This ultimate volunteer appreciation guide shares wonderful ideas to help recognize volunteers.

Volunteer Appreciation: How to Recognize Unsung Heroes

Part of running your nonprofit is learning how to develop a thriving base of supporters. That means you need to learn how to source donors and volunteers. As a volunteer manager, you’re tasked with motivating volunteers to stick around. That means you need to know the ins and outs of volunteer appreciation.

While they don’t expect anything in return, volunteers deserve an occasional “thank you” at the very least. However, you’ll really foster connections with them by singing their praises and going above and beyond by recognizing volunteers on a deeper level.

From learning the basics of retention to sourcing new ideas, we’ll provide you with everything you need to establish (or revitalize) your volunteer appreciation strategies. That way, you can confidently inspire your volunteers to stick around. Here’s what you can expect to learn throughout this guide:

Your volunteers are your nonprofit’s unsung heroes. They serve your organization day in and day out, all because of their passion for your mission. Make sure they’re just as passionate on day 100 as they are on day 1 by following the tips we share in this guide. Let’s dive in!

Use eCardWidget to thank your volunteers with our favorite volunteer appreciation gift: eCards.
Here's a breakdown of what volunteer appreciation is.

What Is Volunteer Appreciation?

Volunteer appreciation refers to the act of recognizing and expressing gratitude for the generosity of those who freely offer their time, skills, and resources to support an organization. It involves acknowledging the selfless service and impact volunteers make, showing gratitude for their commitment, and ensuring they feel like a valued part of your cause.

Volunteer appreciation can take different forms, such as verbal expressions of gratitude, written thank-you notes, special events, and personalized gestures. By showing you value volunteers, your nonprofit can honor their contributions and cultivate a supportive volunteer culture that encourages ongoing relationships.

This section explains why you should recognize volunteers.

Why Volunteer Appreciation Matters

You work hard to source new volunteers and want them to stick around. That’s why you need to express your gratitude to them regularly and authentically.

These individuals selflessly dedicate their time and skills to support your cause, and it can be easy to take that for granted. Luckily, saying “thanks” can go a long way!

Expressing genuine gratitude means you can:

  • Acknowledge the invaluable role they play, strengthening their connection to your organization.
  • Foster a sense of belonging, motivation, and satisfaction among volunteers, leading to increased engagement and supporter retention.
  • Establish a supportive and inclusive environment, inspiring others to get involved and contribute their time and talents.
Common benefits of volunteer appreciation include strengthening connection and fostering a supportive, inclusive environment.

Overall, recognizing and valuing volunteers means you can inspire continued support and build a strong foundation for ongoing collaboration in achieving your mission.

The frequency of volunteer appreciation depends on a few factors.

How Frequently You Should Express Appreciation

The short answer is there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to volunteer appreciation. Rather, the frequency of volunteer appreciation varies across nonprofits. It all depends on your organization’s size, resources, and volunteer involvement.

Generally speaking, we recommend expressing appreciation regularly to ensure volunteers feel valued for their contributions. When establishing your volunteer appreciation cadence, here’s the frequency we recommend for different tactics:

  • Ongoing through verbal expressions of gratitude and thank-you notes after volunteer events
  • Monthly or quarterly via volunteer spotlights and public recognition to highlight standout volunteers
  • Annually alongside annual nonprofit events or milestones (like National Volunteer Week or your organization’s anniversary) to showcase supporters’ collective impact

Ultimately, the key is to make volunteer appreciation a continual practice rather than a one-time occurrence, reinforcing volunteers’ vital role in your nonprofit’s mission.

Here are several of our favorite volunteer appreciation gifts.

Our Favorite Volunteer Appreciation Gifts

With a solid understanding of volunteer appreciation, you’re now ready to venture into brainstorming ideas for expressing gratitude. We took some time to procure some of our favorite volunteer appreciation gifts and ideas that your supporters are sure to love!

Remember to pick the ones that will resonate with your unique base of supporters. You may even want to segment your supporters within your volunteer management system based on the types of appreciation they prefer. For example, do they prefer personal, one-on-one appreciation or a public shout-out? Either way, we’ll provide plenty of ideas that will fit anyone’s preferences.

Our favorite volunteer appreciation gifts are thank-you eCards.

Thank You eCards

This volunteer appreciation strategy stands the test of time. People have used greeting cards to express gratitude for years, whether they wanted to show appreciation for a gift or say thanks for lending a helping hand. Now, your nonprofit can take this strategy to the digital space thanks to eCards!

