You may have heard about this program but assumed that it would not be offered to your nonprofit because of your religious mission. Nothing could be further from the truth. Come one, come all!
Over the past several years in my work with many faith based nonprofits and the Google Ad Grant Program, I've been amazed over and over again how powerful the use of the Google Ads can be in furthering the Kingdom of God. The wonder of it all, I believe, is that Google does not discriminate. This program is for all 501(c)3 nonprofits, including churches and all types of ministries. As long as you meet the eligibility criteria, you are in. When you stop and think about it, it truly does seem miraculous. And this program is so well organized and managed by the Google Ad Grant Team, that the benefits and ROI a faith based non profit can realize, also feel just a bit like a miracle!
Some of you may not realize that the team behind Google For Nonprofits is a small group of very passionate individuals who love nonprofits and are dedicated to making this program they spearhead highly effective. And they do this for all, not just for some. It’s hard not to see Google as a huge, political machine with robots for employees who have no concern for the human connection. This is simply not true. In the following narrative, I want to share the heart of the matter when it comes to faith based nonprofits and the Google Ad Grant in the form of not only why people will find you on Google but how your specific type of ministry might be able to use the program. When you are done reading, I hope my insight will convince you to take that first leap of faith: book a call with me or at least take some time to research this program.
Before I dive in, I want to share right off the bat that Google does ask all nonprofits who apply for membership in Google for Nonprofits, where the Google Grant Application rests, to agree not to discriminate in any way against their fellow humans. If you want to know more, you can check out Google’s pages which share the verbiage around their terms and conditions. This is nonnegotiable. FYI!
Here we go!
People need you.
Or more aptly, people need God. And quite frankly, they do look for Him on Google. It’s 3:00 AM and a desperate individual is sitting in the dark with the glow of their laptop highlighting the fear and worry on their face as they type in words like “Where is God when I need Him?” or “does God even care about my suffering?”. You may have typed in those words yourself. I know I have. I recently suffered a deep hurt and the pages of my Bible seemed a little blurry. I turned to the Google Search and amazingly, found some truth which actually pointed me back to those pages of Scripture to find clarity which I could not see in my pain. Your mission, your ministry, your message about God and who He is, especially when you have content on your website in the form of sermons, podcasts, videos and blogs around spiritual issues, are the perfect type of content suited to the successful use of the Google Ad Grant! Over and over again, I’ve watched stats for religious nonprofits shoot through the roof and their ministry grow in amazing ways by leveraging this program to drive traffic to their website.
People are searching for meaning and for truth.
And they turn to Google constantly to find answers. Your ministry needs to be in the forefront of those searches. If a college student is searching for apologetics insight and that is part of your mission, then when they are searching, they need to see your ad come up at the top of page one without having to scroll down. If you have a weekly Bible Study blog on your church website about general topics like “Why Does God Allow Suffering?” or “What Does The Bible Say About Politics?” or even “All You Wanted To Know About the Bible”, then let’s get some ads written around those individual studies and drive people right to them so they can learn some truth. It might even be possible, since we can advertise these studies in your local area, these ads could eventually bring people through your church doors. More about that later!
People truly want to help and support your ministry.
But if they don’t know anything about you, how can they find you? I know that most nonprofits are on the hunt for more funding. It’s paramount. It’s needed. I get it. It’s one of the reasons Google even started this program. Because they wanted to find ways for nonprofits, with teeny tiny budgets, to get the word out there on Google so they could be found. Be seen. Get noticed. And get help. Financially, yes, but that particular ROI is the icing on the cake, not the actual cake. Here’s a real life example.
The marketing company I worked for before founding Nonprofit Sherpa, manages the Google Grant for a nonprofit I got to know well during the sales process. This nonprofit was birthed through tragedy; the loss of a child to brain cancer. The parents who are strong believers, were determined that something good should come from their own suffering and from what they learned during a very trying time. God called them to help other families suffering through childhood cancer and also fund cancer research. So they took a giant leap of faith and their foundation was born. Over three years ago when I first met them, they were small, volunteer and family-run, and had no budget to hire someone to manage the Google Grant regardless of the $10k a month. However, they were rather tenacious and had faith that God would supply their needs. And He did! They were able to find the budget to pay the monthly fee for Grants ads management and the rest is history! Today, their foundation is thriving, growing, and vibrant. The coffee they are selling to help raise funds for research isn’t too bad, either. I know the Google Ad Grant is not the only reason that they have grown, but I believe it played a large part in bringing them out of obscurity into the light. This is the power of digital marketing at work!
How can the Google Grant work for your particular ministry? The possibilities are endless.
The list below includes all kinds of faith based nonprofits with some ideas on what would be promotable with your Google Grant ads. The ideas I’ve listed are based on what I’ve seen firsthand over the last 4 and a half years, working with hundreds of religious nonprofits. There are a couple of things to note. First, geotargeting can be either citywide, regional, local, national, or international or include them all. Secondly, since the beginning of 2020, online or virtual content has been invaluable in driving traffic to faith based ministries. The more sermons, videos, podcasts, and online classes or webinars you can offer, the more people you can drive to your website.
This list is not exhaustive. If you do not see your specific mission listed, no worries! Nonprofit Sherpa can find what works for everyone! Love to chat anytime!
I would love to meet you and learn more about you and your mission. Even if you don't see a way forward right now as far as hiring a grant manager, it would be worth it to at least meet with me. I can share more about how the program works and what I think the ROI could be for your particular organization. Happy to chat - click here to schedule a meeting - I can't wait to meet you!
~Kathi Gross, Founder/CSO, Nonprofit Sherpa