Posted by AnnMarie, The Google Grants Team

I get questions from time to time about what makes for a powerful Google Grants application. We look for applicants who meet our eligibility guidelines, have the resources to actively manage an AdWords account, and have a basic strategy about promoting their cause through AdWords.

In reviewing applications, we always examine your organization's website to learn more about your cause. So use the application to highlight the initiatives you'd want to promote on Google, or the efforts you'd like our team to be aware of.

Also keep in mind that it typically takes 3 months for your 501(c)(3) status to be reflected in the online database. So please wait at least 3 months after receiving the letter from the IRS before submitting your Grants application.

Here are some guidelines for specific sections of the application:

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Posted by AnnMarie, The Google Grants Team

I get questions from time to time about what makes for a powerful Google Grants application. We look for applicants who meet our eligibility guidelines, have the resources to actively manage an AdWords account, and have a basic strategy about promoting their cause through AdWords.

In reviewing applications, we always examine your organization's website to learn more about your cause. So use the application to highlight the initiatives you'd want to promote on Google, or the efforts you'd like our team to be aware of.

Also keep in mind that it typically takes 3 months for your 501(c)(3) status to be reflected in the online database. So please wait at least 3 months after receiving the letter from the IRS before submitting your Grants application.

Here are some guidelines for specific sections of the application:

URL of website: Enter the website you'd like to advertise in your AdWords account. This website may differ from the domain of your organization, depending on the program or initiative you wish to promote. The website should also match the one in the sample ad text later in the application.

Organization Mission Statement / Primary Objective: What is the story you'd like to share with the world? What distinguishes you from other non-profits in your field? Since ad text is limited to 3 lines, what language would attract users to your website? This information will also help you brainstorm about creating your ad.

Explain how you expect Google AdWords advertising will contribute to your organization: Discuss your mission and goals in terms of online advertising. Which initiatives or programs would you advertise online? Other than an increase in donations and website traffic, what would you like to gain from this award? What action would you like users to take when they reach your website? For example, do you offer volunteer or newsletter sign-ups? Do you sponsor or run events to benefit your organization? Tell us what you wish to accomplish from a click on your ad!

Who is your target audience for online advertising?: If possible, include the location of your target audience. You can target users both around the world and in a specific geographic region. If your non-profit operates locally, tell us where, and perhaps the surrounding areas that may benefit from your mission and services.

Once you submit your application, you'll receive a confirmation e-mail from our team. It usually takes 3 to 4 months for us to review and process applications.

I hope these tips have been helpful. If you want more details, you can always visit our Google Grants Help Group.

Our Ann Arbor office recently launched a pilot program designed to teach high school and university students how to use AdWords, helping them gain valuable skills in online marketing. As part of this effort, our team paired student groups with new Google Grants participants in the area to build their Google Grants accounts together. The students managed the accounts for several months and built their knowledge of AdWords. As the term came to a close, the students then taught the grant recipients how AdWords works and handed the accounts over to them to manage on their own. Some students were offered internships at the organizations to keep working with them and developing expertise.Read More

Our Ann Arbor office recently launched a pilot program designed to teach high school and university students how to use AdWords, helping them gain valuable skills in online marketing. As part of this effort, our team paired student groups with new Google Grants participants in the area to build their Google Grants accounts together. The students managed the accounts for several months and built their knowledge of AdWords. As the term came to a close, the students then taught the grant recipients how AdWords works and handed the accounts over to them to manage on their own. Some students were offered internships at the organizations to keep working with them and developing expertise.

The pilot classes were great successes for both the students and the non-profits organizations, and gave us the unique chance to help all of them better understand AdWords. One of the courses, held at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), has shared the results of their work on a website looking at innovative initiatives in Michigan. Overall, the EMU students' accounts accrued over 85,000 clicks at a click-through rate of 2.2%, with the participating organizations seeing increases in sales, event attendance, and so on. You can read all about EMU's experience here and watch short videos with students discussing their experiences in the course.

With such positive results from our initial pilot program, we may expand it to other schools and regions. We'll keep you posted on any future plans.