This is an example of a volunteer appreciation eCard from Youth For Understanding.

Online greeting cards have countless uses, especially for nonprofits. They’re perfect for raising money, inviting supporters to events, spreading cause awareness, and strengthening supporter relationships. Here’s how eCards work as volunteer appreciation gifts:

  1. Design a collection of thank-you eCards branded to your nonprofit.
  2. Embed your eCards into a page on your website.
  3. Your staff, beneficiaries, or other volunteers can choose their favorite designs, customize a message, and send them to standout volunteers.
  4. The eCard is delivered to the volunteer’s inbox.

To power this volunteer appreciation idea, choose a user-friendly eCard platform. We recommend our friends at eCardWidget.

The platform comes equipped with user-friendly design tools that make it easy to design thank-you eCards with any fonts, colors, and graphics you want. It even has templates to kickstart the design process. Once you’re ready to go, you can embed the convenient widget into your website and direct people to your site to send eCards to impactful volunteers!

Use eCardWidget to get started with our top volunteer appreciation gift: eCards.
Recognize volunteers with gift cards to local restaurants and other businesses.

Gift Cards

From shopping to eating, there’s a gift card out there for everyone. Chat with your corporate sponsors and ask if they’re willing to spare some free gift cards. Chances are, socially-responsible companies would be more than happy to lend a hand.

A few great places to check include:

  • Local restaurants
  • Nearby coffee shops
  • Grocery stores or other businesses
  • Wellness businesses like spas and yoga studios

Bonus points if you can find a company that correlates with your mission! For example, if you work at an environmental organization, you might partner with a local plant nursery.

The amount you load onto each card should align with how much time someone’s given to your nonprofit. In other words, don’t give a brand-new volunteer a $200 gift card to a fancy restaurant.

Throw a volunteer appreciation dinner for your supporters.

Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

Bring your volunteers together for some delicious food and meaningful conversations by hosting a volunteer appreciation dinner. Invite volunteers to enjoy a meal and socialize with organizational leaders, staff members, and fellow volunteers. Doing so offers the opportunity to recognize the volunteers’ hard work and impact on your mission, while also allowing them to interact with others who are just as passionate.

Add some speeches or a presentation to the agenda, providing plenty of time to acknowledge individuals, highlight their achievements, and communicate heartfelt appreciation.

By establishing a warm atmosphere during the evening, you’ll foster a sense of community and ensure volunteers feel celebrated for their selfless service.

Custom apparel branded to your nonprofit is a fun way to recognize volunteers.

Branded Apparel

Your nonprofit can offer t-shirts and other apparel as a creative way to thank your volunteers. Not to mention, this doubles as a nonprofit marketing strategy. Each time they wear your nonprofit’s t-shirt or use your tote bag, they’ll amplify your mission to other community members.

Here are a few volunteer-specific apparel ideas to get the ball rolling:

  • Branded Volunteer Apparel: Distribute t-shirts, hats, tote bags, or other apparel branded with your organization’s logo and colors alongside a special volunteer appreciation message. Volunteers can then wear their custom shirts proudly any chance they get.
  • Volunteer Uniforms: If your organization has an ongoing volunteer program, provide volunteers with designated branded apparel they can wear when lending a hand. Providing them with free volunteer t-shirts and hats will create a sense of belonging and foster team spirit!
  • Achievement Badges: Encourage volunteers to strive for greatness by offering special badges or patches that recognize their accomplishments. For example, offer badges for milestones like hours served or years of volunteering. They can attach their patches to apparel, so they can wear their badges with honor. Not to mention, the patches may even spark conversations, allowing volunteers to share their inspirational experiences.

Even if you have some leftovers from your recent t-shirt fundraiser, giving the spares to committed volunteers can go a long way.

Show your appreciation, boost morale, and offer a visual representation of your dedicated community with this volunteer appreciation gift! After all, who wouldn’t want to show off their passion for your cause?

Give personalized awards as volunteer appreciation gifts.

Custom Awards Ceremony

Craft awards that recognize exceptional volunteers in categories like leadership, impact, and commitment. Then, honor the winners and publicly acknowledge their admirable contributions by holding an awards ceremony. You can create custom awards like:

  • Rising Star Volunteer
  • Volunteer Team of The Year
  • Most Hours Served

Transform it into a celebratory event by featuring speeches, music, and other interactive elements. There’s no better way to engage and appreciate volunteers than by hosting a full-blown event in their honor!

