# What is Google Ad Grants? Free Advertising for UK Charities

> Google Ad Grants gives eligible UK charities up to £8,000 per month in free Google advertising. This guide explains how the programme works.

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PPC & Paid Media

# What is Google Ad Grants? Free Advertising for UK Charities

  Google Ad Grants gives eligible UK charities up to £8,000 per month in free Google advertising. This guide explains how the programme works.

  By Kaiser Khan · 14 June 2026 · 8 min read

 Last verified: 14 June 2026

  Google Ad GrantsGoogle Grants for charitiesnonprofit Google Adscharity free advertising

        Direct Answer

 Google Ad Grants is a programme that provides eligible nonprofit organisations with up to $10,000 (approximately £8,000) per month in Google Ads advertising credit for use on Google Search. Grants are available to registered charities in the UK (Charity Commission or Scottish OSCR registered), subject to Google's eligibility requirements. The credit can only be used for text search ads on Google Search — not Google Display Network, YouTube, or Shopping. Despite these restrictions, Google Ad Grants is one of the most valuable digital marketing resources available to eligible UK charities.

Google Ad Grants is significantly underutilised by the UK charity sector. Many eligible charities have never applied; many that have applied are not maximising their monthly grant allocation because of campaign management issues. The programme's rules — particularly the minimum 5% click-through rate requirement — cause many grants to be partially paused or cancelled for charities without proper campaign management.

## Google Ad Grants requirements and rules

- Eligibility: registered UK charity (not hospitals, government entities, or schools)
- $10,000/month credit for text ads on Google Search only — Display, YouTube, Shopping excluded
- Minimum 5% click-through rate — campaigns with CTR below 5% may be paused
- No single-word keywords allowed — must use multi-word phrases (exception: charity brand name)
- No keywords with Quality Score below 3
- Must link to relevant, quality landing pages — no excessive affiliate links or commercial focus
- Campaign must focus on charitable mission — not used for fundraising events of primarily commercial character
- Annual programme review submission required — charities must verify continued eligibility
 Google Ad Grants management for charities

 How do charities apply for Google Ad Grants?

 The application process: 1) Verify your charity is registered on TechSoup (techsoup.org.uk) or TechSoup's UK partner organisations. 2) Apply for Google for Nonprofits (nonprofits.google.com) with your TechSoup verification token. 3) Once approved for Google for Nonprofits, activate Google Ad Grants from your Google for Nonprofits account. 4) Set up a Google Ads account following the Grant's technical guidelines. The full process typically takes two to four weeks. Only one Google Ads account per organisation can receive Grant credit.

 What results can charities realistically expect from Google Ad Grants?

 Results vary significantly based on campaign management quality and charity type. Well-managed Grant campaigns generate: significant website traffic for cause-related queries, volunteer enquiry generation, donation form visits, and service user discovery. Charities with strong keywords, well-structured campaigns, and high-quality landing pages can utilise the full $10,000/month grant. Charities without active management often see their grant underutilised or their account paused for CTR violations. Professional Grant management typically pays for itself within the first month through traffic value generated.

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  Google Ad GrantsGoogle Grants for charitiesnonprofit Google Adscharity free advertising

     KK

  Kaiser Khan

  Founder & Director · Elite Digital Agency

Kaiser Khan is the founder of Elite Digital Agency (Elite Digital AI Solutions Ltd). He specialises in SEO, Answer Engine Optimisation, and AI search strategy for UK businesses and charities.  Author page  ·  mrkaiserkhan.com ↗

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