement: donations, volunteer sign-ups, email sign-ups, event registrations, information requests and calls. Time on site and homepage visits can be tracked, but Google requires them to be kept out of the Conversions column.
Yes. I manage Ad Grants accounts for nonprofits the same way I manage paid accounts: I do the work myself, with no account coordinators. The audit tells us both whether it makes sense.
Read-only access to your Google Ads account. That means you add me as a read-only user. I can see your campaign data but cannot make changes, see your billing, or access anything outside of Google Ads. Takes about two minutes to set up. I'll send instructions when you submit the form.
No. Your account data is used solely to produce your audit report. I don't share it with third parties, use it for any other purpose, or retain it after the engagement ends.
Find out what your grant is actually doing.
Takes 2 minutes to request. Report delivered in 24-48 hours. No cost, no commitment.
No long-term contracts. I work month-to-month, and you can cancel anytime.
"I think that this is the most comprehensive write-up and explanation of our account I've ever read."
Nonprofit founder
Animal welfare nonprofit, Google Ad Grants account
By submitting, you agree to grant read-only Google Ads access so I can pull your account data. I don't share your information with third parties. Read our privacy policy.