Give away local event tickets as volunteer appreciation gifts.

Local Event Tickets

Connect volunteers with the community they work so hard to serve by giving them tickets to local events. Chances are, they’d love to stroll through a local festival or have a night out to the movies.

Take a look at your community’s event calendar and find events your volunteers will enjoy, such as:

  • Local concerts or music festivals
  • Sporting events
  • Performing arts shows
  • Arts exhibitions and museums
  • Community festivals or street fairs
  • Historical or cultural tours
  • Entertainment events like movie showings

This is a great opportunity to immerse volunteers in your community’s culture. Just remember to tailor this volunteer appreciation gift to the individual.

Self-care packages make for thoughtful volunteer appreciation gifts.

Wellness Packages

Show you care about your volunteers’ well-being by sending custom self-care packages. This volunteer appreciation gift can include various items that encourage relaxation and overall wellness.

Here are some theme ideas for crafting the ultimate wellness packages:

  • Bath and body products such as scented candles and bath bombs to create a soothing environment
  • Mindfulness resources like a journal and a meditation app subscription
  • Healthy snacks and herbal teas to boost nutrition
  • Fitness items like a yoga mat, foam roller, and water bottles to encourage healthy lifestyles

Pricing for these volunteer gifts can quickly add up, so be sure to send these only to your most committed volunteers. By sending a custom self-care package, your nonprofit can show it recognizes the importance of self-care.

Have a social outing to show volunteer appreciation.

Social Events

Encourage your social butterfly volunteers to hang out at a social event. There are plenty of ways you can bring your volunteer community together to say thanks, whether you want to party on a budget or splurge. You might host one of these fun events:

  • Potluck dinner or picnic: Host a casual dinner or a picnic at an outdoor venue where volunteers can enjoy a fun-filled time with their families and fellow volunteers.
  • Field day: Encourage some healthy competition by arranging a field day with all sorts of games. Volunteers can sign up in teams or opt to be paired up with other stragglers.
  • Movie night: Host a movie night where volunteers can relax, enjoy a film, and chat with one another. You might even choose a film related to your mission or let them vote on the movie beforehand.
  • Group hiking or nature walk: Organize a day out in nature at a local park or scenic area. Volunteers can come together to enjoy the outdoors and one another’s company.
  • Local attractions or cultural events: Arrange outings to local museums or cultural fairs where volunteers can enjoy shared experiences and explore their community together.

Social outings are perfect for helping volunteers enjoy the community and bond over their shared experiences. These events are also great for getting some face-to-face time with staff.

Recognize volunteers by shouting out your committed supporters on social media.

Social Media Spotlights

Social media plays an instrumental part in many people’s lives. Liven up your followers’ feeds by shining the spotlight on outstanding volunteers.

From Instagram to Facebook, your nonprofit can provide a volunteer appreciation gift that honorees can share with their networks.

  • Volunteer of the Week/Month: Create a dedicated post highlighting a standout volunteer each week or month. Conduct a short interview, so you can showcase their story, accomplishments, motivations, and impact they’ve made on your community and cause.
  • User-Generated Volunteer Testimonials: Ask volunteers to share their volunteer experiences. Encourage them to post on their personal social media accounts and tag your organization. Then, repost these testimonials on your organization’s social media pages to showcase the positive impact of volunteering.
  • Volunteer Achievements: Celebrate significant milestones your volunteers reach. You might call out individuals who achieve a certain number of volunteer hours or help push a major initiative forward.

When featuring your volunteers on social media, obtain their consent first. Some volunteers might prefer a different volunteer appreciation gift, so respect their privacy preferences!

As a volunteer appreciation gift, make tribute donations.

Donation in Their Name

Your volunteers offer their time and skills to further your mission. That doesn’t mean they don’t want to donate too!

Donate in a volunteer’s name as a way to express gratitude and recognize their hard work. By making this gesture, you can deepen the volunteer’s connection to your organization and establish a sense of pride in knowing their work is making a difference.

Not to mention, donating in a volunteer’s name can serve as a form of public volunteer recognition, showcasing their commitment to your cause. Whether you donate to your cause or another one they support, this will go a long way in communicating that you appreciate the volunteer’s dedication.

Bonus tip: Volunteer grants are an easy way to further a volunteer’s impact. Through this type of program, their employer will donate to a nonprofit where they regularly volunteer.

This section explores a handful of ways you can take volunteer appreciation to the next level.

