I knew about this some time ago and then promptly forgot all about it until I was reminded of it last week. Speaking to several others I realised that they didn't know either so I thought I should share this.
If you run a Charity or a Non-Profit organisation then you might be entitled to receive a grant from Google of $10,000 every month to spend on Google Ads.
What is it?
Put simply it is FREE money and you can't get better than free. It is $10,000 credit to spend on Google AdWords every month to promote your Charity or Non-Profit in the Google search results.
If you have used Google AdWords before then you will know it works on a system of "bidding" for keywords in a Google search result. With your free money you can bid upto $2 per click which could equal about 300 visitors a day to your site.
There are no limits to the number of Ads you can run or the number of keywords you are "bidding" on - it is completely up to you. The only limitation is that your maximum bid is limited to $2 and that it is only for text ads.
Why would I want it?
You can use a Google AdWords Grant to:
- generate donations
- appeal for volunteers
- raise awareness
- campaign highlights
- and so much more...
You might even want to use it to ensure that your Charity or Non-Profit is the first entry on Google search results. (Yes I know it's an advert and not an organice search position but we are tech savvy and most users of the internet are not.) After all if this wasn't a successful tactic then companies would not pay for those adverts and Google would not be earning billions each year.
How do I get it?
The qualifying criteria varies from country to country and to date it is limited to just 50 countries. You can find a full list of countries and the eligibility criteria on the Google for Non-Profits web site. Selected countries (based on this sites audience) are:
USA
Organizations must be recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations formed for charitable, educational, religious, literary, scientific, or other tax-exempt purpose.
UK
Organizations must be nonprofit or non-governmental organizations with recognized charitable status.
Germany
Organizations must be Associations, Foundations, or other non-profit legal entities that possess public benefit (Gemeinnützigkeit), charitable (Mildtaetigkeit), or Religious (Kirchliche) status and/or are operating on a non-profit basis for the public benefit.
India
Organizations must be registered societies, trusts, or Section 8 (formerly Section 25) companies; AND hold a valid registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act (FCRA)
Netherlands
Organizations must be nonprofit or non-governmental organizations with Public Benefit Organization (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling – ANBI) or Institution Promoting Social Welfare (Sociaal Beland Behartigende Instelling – SBBI) tax exempt status; foundations (stichtingen) or associations (verenigingen) pursuing public benefit activities; or churches or other religious organizations (kerkgenootschappen en hun zelfstandige onderdelen).
Use it or lose it!
One thing you really should be aware of is that if you don't use your credits then they do not roll over to the following month AND if you don't log in to the AdWords account each month then you will lose your grant permanently. But why would you do that?
Since this scheme started operating about 13 years ago your Charity or Non-Profit could have received $1.5 Million - can you really afford to miss out.