Posted by Kristie, Google Grants Team

I wanted to share with you what I do for Google Grants behind the scenes, so welcome to my life as a Google Grants optimization volunteer. When I'm not helping advertisers build and refine their accounts, traveling to visit clients or doing other work-related things, I take every free moment to help grant recipients like you make the most of your accounts.Read More

I wanted to share with you what I do for Google Grants behind the scenes, so welcome to my life as a Google Grants optimization volunteer. When I'm not helping advertisers build and refine their accounts, traveling to visit clients or doing other work-related things, I take every free moment to help grant recipients like you make the most of your accounts.

As an Optimization Specialist in AdWords, I gained skills to quickly and efficiently build accounts for our advertisers. And as a Grants volunteer for almost three years, I've applied my skills as an optimizer to help build Grants accounts and help our grant recipients start on the right foot. Part of the fun of optimizing Grants accounts--from cancer foundations to museums--is seeing their websites. It really is amazing that almost any cause out there has such a support network, and I'm inspired by all of your dedication to helping others.

Recently, my volunteering has gone into overdrive: I've been ordering our annual Googler volunteer-appreciation gifts and organizing, editing and distributing our internal volunteer newsletter. In the process, I've contacted some of you to ask permission to use your testimonials and photos. Every grant recipient I've spoken with has so appreciated the Google Grants program and described the benefits it's brought them. Interacting with some of you has made my volunteer work come full-circle.

Thank you all for doing what you do. Each one of you is trying to make the world better, and knowing that makes volunteering worth making time for.

Posted by Yvonne, AdWords Team

I recently had the pleasure of attending a valuable non-profit session in Detroit, presented by the NEW Center and CASA of Washtenaw County. This seminar, led by members of these two non-profits, offered demos of various Google products offered to non-profit groups free of charge. Most important, staff from CASA of Washtenaw County shared their first-hand experiences using Google products, especially Google Grants and Google Apps, to reignite their organization's online efforts.

CASA Read More

I recently had the pleasure of attending a valuable non-profit session in Detroit, presented by the NEW Center and CASA of Washtenaw County. This seminar, led by members of these two non-profits, offered demos of various Google products offered to non-profit groups free of charge. Most important, staff from CASA of Washtenaw County shared their first-hand experiences using Google products, especially Google Grants and Google Apps, to reignite their organization's online efforts.

CASA of Washtenaw County has revamped their website, e-mail, proposal and document management system, online event management and other functions in less than three months using Google tools. By switching to Google Apps' shared documents, calendars and other collaborative features, Board President Marianne Clauw said they "swiftly implemented a sophisticated external and internal communications environment." CASA also had a great experience using Google Sites to rebuild their outdated website. Staff and volunteers at CASA found it to be a great tool with easy-to-use features, such as single-click page creation and templates to get started with. To hear CASA's story using free Google products first-hand, check out their video:

You can find out more about these free products geared for non-profit organizations at Google for Non-Profits. If your organization is using multiple Google products and wants to tell your story, feel free to share it here. And you can always contact our team to share any Google Grants-specific successes. We love to hear how non-profits are using our tools, and who knows: maybe your organization will be featured next on our blog.

Posted by Kristie, Google Grants Team

One of the great things about working at Google is the opportunity to contribute to the company's support of the non-profit community. As a member of the Google Checkout team, I've been able to make a contribution by helping launch ...Read More

One of the great things about working at Google is the opportunity to contribute to the company's support of the non-profit community. As a member of the Google Checkout team, I've been able to make a contribution by helping launch Google Checkout for Non-profits, which enables non-profits to collect online credit card donations free of charge (and free of hassle) using Checkout. Google Checkout for Non-Profits improves the speed and convenience of donating online by enabling users to donate with a single login across the web.


An important part of Google Checkout is matching up users with convenient, secure places to shop when they search. In this vein, we've added the Checkout badge to non-profits' AdWords ads to help connect donors and non-profits more easily, and ultimately make donating to them as fast, simple, and secure as possible. And, of course, Google has committed to processing Checkout donations for free until 2009 so donors can support their favorite non-profits knowing that 100 percent of their donations will reach those organizations.

