Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits: The Complete 2026 Guide

Google provides eligible 501(c)(3) organizations with up to $10,000 per month in free search advertising through a program called Google Ad Grants

This guide covers everything from eligibility and the application process to building campaigns and maintaining compliance. It’s designed to take you from first hearing about Ad Grants to actively running ads, with enough depth to keep you from making the mistakes that get accounts suspended.

A note on currency:

What’s changed in 2026:

- Verification is now handled by Goodstack

- Performance Max campaigns

- Google Maps placements

- GA4 is mandatory

- The Quality Score minimum

- The program is available in 65+ countries

- Smart Bidding is required

- Website requirements tightened in 2024: HTTPS required, minimum 5 pages with 300+ words each, privacy policy page mandatory

What Is Google Ad Grants?

Google Ad Grants is an in-kind advertising program run through Google for Nonprofits

The grant does not involve any cash. Google credits the advertising spend directly to your account. You don’t receive a check, and you can’t transfer the credit. Unused budget does not carry over to the following month.

What nonprofits use it for

Ad Grants works best when your potential supporters are actively searching for what you do. Common use cases:

• Donor acquisition:

• Volunteer recruitment:

• Program promotion:

• Awareness building:

• Email list growth:

• Event promotion:

The program works best for organizations with a clear online presence and defined conversion goals. If your website is thin or your goals are vague, the grant will underperform and compliance will be harder to maintain.

Who is ineligible

Several organization types are explicitly excluded regardless of their tax status:

• Governmental entities and government-affiliated organizations

• Hospitals and healthcare organizations

• Schools, academic institutions, and universities

Important nuance:

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for Google Ad Grants, your organization must clear three gates: charitable status, website quality, and program enrollment. All three must be satisfied before your application will be approved.

Charitable status

In the United States, your organization must hold current 501(c)(3) tax-exempt statusIRS Tax Exempt Organization Search

A few specific situations worth knowing:

• Fiscally sponsored organizations

• Group exemption organizations

• International organizations

Website requirements

Google evaluates your website as part of the eligibility review. The standards tightened meaningfully in 2024. Your site must meet all of the following:

Domain ownership matters.

What you cannot advertise

Your campaigns must reflect your organization’s mission. Campaigns that direct users to third-party fundraising sites are permitted only for platforms approved by Google

How to Apply: The Step-by-Step Process

The application runs through Google for Nonprofits and has two distinct phases: verification and activation. Plan for a total timeline of two to four weeks if your documentation is in order.

Phase 1: Goodstack verification

The first step is getting verified by Goodstack

Verification is now fully integrated into the Google for Nonprofits signup flow:

1. Go to google.com/nonprofits

1. Sign in with the Google account you want to use as your organization’s administrator

1. Enter your organization’s details: legal name, EIN, physical address, website URL, and primary contact information

1. Provide a brief description of your mission and impact

1. Agree to Google’s required certifications on nondiscrimination and proper use of donation receipts

1. Submit — Google automatically routes your application to Goodstack for verification

Watch for emails from **verifications@mail.goodstack.org**

• Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter (current, not pending)

• Proof of affiliation confirming your role at the organization

• In some cases, a bank statement or financial document showing the organization’s name

Goodstack verification typically takes 2 to 14 business days

Phase 2: Ad Grants activation

Once your Google for Nonprofits account is verified, activate Ad Grants specifically:

1. Sign in to your Google for Nonprofits account at google.com/nonprofits/account

1. Locate Google Ad Grants on the dashboard and click “Get Started” or “Activate”

1. Submit your website domain for review

1. Watch the required welcome video and confirm

1. Complete the pre-activation questionnaire covering your goals, target audience, geographic area, and who will manage the account

1. Click “Activate” to submit for final review

Google reviews your account setup and website for compliance before activating the grant. This review typically takes 3 to 10 business days

Setting up your Google Ads account

After receiving your activation email:

1. Accept the email invitation to your new Google Ads account — you will be the administrator

1. Accept the email invitation to the Google Payments billing profile (required for account access; as a nonprofit, you will not be charged)

1. Sign back in to your Google Ads account and accept the Google Ads Terms and Conditions

Your account is now live and ready for campaign setup.

