The Google Ad Grants guide
Straight answers on keeping, measuring and growing your Ad Grant
Each answer comes from The Nonprofit Ad Grant Handbook and is checked against Google's own pages. We label every rule as Google policy, a Google recommendation, or our practice, so you know which ones are required.
Keep the grant
The rules Google checks, and what happens when an account misses one.
Who is eligible for Google Ad Grants, and how do we apply?
Registered charities verified by Goodstack, apart from government, hospitals and schools. Join Google for Nonprofits, enroll, and pass the website review.
From Chapter 3What is the 5% CTR rule for Google Ad Grants?
At least 5% across the whole account, every calendar month. Two misses in a row and Google deactivates the account.
From Chapter 2Which keywords break the Ad Grants rules?
Single words outside Google's exceptions, keywords with no clear intent, and keywords with a Quality Score of 1 or 2.
From Chapter 2What are the Ad Grants rules for structure, locations and bidding?
Two ad groups per campaign, two ads per ad group, two sitelinks, mission-relevant locations, conversion-based bidding and Search only.
From Chapter 2What happens when an Ad Grants account breaks a rule?
Google may pause a keyword, or deactivate the account after two months under 5% CTR. Deactivation isn't permanent once every issue is fixed.
From Chapter 2What should we check in our Ad Grants account every month?
Twelve lines that confirm the account meets every Ad Grants rule, then the search terms and a short report on the month.
From Chapter 9
Count what matters
Conversions that count real actions, once each, so the results you report are true.
What counts as a real conversion in Google Ad Grants?
Something a person did for your mission, such as a donation or a volunteer application. Page views and time on site belong in secondary.
From Chapter 4How do we track donations made on another platform?
When donors finish on a giving platform's website, your tag can't see them. Four routes close the gap; use the first one your platform supports.
From Chapter 4Should we count conversions with the Google Ads tag or Google Analytics?
Either works. Google's Ad Grants guidance recommends importing from Google Analytics. Pick one source per action, so nothing is counted twice.
From Chapter 4What should we report to our board about our Ad Grant?
What the grant did for your mission, in the mission's words, with grant used and compliance in one line each, on one page every month.
From Chapter 14
Use more of the grant
Growth that keeps the click-through rate safe and brings real results.
Why do most Ad Grants accounts spend far less than $10,000 a month?
Budgets are rarely the reason. Searches, the 5% CTR rule, auction rank, bidding with no results to learn from and thin coverage limit spend.
From Chapter 1How do we use more of our Ad Grant without losing CTR?
Win more of the searches you already qualify for. Budget is rarely the limit; rank usually is, and quality and real conversions win it back.
From Chapter 11How do we use negative keywords without blocking our mission?
Choose the narrowest match type that blocks the waste, and check every negative against what it means and what your data shows.
From Chapter 8What is the $2 bid cap in Google Ad Grants, and how does Smart Bidding get past it?
Older strategies are capped at $2.00 a click. Smart Bidding can bid above that, once real conversions show it which searches are worth more.
From Chapter 6How do we choose keywords for our nonprofit's programs?
Start from each program page in Keyword Planner, keep the searches people make that fit the page, and launch in phrase and exact match.
From Chapter 5How do we write Ad Grants ads that people click?
Write headlines that each make sense alone and do a different job, keep every claim true of the page, and run two or three ads per ad group.
From Chapter 7How should we use our Ad Grant for Giving Tuesday and year-end giving?
Start in early October. Have pages live and ads approved by early November, keep year-end ads in their own group, and make every claim true.
From Chapter 12Can we run a paid Google Ads account alongside our Ad Grant?
Yes, as a separate account with a clear job. Paid ads show first on shared searches, so decide which account owns each kind of search.
From Chapter 13
When something goes wrong
A falling click-through rate, a deactivated account, or no one with access.
Why did our Ad Grants CTR drop?
Usually because of the most recent change. Check what changed, then the search terms, before you pause anything.
From Chapter 10How do we get a deactivated Ad Grant back?
Fix the click-through rate, then everything else, then any outstanding survey, and only then send a short, specific reactivation request.
From Chapter 10Who should own our Google Ad Grants account?
Your organization, through at least two Admins on organization email addresses, so one departure never locks you out.
From Chapter 3
Getting help
Agencies, staff and volunteers, and what your organization always keeps.
Want to know how your own account measures up?
The free health check tests your account against nine of these rules with your own numbers, and links each result to the chapter in the handbook that shows how to fix it.