What is Google Ad Grants?

Google Ad Grants is the nonprofit version of Google Ads (previously AdWords), which is Google’s online advertising platform. It is not a cash grant. Google Ad Grants provides eligible nonprofit organizations $10,000 per month of in-kind advertising, so that nonprofits may promote their causes on Google search result pages.  Read more: Google Ad Grants.

Is Google Ad Grants More Challenging to Use Than Google Ads?

Google Ad Grants is a scaled-down version of Google Ads. On the one hand, that means there’s less to master. On the other hand, some of what is not included in Google Ad Grants is important, which makes it more challenging to get results. Hence, a more experienced understanding of Google Ads will generate more successful results with Google Ad Grants. Read More: Google Ad Grants “Catch”.

Why Does it Seem our Google Ad Grants is Not Working?

Google Ad Grants is an advertising platform. There is an art and science to advertising. Most importantly, marketing stories that work hand-in-glove with Google Ad Grants are critical to its success.  There is also technical knowledge required to best utilize Google Ad Grants. There are many reasons why it may not be working for you, which are the same reasons you should consider Professional Google Ad Grants Management from Nonprofit Fire. When used correctly, Google Ad Grants can be the most powerful tool your nonprofit has to forward your cause. (By the way, you are not alone.  The reality is that most nonprofits who use Google Ad Grants without professional management are only using a fraction of its potential).  Read more: Art & Science of Google Ad Grants.

What is Professional Google Ad Grants Management?

Google Ad Grants is worth $120,000.00 per year in advertising grants to each qualified nonprofit. That’s one heck of a free gift! Having Google Ad Grants is like having a gold mine that renews itself month after month and year after year. However, you still need to know how to dig the gold out of the ground to access that value. Or, you can hire a professional service to do that for you. Hiring a professional Google Ad Grants Management Service (available from Nonprofit Fire and others), is the best way to take advantage of Google Ad Grants.

Why are We Not Benefiting from our Google Ad Grants even though we have a Knowledgeable Person Managing It?

Like advertising in general, effectively using Google Ad Grants is an art and science. You may have someone who knows how to execute some, or many, of the technical details. However, it’s the “art” of advertising (in combination with the science) and especially the unique story development required to work hand-in-glove with Google Ad Grants that will determine its ultimate impact. And that is only gained from years of real-world experience.

Why Choose Nonprofit Fire for Professional Google Ad Grants Management?

1. NO LONG-TERM COMMITMENT: There are other Google Ad Grants Management Services. Some are very good. Some are not. Most are in between. Many require a long-term commitment. We are so confident of our capabilities at Nonprofit Fire, that our contract is month-to-month with no long-term commitment. Pro tip: Don’t lock yourself into a long-term contract with any Google Ad Grants Management Service. Minimally, you should wait at least until you are fully satisfied with the results before making a longer-term commitment.
2. EXPERIENCE: The signal difference at Nonprofit Fire is experience. Not only does the founder, George Alger, have over 20 years experience helping nonprofits in various capacities (volunteer, fundraiser, board member and TV host), he has over 2 decades of experience in the marketing and advertising profession. One career highlight was helping to build a health business from nothing to over 100 million dollars in three years through online marketing, direct mail and especially TV. In brief, Google Ad Grants is advertising media. Most Google Ad Grants Management Services focus on the technical requisites.  Although that’s vital, it’s less than 1/2 of what’s required to truly gain the most value from Google Ad Grants.  The biggest benefit that can be derived from Google Ad Grants has nothing to do with technically managing the service: it has to do with the “story,” which includes “what” will be advertised.  Nonprofit Fire story development, all by itself, can have a profound and far-reaching impact on your nonprofit’s future.
3. PRICING: Nonprofit Fire is a subsidiary of Skyworks Marketing, an advertising agency for commercial entities.  Pricing for Nonprofit Fire services are significantly reduced for nonprofits.  This supports our purpose of helping nonprofits get their messages out far and wide. You simply cannot obtain more marketing, advertising and media experience for your nonprofit — as well as value — anywhere else.
4. 90-DAY JUMPSTART GUARANTEE: For existing Google Ad Grants recipients, we guarantee that we’ll improve your Google Ad Grants performance in 90 days, or we’ll give you the next 90 days free. For brand-new Google Ad Grants recipients, we guarantee that within 90 days we’ll generate more online community members than any other activity you are currently using, or the next 90 days are free.

