Completing the Google Grants application process is painless, but requires some careful consideration prior to submitting. Today, I’ve put together a guide for nonprofits in submitting the best application possible.

At the start, make sure you are a legitimate nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status. There is no option for other forms of organizations to submit an application or be considered. Also, be sure to apply for and obtain an Employer Identification Number and have it ready for the Google Grants application.

Beyond the basic contact information of your organization, the Google Grants application asks only a handful of questions. Fewer questions means fewer opportunities for your nonprofit to highlight your organization’s unique selling proposition and other aspects of how your organization excels at what it does to ultimately make your application stick out amongst the applicants.

1. The first key question in the application asks for your “Organization Mission Statement/Primary Objective.” Do not simply cut-and-paste your mission statement from your marketing materials or constitution/by-laws, at least not until you have dissected it for the application. Below Google’s request for the mission statement and primary objective is a request for your response to include four things:

1. The Nature of Your Organization
2. The Activities of Your Organization
3. The Clientele of Your Organization
4. The Location of the Services Provided by Your Organization

To describe the nature of your organization, consider opening with a line about its age, core focus, and reach of the organization.

COMPARE:
“[Organization Name] believes in the power of arts and music in schools to enrich the lives of students…”
AND
“Since 1987, [Organization Name] has provided grants to visual artists nationwide.”

In the first example, the nature of your organization would be to “believe” that arts and music enrich student’s lives.
In the second example, the nature of your organization is to “provide grants to visual artists.”

In the first example, there is no mention of the activities of your organization.
In the second example, one immediate activity of your organization is to “provide grants.”

In the first example, there is a possible assumption that students are your clientele.
In the second example, one immediate clientele includes “visual artists.”

In the first example, there is no mention of the location of your services.
In the second example, there is a possible assumption that your services are provided nationwide.

With most of your bases minimally covered in the first sentence, you can spend the rest of your characters on discussing the activities that make you unique, and then the clientele you will strive to reach through the keywords and ad copy.

2. The second key question asks you to explain how you expect Google Grants will contribute to your organization. Resist the urge to state the obvious “increased traffic to our site” response. The key to this question is explaining HOW that increased traffic will contribute to your bottom line.

To describe how you expect the increased traffic will contribute to your organization, consider opening with a line about a broad goal that expands your organization, before addressing more specific examples. Generally, avoid obvious results such as “increased donations” and “more e-newsletter subscribers” without further explanation.

COMPARE:
“We expect to see an increase in traffic to our homepage which will raise awareness of our organization and ultimately drive donations.”
AND
“We expect to expand our grants program to include visual artists in the following mediums: [blank],[blank], and [blank].”

In the first example, there is no mention of how the increased traffic will raise awareness, or how it will drive donations.
In the second example, the Grants program will help the organization by driving an increase in traffic that will (convert and) allow the organization to expand into new areas while maintaining focus on the mission.

3. The third key question asks who your target audience is for the online advertising. Remember, your offline target audience can be different from the audience you would like to reach online. Be honest about how Google Grants might expand your audience, and/or who you’d most like to reach online. Do not be too demographically specific.

To describe your target audience online, consider a sentence that explains how Google Grants will be of assistance. Beware of your character limits.

COMPARE:
“Our target audience is part-time, suburban middle-aged artists who have the flexibility to teach classes during the day.”
AND
“We strive to reach corporate human resources executives in charge of volunteer days while still expanding our network of visual artists.”

In the first example, the target audience is too specific. Google Grants cannot currently show ads to full-time versus part-time artists nor middle-aged people versus elderly people.
In the second example, the target audience may still be too specific, but is an ultimate goal and it is not unfathomable to write ad copy and use keywords geared towards corporate volunteerism. Also, you are saying that your target audience continues to be visual artists.

4. The fourth key question asks for a sample ad you might use in Google Grants. Competitive research is essential here. Brainstorm keywords that will reach your target audience and do searches on those terms. Review any ad copy of organizations where potential fundraising dollars overlap. Write a strong call to action and encourage searchers to click on your ad.

Because writing good ad copy comes mostly with experience, a good search marketer can be of crucial assistance here and in the next question.

5. The fifth key question asks you to provide a list of keywords that you feel are relevant to your organization. Competitive research is essential, as is knowledge of keyword generating tools. Be specific with keywords because Google Grants will only allow for keyword bids at or below $1.00. If you choose keywords that could cost $5.00 or more, the keywords will not be active.

Good search marketers generally have a wealth of knowledge in a variety of areas. They may already be familiar with keywords in your niche without working for your competitors.

Remember to be honest and take your time completing the application. Also, be patient after submitting because Google admits that it may take months before you hear a response. I hope that this guide will help you write a better application!

Filed under: Education and Training, Non-Profits, PPC on Friday, October 5th, 2007 by Jacob Wolfsheimer |
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