Best Practices for Effectively Recognizing Volunteers

Now, you’re armed with some incredible volunteer appreciation gifts your supporters will love. Not so fast, though! You need to know how to choose the best ones for your unique group of supporters.

When selecting your favorites, create the ultimate plan to recognize volunteers with these tips:

Recognize volunteers effectively by personalizing gifts, matching preferences, being creative, infusing your brand, and being prompt.
  • Personalize your gifts when you can. Reference their exact contributions when you can. That’s what makes nonprofit eCards and volunteer awards so great. For example, you can incorporate a volunteer’s name and a custom message into your personalized eCards. Or, you can choose a unique award for each volunteer.
  • Match volunteers’ preferences. Not everyone loves public recognition. Chat with volunteers to see which volunteer appreciation gifts they’d enjoy.
  • Be creative. Give gifts that people will remember, and infuse your nonprofit’s voice when possible. Something as simple as personalizing an eCard can elevate a traditional thank-you email.
  • Promptly thank volunteers. Time is of the essence! Recognize volunteers as soon as possible. While digital gifts can be sent instantly, physical gifts and experiences will take longer than others to deliver.
  • Incorporate your nonprofit’s branding. Your volunteers love your cause, so make sure any gift you send relates to your cause. Infusing your nonprofit branding can be as simple as using your logo, colors, and fonts on a t-shirt or eCard.

Implementing these tips will empower you to communicate your genuine appreciation. You’ll boost volunteer engagement and retention in no time!

Check out some additional resources that'll help with your volunteer appreciation strategies.

Wrapping Up: The Impact of Volunteer Appreciation

An incredible 63 million Americans (AKA 25% of the adult population) volunteer their time and talents to make a difference according to Nonprofits Source’s online giving statistics page. However, the industry volunteer retention rate hovers around 65%. That means 1 in 3 volunteers will quit serving your nonprofit sooner than expected.

Make sure your volunteers’ selfless efforts don’t go unrecognized! Otherwise, you risk losing them to another cause. While their acts of service are selfless, everyone loves an occasional thank you. By proactively recognizing your volunteers, you’ll communicate that you want them to stick around.

If you’re looking for more best practices, we’ve pulled together some resources for you. Explore these to continue learning about effective volunteer management:

Create eCards with eCardWidget to start leveraging our favorite volunteer appreciation gift idea.
A person stands at a desk looking at a computer. Text: "Boosting Virtual Member Engagement: The Definitive Guide"

Boosting Virtual Member Engagement: The Definitive Guide

Member engagement is a driving force in growing your association. Fonteva’s guide to member engagement defines this term as “the ongoing outreach and interactions between associations and their members to keep constituents informed, educated, and motivated to continue their memberships.” With an engaged membership base, your organization will see increased retention, a stronger community, and even increased non-dues revenue.

When planning for your association’s future, it’s crucial to consider how you will keep current members engaged while attracting new ones. Improving member engagement will require you to explore your association’s strengths and weaknesses as well as your members’ needs and preferences. To get started, you’ll need to employ the following strategies:

  1. Set goals and choose engagement strategies.
  2. Understand and appeal to members.
  3. Prioritize community building.

In this guide, we’ll break down each of these tactics and how they will put you on the path toward deeper virtual engagement. Let’s get started! 

1. Set goals and choose engagement metrics.

Outlining the goals you’d like to achieve must be the first step you take toward increased engagement. The goals your organization chooses will dictate which initiatives you focus on, how resources are allocated, and which metrics you’ll need to track in order to measure success.

To get started, look at your association’s past performance. You might reference member surveys to understand what areas could use improvement, developing goals meant to target those weaknesses. The goals you create should be structured as “SMART” goals, or goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Let’s say you want to boost your association’s social media presence. One of your goals could be to increase your LinkedIn follower count from 500 to 1,000 within the next year. Because this goal uses a specific number and timeframe, is realistic, and is relevant to your objective, it qualifies as a SMART goal.

Once you’ve settled on a few engagement goals for your association, it’s important to start tracking metrics related to those goals so you can accurately measure your progress. Here are some common key performance indicators (KPIs) that can help you track improvements in virtual member engagement:

  • Social media metrics: Social media provides a treasure trove of useful data about users and how they interact with your page. You can track your follower count, likes, comments, shares, click-through rates, and more (depending on your goals). To narrow down which metrics you’ll track, remind yourself of your goals and develop KPIs that directly apply to those goals.
  • Virtual event KPIs: If your association holds virtual or hybrid events, make sure to measure the engagement of virtual attendees (just like you would for in-person attendees). You can measure factors like registrations, actual attendance, returning and new attendees, and participation time.
  • Email marketing engagement: Emails likely play a big role in how your association attracts new members and connects with existing ones to keep them in the loop. You can track how engaged members are in your announcements, newsletters, fundraising prompts, or other campaigns by measuring metrics like open rates, click-throughs, conversions, and unsubscribes.