What is the Perpetual Fundraising Engine?

The Perpetual Fundraising Engine is an online community-building system that is built around your unique nonprofit story. This system features continuous national (or global) marketing, advertising and publicity campaigns for purposes of large-scale, online, community development and fundraising. It is from this ever-expanding, online community that revenue is generated for your cause through a variety of means, including crowdfunding. For more information, visit the Perpetual Fundraising Engine.

Does the Perpetual Fundraising Engine Work for All Sizes of Nonprofits?

It’s not the size of the nonprofit that matters: It’s the size of the story. Due to the large-scale advertising that is fundamental to the Perpetual Fundraising Engine, the determining factor is the “story” and messaging that is being advertised to build a community for a nonprofit cause. As long as we can conceive a marketing story that will engage a national or global audience for the purpose of community building and fundraising, then the Perpetual Fundraising Engine can work for even the smallest nonprofits. It’s worth repeating: It’s not the size of the nonprofit that determines which nonprofits will qualify for the Perpetual Fundraising Engine; it’s the size of the story. Read more: Perpetual Fundraising Engine for Nonprofits.

Why is there so Much Emphasis on the Nonprofit’s “Story”?

We all understand the concept of “story.” But for effective community building and fundraising, we mean a unique and compelling “marketing story”: one that will work hand-in-glove with Google Ad Grants to help rally a massive community of online supporters for your cause. Often this story focuses on only one small aspect of what your nonprofit contributes to the world, even though you may be doing many different things. The story is a critical factor to the success of the fundraising campaigns, since even a massive amount of advertising will only deliver a fraction of the results if the story does not engage and inspire others to connect up with your nonprofit mission. An important component of the story is a free giveaway to build community members. Developing this story in conjunction with heavy data analysis, to refine and optimize the messaging, is only one of the services that Nonprofit Fire provides to our Perpetual Fundraising Engine partners. Additionally, story development is not usually a one-time project. Stories may be revised and/or new stories may evolve, based upon the real world results from online data analysis from community member engagement.  for more info, visit the Google Ad Grants Story Triangle.

What is the Meaning of “Community Nurturing?”

The Perpetual Fundraising Engine is a marketing, advertising and publicity system that builds and nurtures a large, online community for the purpose of fundraising for your cause. Building and engaging the community is a never-ending process. In fact, that’s where the majority of labor is focused. The community is nurtured and engaged by delivering ongoing content that pertains to your nonprofit story. This would be educational and/or entertaining information in the form of videos, educational courses, documentaries, articles, infographics, contests, promotions, etc., as well as events and activities.

As an analogy, consider National Public Radio (NPR), which is a nonprofit with hundreds of affiliated radio stations across the United States. They offer radio programming and periodically ask listeners for donations. An important distinction between NPR and the Perpetual Fundraising Engine is that instead of providing programming for a general audience, you would be providing an ongoing content stream regarding a specific topic: Your unique nonprofit story.

Of course another distinction between NPR and the Perpetual Fundraising Engine is that you are not delivering the content via radio stations; you are delivering it via email and social media. Consequently, individuals may share the content with their friends and family. Hence, the individual members of this online community are nurtured and “actively engaged” by continuing to view, listen to, read and/or otherwise interact with the content stream that we regularly provide.

What is the Limit to the Amount of Fundraising?

Through continuous marketing, advertising and fundraising campaigns, the Perpetual Fundraising Engine is designed to generate increased funding for your nonprofit with each new year as the community continues to expand. The upper limit of fundraising is determined by how large the community can become. How large the community can become is determined by how many people can be reached and engaged by marketing and advertising your nonprofit story. Hence, national campaigns produce larger communities and fundraising than local campaigns. And global campaigns can produce larger communities and fundraising than national campaigns. At a minimum, be sure to conceive and execute national marketing and advertising campaigns with the Perpetual Fundraising Engine. Read more: Perpetual Fundraising Engine.

What is the “Hybrid Fundraising”

“Hybrid Fundraising” is a broad term meant to embrace different ways funds may be raised for your nonprofit through community building. Although crowdfunding may be used for many nonprofits, there also exists the potential for raising money for certain nonprofits through specific services, special products and/or unique projects that pertain to a nonprofit’s mission and story.

