How to Promote Your Nonprofit Event with the Google Ad Grant

Picture this: you’re planning an upcoming event for your nonprofit. You have every detail in place—from the decorations to the donation thank you letters—ready to go. 

When the big day finally arrives, only half as many people as you were expecting showed up. You’re disappointed because not only has your hard work gone to waste, but you also can’t raise as much money for your cause.

Unfortunately, inadequate event promotion is the downfall of many nonprofit events. However, there’s an easy solution: promoting your event with Google Ad Grants.

Marketing your event with the Google Ad Grant is free, easy, and impactful. According to Double the Donation, search ads—Google Ads included—have an average ROI of $4.78, which is the highest ROI for nonprofits using paid advertising. Better yet, the Google Ad Grant lets nonprofits unlock this effective marketing opportunity for free.

To help you leverage this powerful marketing tool, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the program and how you can use it to promote your nonprofit events. Let’s get started!

What Is the Google Ad Grant?

The Google Ad Grant is a monthly $10,000 ad credits stipend that allows nonprofits to promote their website and mission for free. Once they’re in the program, eligible nonprofits that follow the program’s requirements will receive the grant each month as long as they maintain account compliance.

If you’re wondering how to apply for the program, here are the application steps:

1. Ensure you’re eligible for the program.
2. Create a Google for Nonprofits account.
3. Wait for verification from TechSoup or Percent.
4. Prepare your website.
5. Complete the Google Ad Grant application.

If you don’t hear back from Google right away, don’t fret! It may take up to three business days for them to approve your application.

Once you’re in the program, you can use your ad credits to create ads that promote your upcoming event. With ads that appear at the top of users’ search engine results page, you can encourage people to sign up by including the link to your event registration page. That way, you’ll drive traffic to your site, increase event registrations, and ultimately raise more for your cause.

What Are the Benefits of the Google Ad Grant for Event Promotion?

Now that you know a little more about the Google Ad Grant, you may be wondering why this tool in particular is so useful for nonprofits. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the top benefits of Google Ad Grants so you can better understand how this tool will improve your organization’s event marketing strategy:

• Free marketing funding. If your marketing budget is already tight, but you want to improve your event marketing strategy, the Google Ad Grant is for you. Since the program doesn’t cost you anything to participate, you can feel at ease knowing you’re adding a valuable marketing tactic to your overall strategy without having to set aside additional funds.
• Increased conversions. With the help of the Google Ad Grant, you can drive supporters to take a certain action. In the case of events, that action will likely be to register for an event or purchase a ticket. Then, you can use Google Analytics to track your ad’s conversion rate and adjust your approach to convert even more supporters into event attendees.
• More site engagement. When people click through to your event ads, they’ll land on your event’s registration page. However, when they’re finished registering, they might stick around on your website, resulting in higher site engagement. Make sure your content is professional and interesting for users to help keep people on your site and rank higher on Google.
• Better supporter communications. You’re likely already promoting your events through more traditional methods, such as through your email newsletter and social media pages. The Google Ad Grant doesn’t replace these communication methods, but it serves as an addition to your existing marketing strategy. While newsletters and social media posts reach those who have already shown interest in your organization, the Google Ad Grant can reach new audiences who haven’t heard of your nonprofit before.

When it comes to marketing your nonprofit event, the Google Ad Grant is a no-brainer. Not only is it free, but it will also encourage new and existing supporters to attend your events and contribute to your cause. Additionally, you’ll drive more traffic to your website in general, boosting your rankings on Google and informing more people about your work.

5 Tips for Marketing Your Nonprofit Event with Google Ad Grants

Putting your Google Ad Grant in action will help propel your event to success. However, there are some things you should know before you get started.

Here are five tips that will help you optimize your Google Ad Grant for the best results:

1. Conduct keyword research. When you create your Google Ads, you’ll have to choose relevant keywords to target. Getting Attention recommends doing extensive keyword research using platforms such as Moz and SEMRush so you can identify keywords that potential supporters are actually searching for. For example, a sports fundraising event host may compare the search volume of keywords like “charity sports tournament” and “nonprofit sports fundraiser” to see which will yield better results.
2. Include a clear call to action. When people click on your Google Ad, you want to make it clear that you’d like them to register for an event or purchase an event ticket. That way, people will know exactly what they’re clicking on before doing so, thereby increasing your conversion rate. 
3. Use data to your advantage. Link your Google Ads account to Google Analytics so you can track your ads’ conversions. When you create your ads, you’ll input your conversion goals as “registering for an event” or “purchasing an event ticket” so that Google Analytics can measure your success. You can also incorporate data into your event marketing strategy by surveying attendees post-event and asking them how they found out about your event. Take note of the percentage that noted they found your event from a Google search, and increase that percentage for your next event by adjusting your Google Ad Grant approach.
4. Use consistent branding. Chances are, you’re using both digital marketing materials like the Google Ad Grant and physical ones like flyers to promote your event. Use consistent branding throughout your materials so your event marketing is cohesive as a whole. This could mean that you use the same color scheme on all your promotional materials.
5. Work with a Google Ad Grant agency. If you don’t have the time or knowledge to create a successful Google Ad Grant strategy, there are experts out there who can help. The sole purpose of Google Ad Grant agencies is to assist nonprofits in applying for and managing their Google Ad Grants. They can also handle keyword research and conversion tracking for you so you can focus on event planning.

Taking the time to create impactful Google Ads will help you register as many event attendees as possible and earn more for your cause. While there are tons of resources available to help out nonprofits that are new to the program, opting to work with a Google Ad Grant agency can be a good investment, especially since program participation itself is free.

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While events can take a lot of time and resources to plan, there’s nothing like meeting with your supporters in person and telling them more about your cause. Give your event that extra attendance boost with the help of the Google Ad Grant. Once your account is set up, you can use it to promote future events, initiatives, and campaigns, ultimately increasing awareness of your mission and facilitating gifts to your cause.