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Google for Nonprofits & the $10,000/Month Ad Grant

Most charities we support qualify for Google for Nonprofits and never claim it. The program is free and includes Google Ad Grants — up to $10,000 per month of in-kind search advertising — plus the YouTube Nonprofit Program and discounted Workspace. If FFC hosts your site, you already meet the website-quality requirements the Ad Grant demands.

Eligibility

  • Registered 501(c)(3) in good standing (verified via Goodstack/Percent).
  • Not a hospital/healthcare org, school, or government entity (those have separate programs).
  • A working website that describes your mission — your FFC site.

Step 1 — Request the account

  1. Go to google.com/nonprofits and click Get started.
  2. Verify your nonprofit through Google’s validation partner (you’ll need your EIN and an email at your domain — set that up firstif you haven’t).
  3. Activation usually takes 2–5 business days.

Step 2 — Activate Ad Grants

  1. In the Google for Nonprofits console, activate Ad Grants.
  2. Follow the guided setup (Google’s “Smart Campaigns” path is the low-maintenance option for small teams).
  3. Point ads at the pages on your site that ask for something specific — volunteer signup, donations, program enrollment.

The rules that keep the grant alive

Google cancels inactive or low-quality grant accounts. The essentials:

  • Log in at least monthly and keep campaigns running.
  • Maintain a 5%+ click-through rate (Smart Campaigns mostly handle this).
  • No single-word or overly generic keywords.
  • Ads must land on your verified website (your FFC-hosted domain).

If an account does get paused, it can be reinstated after fixing the flagged issue — ask us for help before abandoning it.

Also included (often overlooked)

  • YouTube Nonprofit Program — donation buttons and link cards on your videos.
  • Google Workspace for Nonprofits — free tier if you prefer Google mail/docs over Microsoft 365 (most FFC charities use the Microsoft grant; don’t run both for email).
  • Maps Platform credits — useful if your site shows service locations.

Questions or a rejected verification? Contact us and a volunteer will walk it through with you.