Common rejection reasons:

Program Rules and Account Structure

Ad Grants accounts operate under a distinct set of rules that don’t apply to standard Google Ads accounts. Violating them is the most common reason accounts get suspended, so understanding the structure before building campaigns is worth the time.

Budget and ad placement basics

• Monthly credit:

• Ad placement:

• Ad format:

• Position:

• Networks:

Campaign types available in 2026

The program was Search-only for its entire history until January 2026, when Performance Max was added with important restrictions:

Critical PMax note:

Bidding requirements

For accounts created on or after April 22, 2019, Smart Bidding is mandatory

• Maximize Conversions

• Maximize Conversion Value

• Target CPA

• Target ROAS

The legacy $2 maximum CPC cap applied to manual bidding only. Since manual bidding isn’t available for newer accounts, Smart Bidding strategies effectively bypass that cap in exchange for conversion-based optimization.

Required account structure

Every Ad Grants account must maintain the following minimum structure:

• At least 2 active ad groups per campaign

• At least 2 active, unique text ads per ad group

• At least 2 unique sitelink extensions

• Proper location targeting:

Keyword rules

Ad Grants has specific keyword restrictions that don’t apply to standard Google Ads accounts:

• No single-word keywords

• No overly generic keywords

• Keywords must have a Quality Score of 3 or higher.

Annual program survey

All grantees must complete an annual program survey sent to the login email addresses on each Ad Grants account. If you receive a notification that the survey still needs to be completed after submitting, it usually means Google couldn’t match your submission to your customer ID. Resubmit with the correct customer ID included.

Setting Up Conversion Tracking

Conversion tracking is not optional. For any account created after January 1, 2018, valid conversion tracking must be set up and the account must record at least one conversion per month. Accounts using Smart Bidding (which now means all newer accounts) have the same requirement.

GA4 is the required platform.Google Analytics 4

What counts as a meaningful conversion

Google’s Ad Grants Conversion Tracking Guide

• Completed donations

• Membership registrations

• Email newsletter sign-ups

• Volunteer sign-up form completions

• Petition signatures

• Information request submissions

• Calls to your organization

• App downloads

• Program registrations

What doesn’t count:

Setting up conversion tracking in GA4

The most reliable method is to create a conversion action based on a thank-you page that only loads after a completed action (a donation confirmation page, for example). You can then import that GA4 event into Google Ads as a conversion.

When you create a Performance Max campaign, configure campaign-level conversion goals to include only your primary, highest-value conversions. By default, PMax will optimize for all account-level conversions, which dilutes performance if you have secondary micro-conversions (newsletter signups, resource downloads) mixed in with donation completions. Separating them at the campaign level is one of the most impactful PMax setup steps.

Building Your Campaigns

With conversion tracking in place, you’re ready to build campaigns. The structure of your campaigns determines both your compliance standing and how effectively you use the $10,000 monthly budget.

Campaign organization

Start by mapping your organization’s programs and goals to separate campaigns. Each campaign should represent a distinct audience intent or program area. A practical starting structure:

• Campaign 1: Volunteer recruitment

• Campaign 2: Donor acquisition

• Campaign 3: Program services

Within each campaign, create at least two ad groups. Each ad group should contain a tightly themed cluster of keywords. Tight keyword grouping improves Quality Scores, which keeps your ads eligible to run and improves ad position.

Keyword strategy

Keyword selection is where most nonprofits either succeed or fail with Ad Grants. The most common mistake is targeting broad, high-volume keywords that have no connection to your specific mission.

Start with mission-specific, longer-tail keywords.

Match types to use:

• Broad match:

• Phrase match:

• Exact match:

Negative keywords are essential.

Writing your ads

Each ad group needs at least two unique responsive search ads (RSAs). For each RSA:

• Provide 8 to 15 headlines (30 characters each)

• Provide 2 to 4 descriptions (90 characters each)

• Pin critical elements (your organization name, primary CTA) to specific positions if needed

• Use at least 2 unique sitelink extensions per campaign

Ad copy principles for nonprofits:

• Lead with the searcher’s need, not your organization’s name

• Include a clear call to action (donate, volunteer, get help, register)

• Match the ad’s message to the landing page content

• Use specific, concrete language (“Feed a family tonight” outperforms “Support hunger relief”)

Landing pages

Every ad must link to a page on your own domain. The landing page must be relevant to the ad and keyword, load quickly, and clearly fulfill the search intent. Don’t link to your homepage for every ad group; create or use specific program pages that match the campaign’s purpose.

