Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits - An Interview with Kristina Cutura The Tech Savvy Nonprofit

Did you know that your nonprofit organization could get a Google Ad Grant that provides $10,000 every month of in-kind advertising from Google Ads? Imagine the impact! In this episode, we are joined by Google Ads expert and consultant Kristina Cutura. Kristina shares how nonprofits can use Google Ads to further their mission, how to apply for a Google Ad Grant, challenges and successes she's seen with clients that have received the grant and navigating the recent Google Ad Grant policy changes.
Kristina worked at Google in 2002 when AdWords was still in its infancy.  She was part of Google’s first optimization team formed to help clients understand how to manage and optimize their accounts. Kristina left Google in 2009. During her last few years with the company, she worked mainly in training, teaching internal Googlers and agencies and resellers about AdWords.
An Overview of Google Ads Google Ads (previously known as Google Adwords) is a way to promote your product or services on Google and other websites that are part of Google’s network. Google allows you to advertise your website on google.com, Google properties such as Google Maps and YouTube, and on its search and display partners. The Google Ads network reaches more than 90% of internet users.
The key benefits of Google Ads marketing are reach, relevance and ROI. You can track every aspect of your Google Ads marketing campaign, from the number of ad impressions to the number of clicks and signups, donations, newsletter subscriptions, and more. This level of accountability makes it especially attractive to businesses who have limited marketing budgets.
How Can Nonprofit Use Google Ads? When users search for your organization or an organization like yours, do you show up in the search results? When people realize they want or need something, they turn to search. Each search represents an opportunity for nonprofits looking to influence the customer journey. 
Nonprofits can use Google Ads to:
raise awareness about their organization promote their content and engage users nurture relationships increase their donations Google Ads allows you to control your message and offer. In addition to asking for donations, many nonprofits have tons of great content they can market through Google. For example, you could promote your free eBook, courses, or other online educational materials to build a relationship. Many nonprofits I work with will offer free content in exchange for email signups, and obtaining that email address give you the chance to start nurturing a lead that could later turn into support or a donation.
Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits Google grants $10,000/month in free Google Ads to qualifying nonprofits.
The grants allow nonprofits to show ads on google.com. They can not be used to run display campaigns, but many nonprofits set-up a separate account when they are interested in testing outside of the grant limitations.
There are five steps to submitting your Google Ad Grants application:
See if you’re eligible (based in a country where Google Ad Grants is available and that you hold a valid charity status) Apply for a Google for Nonprofits account Enroll in Google Ad Grants Create a Google Ads account Submit your account for review Common Issues with Google Ad Grants Kristina commonly sees nonprofits experience one of three main issues:
The nonprofit spends only a small fraction of its allotted $10,000/month The nonprofit has issues keeping its accounts compliant. Many are so busy they don’t even notice when an account has been suspended. The nonprofit doesn't know how to properly roll out strategy to maximize traffic and fundraising. A Google Ad Grant Success Kristina recently started working with a nonprofit with an existing Google Ads Grants account. They were spending less than a $1,000/month out of the $10,000 grant and had $0 in donations. In the first month after they started working together, the nonprofit's click through rate jum