If you'd like to get your non-profit involved in this program, there are just a few quick steps to get up and running and collecting donations online:

1. Sign up for Google Checkout
   Sign up for a Google Checkout merchant account. You will be asked for basic information about your organization including name, website, contact information and EIN. Make sure the EIN matches your Non-Profit Tax ID number.
   
   
2. Identify yourself as an IRS Certified 501(c)3
   Go to the settings tab in your account and identify your primary product type as "Non-Profit (IRS certified 501c3)".
   
   
3. Collect Donations
   Once you've completed the previous step, you'll notice an option for "Donation Buttons" appear in the left column under the Tools tab. Copy and paste the donation buttons on your website and start processing donations with Google Checkout.

If you'd like to learn more about how Google Checkout for Non-Profits might be able to help your non-profit organization, head over to http://checkout.google.com/seller/npo/. You can also view a short video of the process and benefits of Google Checkout for Non-profits below.

Posted by Prem, Product Manager

Posted by Rosalyn, The Google Grants Team

Google employees, also known as Googlers, have always been the backbone of support for the Google Grants program. As we mentioned in our ...Read More

Posted by Rosalyn, The Google Grants Team

Google employees, also known as Googlers, have always been the backbone of support for the Google Grants program. As we mentioned in our 5th birthday post, our earliest program applicants were Googler referrals and the first Google Grants accounts were set up by Googler volunteers. Although the program has since grown and evolved, the strength of the Google Grants program continues to lie heavily upon our volunteer base of hundreds of active Googlers.

These dedicated volunteers contribute time above and beyond their busy jobs to help support the program in a variety of ways. Volunteers screen applications, create and build accounts for new grantees, and coordinate special projects. Without their generous commitment and energy, we certainly would not be able to support as many non-profit organizations as we do today.

From time to time, we'll feature blog posts from our volunteers. We've asked our guest bloggers to share their volunteer stories, as well as share helpful tips and tricks with you to ensure a successful Google AdWords campaign. Our very first post is from Anna, an AdWords optimization account manager and long-time Google Grants volunteer. Enjoy!


Tips from a Google Grants volunteer optimizer
By Anna, AdWords Account Manager and Google Grants volunteer

I've been a Google Grants volunteer for about 4 years. I love working with Google Grants accounts and seeing the great results AdWords brings to the organizations. Some of the most rewarding optimizations I've completed were for organizations helping the victims of natural disasters, such as the Iowa floods and the Myanmar (Burma) cyclone. It was amazing to see how many volunteers and donation dollars AdWords campaigns brought in for the organizations helping these disasters.

During my time optimizing Google Grants accounts, I've relied on a few best practices. The most important thing to keep in mind when optimizing your AdWords campaign is to think like your potential user, customer, volunteer, donor, etc. For example, if you are a children’s hospital, you are probably looking for volunteers from the community, as well as donors. Your potential volunteers and donors are most likely searching on related queries such as ‘hospital volunteer’, ‘volunteer with children’ and ‘donate to hospital’. On the other hand, many potential volunteers and donors may not know exactly for what they want to volunteer or to what cause they wish to donate. You can capture this audience by including more general keywords such as ‘local volunteer opportunities’ and ‘donate to good cause’.

Identifying your organization's target audience and targeting your keywords to these audiences can help you capture and bring more awareness to your cause.

Posted by AnnMarie, The Google Grants Team

In our effort to boost our AdWords training materials, we introduce to you our new Google Grants Glossary!

Have you ever wondered what the Impressions column reflects in your account? Do you know the difference between Display URL and Destination URL? Are you familiar with abbreviations such as CPC and CTR?

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Posted by AnnMarie, The Google Grants Team

In our effort to boost our AdWords training materials, we introduce to you our new Google Grants Glossary!

Have you ever wondered what the Impressions column reflects in your account? Do you know the difference between Display URL and Destination URL? Are you familiar with abbreviations such as CPC and CTR?

Our glossary lists the most commonly used AdWords phrases and the terms you should be familiar with when managing your AdWords account. Since this glossary is customized for Grants recipients, you'll only see terms relevant to Grants accounts and definitions tailored to non-profit advertising.

If you have any suggestions for the glossary, please post to the Navigating AdWords section of our Google Grants Help Group.