What is Ad Testing? (Or “Split Testing”)

Ad testing is essential to the success of the Perpetual Fundraising Engine (as well as the success of Google Ad Grants, in general).

So what is it? In the marketing and advertising world, it’s called “split testing” or “A/B Testing.” In a nutshell, it’s an ongoing comparative process of determining which ads, which giveaways, which fundraising messages, web pages, social media messages, videos, photos, radio and TV messages, print ads, etc., are the most effective at community building and fundraising.

For example, let’s say we have two different ads: “A” and “B.” And let’s say they are both offering the same free giveaway related to your unique, nonprofit story. However, they have different wording. When we run both ads simultaneously, we’ll find that one ad performs better than the other, which we call the “control” ad. Then we seek to establish an even more effective ad that will out-perform that “control” ad and become the new control ad. In reality, we are comparing and testing many ads, offers, web pages, etc.

This is a continuous process of optimizing messaging and graphics for your nonprofit story and in the course of a year, we may be comparing and testing hundreds of ads and elements of this entire community building and fundraising system to generate the largest community and greatest fundraising for your nonprofit.

What is Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is a type of fundraising that raises small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. One of the primary components of successful fundraising is having a large community. The purpose of the Perpetual Fundraising Engine is to build and nurture a massive online community around your nonprofit’s “story.”

Does the Perpetual Fundraising Engine use Kickstarter for Crowdfunding?

Kickstarter is the most popular crowdfunding platform. But there are hundreds of others. Kickstarter is “not” the best crowdfunding platform for many nonprofit applications. However, there are instances when Kickstarter is a good choice for specific nonprofit campaigns. The Perpetual Fundraising Engine does not specialize in using only one crowdfunding platform. The most appropriate crowdfunding platform is selected for the needs of each particular fundraising campaign.

I Heard that Kickstarter Doesn’t Like Nonprofits?

Here is what it says on the Kickstarter website: “While nonprofit and charitable organizations are welcome to use Kickstarter, please note that Kickstarter cannot be used for direct charity or cause funding. All projects must create something to share with others.” Hence, only specific fundraising applications, such as “creative projects” involving nonprofits would be pertinent.

Why Use Paid Advertising in Addition to Google Ad Grants?

Google Ad Grants is a godsend for nonprofits, because it is free. But there are limitations. Paid advertising supersedes those limitations. Although paid advertising is entirely optional, for the purposes of community building and fundraising for nonprofits with the Perpetual Fundraising Engine, paid advertising is substantially more powerful than Google Ad Grants. Of course, since the funding for paid ads comes from the fundraising itself, the cost is not coming out of the nonprofit’s bank account.  Read More: Google Ad Grants “Catch”.

Who Owns the Community Database?

Even when Nonprofit Fire is implementing the Perpetual Fundraising Engine on behalf of your nonprofit, your nonprofit owns the third party database. Since the purpose of the Perpetual Fundraising Engine is to build a huge community and then seek funding for your nonprofit cause, the online community database becomes a valuable asset.

How is the “Paid Advertising” Funded?

Paid advertising is a vital component of the Perpetual Fundraising Engine. This one part, all by itself, will result in the most effective community building and therefore the greatest fundraising opportunities. The paid advertising is funded from a percentage of fundraising. That means paid advertising won’t start until after the earliest fundraising begins.

How are the “Video and TV” Productions Funded?

If Nonprofit Fire is building and maintaining the Perpetual Fundraising Engine on behalf of your nonprofit, video and TV productions as well as other services can be financed from a percentage of ongoing fundraising. And since this fundraising system is designed to generate increased revenue with each new year, more funding for paid advertising becomes available to further accelerate more community building and fundraising. The Video and TV services are produced by the award-winning video/TV production facilities and crew behind the weekly cable TV and online series, Our Ventura TV. As a side note, we don’t usually need to send our camera crew to your location. We can hire local videographers in your area for video productions that we conceive, script, edit, publish and broadcast on this end. See More: TV Production Examples.

What is the “Overhead Myth”?

Nonprofit Fire is an advocate for the Overhead Myth: the false conception that financial ratios are the sole indicator of nonprofit performance. This is a cause initiated by GuideStar, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and Charity Navigator, who wrote open letters to the donors of America, as well as the nonprofits themselves, in a campaign to end the Overhead Myth. Read more: The Overhead Myth.