Many of these metrics can be tracked using an association management tool to create custom reports to visualize your organization’s performance. These reports provide a much more accurate, easy-to-understand way to analyze association data.

2. Understand and appeal to members.

After deciding on your association’s core engagement goals and identifying how you’ll measure progress, you’ll need to start implementing strategies that improve engagement opportunities for members.

If your organization is seeing low engagement rates across the board, your current offerings may not align with what members are looking for. To make the switch to discussing topics and holding events your members will be excited about, you’ll need to learn more about their interests.

Here are some of the strategies you can use to understand your members and adjust association activities to meet their needs:

  • Send out surveys. Surveys are a great way to see inside your members’ minds and hear directly from them what they expect from your organization. There are many kinds of surveys you can send, depending on what you want to learn from members. You might send more general surveys asking about their interests, or narrow the subject by asking how your virtual engagement strategies could be better. Another popular way to get member feedback is by sending post-event surveys (ideally, there should be separate surveys for in-person and virtual attendees).
  • Segment members. Create groups of members based on shared characteristics like their interests, tendencies, or preferences. For example, you might create a subset of members who take advantage of almost all of your continued learning opportunities and further segment these members by their communication preferences. Then, you can direct communications about the opportunities and subjects they are interested in to those segments as appropriate.
  • Set up a variety of engagement opportunities. Because your members each have different preferences and goals, make sure to offer various engagement opportunities to address their unique needs. Options for virtual engagement can include virtual events, meetings, learning opportunities, and discussion forums, all providing a different way to connect and build a community. For instance, members who want to expand their network and form relationships outside of association events and meetings may use your membership directory most often.

Taking an approach that focuses primarily on meeting individuals’ needs rather than creating a blanket solution will make all members feel included and catered to. Over time, this careful consideration will help build more positive member experiences.

3. Prioritize community building.

Additional engagement opportunities like fun events or fundraisers can help add value to the membership. These activities strengthen the bonds between members in your community, leading to increased renewals and member retention rates. While you may think of these events as being limited to in-person annual dinners, there are virtual and hybrid options you can extend to remote members as well (like a quarterly virtual happy hour). 

Fundraisers are a great way to unite your members for a common cause, whether you are fundraising for your association or on behalf of a charitable organization. To get members more engaged in the fundraising process, you can put together a member-led fundraising committee. Give this committee specific responsibilities like developing fundraising ideas, planning fundraisers, and executing fundraising events.

After your event or fundraiser wraps up, always remember to thank those who attended or donated. These thank yous will keep members coming back to your events or donating in the future. Keep in mind that the time period following a successful event or fundraiser can be a good opportunity to send renewal reminders, if applicable.

Virtual member engagement goes beyond encouraging connections between individual members and your association. It also motivates members to connect with one another, building a web of professional relationships that they can leverage to advance their careers, further their education, and secure exciting new opportunities. To achieve this level of engagement and give members the experiences they are looking for, be sure to select a membership management platform that will make implementing new strategies and measuring your progress simple.

This guide will cover the basics of Google Ad Grant Agencies and five options you can partner with.

The Complete Guide to Google Ad Grant Agencies: 5 Options

The Google Ad Grant gives nonprofits access to Google Ads, allowing them to enhance their digital marketing plan. Nonprofits who receive this grant will receive $10,000 every month to spend on Google Ads, which appear at the top of Google’s search results pages.

However, there are parts of the Google Ad Grant that are complex and may require knowledge that your nonprofit staff lack. In that case, you may want to work with a professional in the field, such as a Google Ad Grant agency.

This article will give you the rundown on Google Ad Grant agencies and what your nonprofit should know about working with one. Here’s what we’ll cover:

A Google Ad Grants agency can lend your nonprofit the experience and knowledge necessary to apply for and use the Google Ad Grant strategically. This allows your nonprofit to efficiently grow its online presence and reach a larger audience, resulting in more supporters, volunteers, and donors. These individuals help your nonprofit drive the impact that you desire, allowing you to work more efficiently towards your goals. So let’s dive into what a Google Ad Grant agency is!

