Nonprofits can get free search advertising, but only through programs with strict rules, and the programs aren't all open. Here's how John Williams fits Google Ad Grants, Microsoft Advertising, and paid campaigns together for a nonprofit, using only what each platform currently publishes.
| Program | Status and amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ad Grants | Active. Up to $10,000 USD per month of in-kind Google Search text ads. Unused funds don't roll over. | Google Ad Grants FAQ |
| Microsoft Ads for Social Impact | Ended December 2025 (final grants November 30, 2025). Microsoft's page still reads "The pilot is currently paused for grants on Microsoft's advertising network." | Microsoft |
| Paid Google Ads account | Available to anyone. Google says it can run alongside a grant account without competing, because grant ads run in a separate auction after paid ads. | Google Ad Grants FAQ |
| Paid Microsoft Advertising | Available to anyone. You can import campaigns from Google Ads. | Microsoft Learn |
"Stack a Google grant and a Microsoft grant" was common advice a while ago. Right now, that advice doesn't hold: Microsoft's grant ended in December 2025. Here's the honest version of a combined plan in October 2026.
The grant is free, but it's capped at roughly $329 a day (Google), limited to text ads on Google Search, and tied to rules: 5% account CTR, no single-word or overly generic keywords, no Quality Score 1–2 keywords, specific geo-targeting, conversion tracking, and Smart Bidding (Account management policy). Most of the value here comes from staying compliant and getting the budget actually spent.
Google's FAQ points out that standard accounts give access to remarketing, image ads, and video ads, which grant accounts don't. Use paid budget for what the grant can't do: competitive year-end giving terms, remarketing to past donors, and YouTube. The grant covers everything else.
Without an active grant, Microsoft Ads is a paid channel. For some nonprofits, especially those whose donors skew toward desktop or Microsoft's audience, a modest test using imported campaigns is worth running. Register interest on Microsoft's program page so you hear first if the grant reopens. See the Microsoft page for eligibility basics.
Donations with values, volunteer and newsletter sign-ups, and qualified calls, tracked once and shared with every platform. Ad Grants requires at least 1 conversion a month and a 30-second minimum for call conversions (Ad Grants conversion tracking). See conversion tracking audit and GA4 setup.
Not eligible for Ad Grants, per Google: government entities, hospitals and health care organizations, and schools, academic institutions, and universities. Charitable or philanthropic arms of those organizations can be eligible (Google for Nonprofits eligibility).
Grant accounts reward the same discipline as large commercial accounts: tight structure, honest conversion data, and Smart Bidding fed the right signals. John has spent 15+ years in paid media and managed more than $350M in Google Ads spend at Brainlabs, OuterBox, and Seer Interactive (see the about page). The tools he built, including Buddy, are free for nonprofits to use on their own.
After that, the work is expansion: new programs, new landing pages, and new keyword themes, so the grant gets spent on people who are actually looking for what you do.
Boards don't need CTR. They need "the grant brought in this many donations worth this much, this many volunteer sign-ups, and this many people found our services." We build the monthly report around those outcomes, show grant usage against the $10,000 limit, and note any compliance risks before they turn into a deactivation email.
Grants pay for the ads. Ahmeego charges a flat monthly fee for management, quoted after a review of your eligibility and accounts. We never charge a percentage of grant or ad spend, and there are no long contracts, per our pricing page.
The official nonprofit programs and ad platforms covered in this section.
Google Ads
Google for Nonprofits
Goodstack
Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Nonprofits
Google Analytics
Google Tag Manager
Logos via the Simple Icons project. Trademarks belong to their owners; no endorsement implied.
Free resources from ahmeego.com that nonprofits can use whether or not they hire us.
Tell John about your organization, whether you have Ad Grants today, and what you want more of. He'll reply with a written plan.
Run a free Buddy audit on your grant account. It flags compliance risks before Google does.
Run the free audit Talk to John