Free tool
Do you qualify for the Google Ad Grant?
A few plain questions, about sixty seconds. See whether your organization may meet the initial Google Ad Grant requirements and what to review before applying. Google and its verification partner make the final decision.
Eligibility checker
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Charity status
Is your organization registered as a charitable organization under the eligibility requirements for its country or region?
In the United States, Google generally requires IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3). Other countries and regions have their own recognized charitable-registration requirements. Schools, government entities, and hospitals are excluded as institutions.
Guidance only, not an official Google determination. Your answers stay in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
The program
What the Ad Grant actually is.
It funds Google Search text ads only, so it is good at one specific thing: catching people who are already searching for something you do. It does not fund YouTube, display, or social.
- What you get
- Up to $10,000 per month in in-kind Google Search advertising. Google describes this as a limit, not a guarantee of spend, so actual delivery varies.
- How long
- Approved organizations can continue participating while they remain eligible and keep the account compliant with the program's requirements.
- What it costs
- Google does not charge an approved organization for eligible Ad Grant traffic. Staff time or outside management is a separate cost.
The rule that trips teams up
A school can't hold the Grant. A separate foundation may qualify.
Schools, universities, government entities, and hospitals are excluded from the Ad Grant as institutions. That line stops a lot of athletic departments from applying without looking further.
A separately incorporated and separately recognized charitable foundation is evaluated independently of the institution it supports, so a connection to a school does not automatically disqualify a genuinely separate foundation. Separate recognized charitable status does not automatically guarantee acceptance either: Goodstack and Google make the verification and activation decisions.
Want the long version? Read the full eligibility rules, or the step-by-step application guide.
Approval is only the beginning.
Managing the available Search advertising, maintaining compliance, and connecting relevant traffic with useful donation and registration pages is the work. That is what Rally & Cause does, exclusively for sports nonprofits.