Google Ad Grants provides eligible non-profit organisations with up to $10,000 USD (~£8,000) per month in free Google Search advertising. UK charities registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland are eligible. The grant covers text ads on Google Search only (not Display, Shopping, or YouTube). Organisations must maintain programme compliance — including a minimum 5% click-through rate and relevant landing pages — to retain their grant.
Google Ad Grants is one of the most valuable and most underutilised resources available to UK charities. A well-managed Ad Grants account generates highly targeted website traffic — from donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, and supporters — at zero cost. Yet many charities either do not apply, or apply and then fail to comply with programme requirements, losing their grant within months.
Who is eligible for Google Ad Grants in the UK?
- Registered charities with the Charity Commission for England & Wales, OSCR (Scotland), or Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
- Organisations with valid charity status — no government entities, hospitals, schools, or commercial organisations
- Non-profit status verified through TechSoup (Google's verification partner for Ad Grants)
- A live, content-rich website with a clear mission and HTTPS security
- Agreement to Google's non-profit programme policies
What Google Ad Grants allows and does not allow
- Allowed: text ads on Google Search, keyword targeting, remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA), ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts, calls)
- Not allowed: Display Network ads, Google Shopping ads, YouTube ads, video ads
- Grant-specific restrictions: maximum bid of $2 CPM (managed via Smart Bidding), minimum 5% account-level CTR required, no single-word keywords (with exceptions), no overly generic keywords
The 5% CTR requirement: what it means in practice
Google requires Ad Grants accounts to maintain a minimum 5% click-through rate. This is significantly higher than commercial Google Ads averages (typically 3–5%) and requires active campaign management. Accounts that fall below 5% CTR for two consecutive months risk suspension. Maintaining the required CTR means: writing compelling ad copy with strong CTAs, using ad extensions (sitelinks, callout, structured snippets), targeting relevant, specific keywords rather than broad generic terms, and pausing underperforming keywords and ad groups promptly.
Applying for Google Ad Grants is free. The application process involves: registering with TechSoup as a non-profit (free), creating a Google for Non-profits account (free), and completing the Ad Grants application. The process typically takes two to four weeks for verification and approval. Many UK charities engage a specialist agency to set up and manage their Ad Grants account — management fees typically run £500–£1,500/month but are often justified by the grant value (£8,000/month equivalent) and the expertise required to maintain compliance.
Maximising your Google Ad Grants value
- Use Smart Bidding (Maximise Conversions or Target CPA) — this helps manage the $2 CPC cap while maintaining required CTR
- Build a strong conversion tracking setup — track donations, volunteer sign-ups, resource downloads, and contact form submissions
- Create campaign-specific landing pages — generic homepages underperform; dedicated landing pages for each campaign theme convert significantly better
- Use all available ad extensions — sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and call extensions all improve CTR and grant compliance
- Refresh ad copy regularly — ads that stop performing drag down account CTR and risk compliance
For charities primarily targeting search-intent queries (donor searches, beneficiary support queries, volunteer recruitment), Ad Grants can deliver substantial value that reduces the need for paid search advertising. However, the programme's restrictions (search only, $2 CPC cap, 5% CTR minimum) mean it cannot fully replace a paid account for competitive keywords. The most effective approach combines Ad Grants (for broader keyword coverage and volume) with a small paid account (for the most competitive, high-value keywords where the grant's CPC cap limits performance).