When to add Performance Max

Performance Max campaigns in Ad Grants are limited to Search and Maps inventory. They don’t run on YouTube, Display, Gmail, or Discover, which limits the cross-channel advantage PMax offers in standard accounts. That said, there are clear situations where adding PMax makes sense:

Add PMax when:

• Your Search campaigns are consistently spending the full $329/day budget and you want more reach

• Your cause is niche or local and keyword targeting alone misses your audience

• You have enough first-party data (past donors, email subscribers) to build useful audience signals

• You’re recording at least 30 conversions per month (PMax needs conversion data to optimize)

Hold off when:

• Your conversion tracking isn’t fully configured and validated

• Your Search campaigns aren’t yet hitting the 5% CTR threshold consistently

• You have fewer than 30 conversions per month

The most important PMax setup step is configuring campaign-level conversion goals. Point PMax only at your primary, high-value conversions and exclude secondary micro-conversions from its optimization target.

Maintaining Compliance and Avoiding Suspension

Getting approved is the easy part. Staying compliant is where most organizations struggle. Google monitors Ad Grants accounts on an ongoing basis, and accounts that violate program policies can be suspended with relatively little warning.

The 5% CTR requirement

Your account must maintain a 5% click-through rate at the account level

Key clarifications:

• The 5% threshold applies to Search campaigns only

• CTR is measured at the account level

• You must maintain at least one active Search campaign

Practical target:

Common suspension triggers

How to get reinstated after suspension

If your account is suspended, you can request reinstatement after fixing the underlying issues:

1. Identify the reason for suspension (check the notification email and the Policy Manager in your account)

1. Fix every policy violation, not just the one cited

1. Submit a reinstatement request through the Ad Grants troubleshooter

1. Wait for Google to review and reactivate (typically 3 to 5 business days)

Reinstatement is generally straightforward if the violations were technical rather than intentional. Repeated suspensions for the same issues will receive more scrutiny.

Monthly maintenance checklist

Ongoing compliance requires active management. Review the following every month:

• Account-level CTR is above 5% (target 7 to 8%)

• At least one conversion recorded in the month

• No active keywords with QS below 3

• No active single-word keywords

• Search term report reviewed; new negatives added

• All active ads are approved (no disapprovals sitting unaddressed)

• Sitelinks are active and linking to working pages

• At least one active Search campaign (not just PMax)

• Annual program survey completed (when notified)

Ad Grants accounts that are actively managed outperform neglected ones in every measurable way. The compliance rules and performance best practices point in the same direction: relevant keywords, tight ad groups, strong CTR, and meaningful conversions.

Getting the Most Out of Your $10,000 Monthly Budget

Most Ad Grants accounts don’t come close to spending their full $10,000 monthly budget. This isn’t a sign of failure; it’s a reflection of how the program works. Ad Grants ads run below paying advertisers, which means competitive keywords may not spend much even with aggressive bidding. The goal isn’t to spend the maximum; it’s to drive meaningful actions from the budget you do spend.

That said, there are legitimate strategies for increasing spend and reach when your account is healthy and compliant.

Expanding keyword coverage

If you’re consistently underspending, the most sustainable path is expanding your keyword list with mission-relevant, longer-tail terms. Google Keyword Planner

Focus expansion on:

• Geographic modifiers (“food bank near me,” “volunteer opportunities in \[city\]”)

• Problem-state queries (“how to get help with rent,” “free ESL classes”)

• Cause-adjacent searches that your programs address

Branded keyword campaigns

Branded keywords (your organization’s name and program names) are among the highest-performing terms in most Ad Grants accounts. They’re low competition, highly relevant, and typically produce strong Quality Scores and CTR. Every account should have at least one dedicated branded campaign.

