Case study · Non-profit · Google Ad Grant
Turning a dormant $10,000/month grant into real reach.
A Cape Town youth-development non-profit qualifies for the Google Ad Grant: up to $10,000 per month in free search advertising. The grant is generous, but it is also strict, and most non-profits never make it work.
The challenge
The Google Ad Grant comes with rules: a minimum 5% click-through rate, specific keyword and structure requirements, and an account that goes dormant if it is not actively maintained. An unmanaged grant account does not just underperform, it gets suspended. For an organisation with no paid-media budget, that free reach is the only reach there is.
The approach
The account is run as a managed, compliant Ad Grant account: keyword and ad structure built to clear the grant\u2019s requirements, click-through rate kept well above the 5% compliance floor, and ongoing maintenance so the account stays active and eligible rather than lapsing.
We are deliberately honest about what this channel does for a non-profit. It is a powerful awareness and traffic engine, not a like-for-like substitute for paid commercial search. The goal is sustained, compliant, relevant reach that the organisation could not otherwise afford.
The results
Click-through rate sits more than three times above the grant\u2019s compliance threshold, which keeps the $10,000/month facility active and the organisation visible. The honest framing matters: this is sustained free awareness and traffic for a charity that has no alternative paid budget, not a conversion miracle.
The takeaway
The Google Ad Grant is not free money that runs itself. It is a strict programme that lapses without active, competent management. Kept compliant, it gives a non-profit a level of search visibility it could never buy. That stewardship is the work.
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All figures are from live Google Ads accounts. Client identity withheld by request. Results reflect specific market conditions and business context; individual outcomes vary.