Posted by Taylor, AdWords Team

The ‘My Account’ tab is the administrative center of your account. You won’t find any ads, keywords, or creative aspects here. This is where you can edit and update administrative aspects of your account, such as adding users to your account and changing account preferences. Since you're part of the Google Grants program and not being charged for your ads, your Billing Summary will show a $0.00 balance.

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Posted by Taylor, AdWords Team

The ‘My Account’ tab is the administrative center of your account. You won’t find any ads, keywords, or creative aspects here. This is where you can edit and update administrative aspects of your account, such as adding users to your account and changing account preferences. Since you're part of the Google Grants program and not being charged for your ads, your Billing Summary will show a $0.00 balance.

If you manage your AdWords account with others, you can each use your own email address and password to log in. Then:

• Click on the ‘Access’ link to get started adding other users
• Click on ‘Invite Others’
  
• On the next page, enter the email address you’d like to invite and indicate which level of access this person should have (There are three levels—Administrative, Standard, and Reports—and each is defined on this page. You can find more information about access levels in this article.)
  
• Click on ‘Generate Invitation URL(s)’ to create a link
• On the next pages, you can preview the invitation and send to the recipient
• If necessary, you can change access level in the ‘Access’ link
  

Account Preferences is another aspect of the ‘My Account’ tab. If you transfer the responsibility of managing your AdWords account to another person at your organization, we highly recommend updating the log-in information. This article explains how to edit the main log-in email address for your account. If you click on ‘Replace Login with Another Google Account,’ you’ll then be able to enter a new email address and password to access the account. If you receive a message that the username and password do not match, click on the link to ‘Create a Google account’ and follow the steps. (Many people don’t realize it, but all Grants accounts are a Google Account, which gives you access to Google AdWords and other Google services.)

The ‘My Account’ tab is also where you can edit your email notification preferences. Some notifications you can edit regard Disapproved Ads, Performance Suggestions, and Product Updates and Offers. In the second column of this section, you can edit the tagging of your ads. This is helpful if you use Google Analytics, because you’ll want to be sure to have enabled auto-tagging, noted by a ‘Yes.’

You may also benefit from reading our articles about Account Login and Administration in the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Kristie, The Google Grants Team

In reading through The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently, I came across an interesting article that I thought I would share. This article, by Elizabeth Schwinn, discussed results from a survey on direct mail, confirming that direct mail is still effective, especially for older donors, and will likely continue to be so for the next 10 years. This was good to hear, as I know that many of our grantees rely heavily on direct mail as a major outreach method.Read More

Posted by Kristie, The Google Grants Team

In reading through The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently, I came across an interesting article that I thought I would share. This article, by Elizabeth Schwinn, discussed results from a survey on direct mail, confirming that direct mail is still effective, especially for older donors, and will likely continue to be so for the next 10 years. This was good to hear, as I know that many of our grantees rely heavily on direct mail as a major outreach method.

However, the article also points out that the effectiveness of direct mail 20 years from now is debatable. Mark Mellman, a pollster in Washington, notes that the effectiveness of direct mail may decrease over time as younger, more internet-savvy individuals comprise donor bases. He says, "Younger generations, who have been brought up using the Internet, may be less inclined to switch to hand-delivered communications in retirement.... Younger donors are far more likely to respond to online solicitations than direct mail. For example, 22 percent of online donors are under age 40, while only 4 percent of direct-mail donors are that young."

Knowing that different audiences of potential donors may be more comfortable with different outreach methods, we strongly encourage you to use the two in conjunction, especially if direct mail has shown to be effective for your organization. The article points out that organizations not using both outreach approaches “are leaving money on the table," something that your organization definitely wants to avoid! Your group should continue focusing on what works for you now, but also know that your future donors are used to online interactions and may be more comfortable with this. Your outreach strategy may need to shift over time to reach these individuals, perhaps lessening a reliance on direct mail and increasing online efforts.

While most organizations reading this post already are engaged in online outreach (whether through Google Grants and/or other methods), we hope that this article will cause you to stop and re-think your current and future marketing strategies, considering the value of putting more resources into online efforts while still using other effective methods. There is no time like the present to start thinking about how to reach future donors online!