Optimizing Quality Score

Quality Score is the single biggest lever for improving Ad Grants performance. Higher Quality Scores mean your ads are more likely to show and more likely to spend. The three components:

• Expected CTR:

• Ad relevance:

• Landing page experience:

In-house management vs. agency help

Ad Grants requires active, ongoing management to stay compliant and perform well. For organizations without dedicated digital marketing staff, the choice is typically between:

1. In-house management

1. Agency management

The compliance rules are distinct from standard Google Ads management. An agency experienced in paid search but unfamiliar with Ad Grants can inadvertently set up campaigns that violate the grant’s specific keyword, bidding, and CTR requirements. If you’re evaluating outside help, ask specifically about their Ad Grants experience and compliance track record.

For organizations with limited capacity, a middle path works well: set up the account correctly from the start (solid keyword structure, conversion tracking, compliance-safe bidding), then perform a lighter monthly review rather than weekly optimization. A well-structured account requires less ongoing intervention than one built without the compliance rules in mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run Google Ad Grants alongside a paid Google Ads account?

Yes. Nonprofits can run both a Google Ad Grants account and a standard paid Google Ads account simultaneously. They must be kept as separate accounts. If you run both, your paid ads will show above your Ad Grants ads in the auction. Many organizations use Ad Grants for awareness and program promotion while using paid accounts for time-sensitive campaigns or competitive keywords where grant ads don’t show.

Does Google Ad Grants work for small nonprofits?

Yes, often better than for large ones. Smaller organizations with a specific geographic focus or niche mission typically face less competition for their target keywords, which makes it easier to achieve strong Quality Scores and CTR. A national organization competing on broad cause keywords will struggle more with compliance than a local organization targeting specific community-level searches.

What happens if I don’t spend the full $10,000?

Nothing. Unused budget doesn’t roll over, but there’s no penalty for underspending. The program doesn’t require you to hit a spending minimum. Focus on quality over quantity: it’s better to spend $2,000 on highly relevant, converting traffic than $10,000 on irrelevant clicks.

Can I use Ad Grants to promote fundraising events?

Yes, as long as the event is hosted by your organization and the landing page is on your own domain. You can promote fundraisers, galas, 5Ks, and other events. You cannot use Ad Grants to drive traffic to third-party fundraising platforms (like GoFundMe or Eventbrite) unless those platforms appear on Google’s approved third-party fundraising platform list

How long does the application process take?

Plan for two to four weeks from start to first live ad. Goodstack verification takes 2 to 14 business days. Google’s eligibility review after activation takes another 3 to 10 business days. Building your initial campaigns adds a few days. Organizations that have all their documentation ready (IRS determination letter, clean website, GA4 tracking configured) move through the process faster.

Can a fiscally sponsored project apply?

No. Fiscally sponsored organizations that do not hold their own 501(c)(3) status are ineligible, even if their fiscal sponsor qualifies. The applying organization must independently hold 501(c)(3) status.

What happened to Google Grants Pro?

Google Grants Pro was a legacy program that offered up to $40,000 per month and was available by invitation only. It was discontinued. The current standard program offers up to $10,000 per month for all eligible organizations.

Is TechSoup still involved in the verification process?

No. TechSoup was replaced by Goodstack (formerly Percent) in 2023. Goodstack verification is now fully integrated into the Google for Nonprofits signup flow. You no longer need to create a separate TechSoup account or obtain a TechSoup token to apply.

The Bottom Line

Google Ad Grants is a genuinely valuable program for nonprofits willing to manage it properly. The $10,000 monthly credit is real, the traffic is real, and for organizations whose audiences are actively searching for what they do, the results can be significant.

The program has also become more capable since it launched. Goodstack verification has streamlined the application process. Performance Max campaigns now give nonprofits a way to reach audiences beyond their keyword universe. Google Maps placements add local visibility for organizations with physical locations. GA4 integration has modernized conversion tracking.

The honest caveat:

For organizations with the capacity to manage it correctly, or the resources to bring in someone who can, Ad Grants represents one of the highest-ROI marketing opportunities available to nonprofits. Free reach on Google Search, targeted to exactly the people looking for what you do, is worth the effort to maintain.