Google Awards Free Advertising to Nonprofit Organizations

     Does your nonprofit organization or charity have a website?

Would you like to bring more visitors to your website so you can raise awareness for your cause or program?

     One way to bring visitors to a website is to use the Google AdWords advertising program. Most nonprofit organizations have a limited advertising budget and in response to this Google has a grant award program called Google Grants. The Google Grant is an in-kind award of free AdWords advertising credits.

     You may not be familiar with AdWords but, if you have ever done a search on Google you have seen the AdWords advertisements. The advertisements that appear above the search results and on the right-hand side of the search results page are AdWords advertisements. These are paid advertisements and this is the advertising space that Google awards to nonprofit organizations to help them increase traffic to their websites.

     Google has donated over 30 million dollars worth of free advertising to nonprofit organizations throughout the world over the past several years. The grants are awarded every quarter to organizations meeting the eligibility requirements that Google has specified. Grants are awarded to organizations that have a mission to help the world in the areas of science, education, health, the environment, youth and the arts.

     Google accepts online grant applications year-round. Your organization must be a nonprofit organization and provide proof of your 501(c)(3) status in order to apply. Applicants are instructed to familiarize themselves with the AdWords program before submitting their application because part of the application process involves setting up a sample advertising campaign. However, if you are awarded a grant you will be assigned to a Google Grants specialist who will help your organization set up an effective advertising campaign.

     The AdWords grants are awarded on a quarterly basis and organizations receive a minimum of three months worth of free advertising. AdWords advertising involves bidding money on keywords that people use when they perform searches on Google. Then, you write a short advertisement for your charity using the keyword. When people search on Google using the keyword you have chosen, your advertisement will appear on the search results page. If this sounds complicated, it is. That is why it is extremely advantageous to have the help of the grants specialist that Google provides.

     The in-kind awards have a monthly cap of $10,000 worth of free advertising credits for three months. That is $30,000 worth of free advertising for your charity or nonprofit organization. Google will also allow you to raise your spending cap to $40,000 per month if you pay 5% of the cost. In addition, awards are commonly extended beyond the three month period.

     . Your organization should investigate this opportunity.

 Recipients of Google Grants have reported great success and significant increases in traffic to their websites using AdWords campaigns.