Click through to schedule a free consultation with the Google Ad Grant agency Getting Attention.
Let’s dive into what a Google Ad Grant agency is.

What is a Google Ad Grant Agency?

A Google Ad Grant agency is a professional organization that can help your nonprofit optimize your Google Ad Grant strategy. While some of these agencies focus wholly on Google Ad Grants, other agencies offer Google Ad Grant services as one of many other digital marketing services.

These agencies are designed to take the pressure off your nonprofit’s staff to create and manage your Google Ad Grant account. With their professional touch, they’ll be able to launch campaigns that help you achieve your desired results.

Learn more about how a Google Ad Grant agency can help your nonprofit.

How Can a Google Ad Grant Agency Help Your Nonprofit?

Much like other types of marketing consultants for nonprofits, Google Ad Grant agencies can help your nonprofit in multiple ways. Some common features that these agencies offer as part of their Google Ad Grant services include:

This clipboard graphic shows some common services Google Ad Grant agencies provide, detailed in the text below.
  • Google Ad Grant application: Unlike other grant applications, the Google Ad Grant application requires more of a back-and-forth with Google. A professional agency will handle the account creation and application tasks for you.
  • Account management: A Google Ad Grant agency will monitor your account, ensure that it complies with the Google Ad Grant’s complicated guidelines, and reactivate it if necessary.
  • Keyword research: A successful Google Ad strategy relies on the thoughtful use of keywords. An agency will have the experience and tools necessary to choose keywords that will help you reach your desired audience.
  • Landing page optimization: Your Google Ad will direct traffic to landing pages. To encourage further engagement with your nonprofit’s website, a Google Ad Grant agency will help optimize your landing pages.
  • Create and optimize onsite content: Having an appealing landing page isn’t enough to engage potential supporters, you’ll also need helpful and interesting onsite content. Not only will Google Ad Grant agencies optimize already existing content, but some will also create new content for you.
  • Campaign management: In order to make the most of your Google Ad Grant, you’ll want multiple ad campaigns running for different keywords. Tracking these campaigns can get complicated, which is why Google Ad Grant agencies will help you by managing your campaigns for you.

Essentially, Google Ad Grant agencies can take over all the work associated with your Google Ad Grant account. This can be immensely helpful for nonprofits that don’t have the capacity to maintain their account consistently, yet need the traffic the ads drive to help them recruit new supporters.

Click through to schedule a free consultation with the Google Ad Grant agency Getting Attention.
Let’s cover the benefits of working with a Google Ad Grant agency.

What Are the Benefits of Working with a Google Ad Grant Agency?

One of the major benefits of working with a Google Ad Grant agency is the comprehensive list of services they provide. However, there are other benefits that nonprofits can reap from a partnership, such as:

This graphic lists four benefits of working with a Google Ad Grants agency, which are described in the text below.
  • Time saved: Nonprofit employees are often spread thin, so outsourcing the work of managing your Google Ad Grants will result in more time for your staff to allocate to other tasks and reduced stress.
  • Professional experience: Even if your nonprofit’s staff members have the capacity to work on your Google Ad Grant account, the program can be a learning curve for those just getting started. A Google Ad Grant agency will have the professional knowledge and experience to efficiently and strategically handle all tasks that arise from your Google Ad Grant account.
  • Consistent upkeep and maintenance: To keep up with Google search trends, your Google Ad Grant agency will consistently check on your account, evaluate how well your campaigns are performing, and make any necessary adjustments to your strategy. Your nonprofit will benefit from the regularity of these improvements.
  • Clear reporting: Google Ad Grant agencies will be able to clearly demonstrate the impact of your Google Ads by generating easy-to-understand reports that you can use in meetings with your nonprofit leaders and board members.

If you have the budget for outsourcing the work associated with Google Ad Grants to an agency, these benefits will outweigh the costs simply through the visibility you will gain with professional help. However, part of a successful partnership is choosing the right Google Ad Grant agency to work with.

Learn more about evaluating which Google Ad Grant agency is right for your nonprofit.

7 Tips for Choosing a Google Ad Grant Agency

Now that you know how a Google Ad Grant agency can help you with your nonprofit’s digital marketing strategy and what benefits such a partnership brings, let’s dive into what your nonprofit should consider when choosing a Google Ad Grant agency. While researching your different options, take into account the following:

This clipboard image lists some tips for choosing a Google Ad Grant agency, also covered in the text below.
  1. What you want: Ask yourself, what do you want out of a partnership with a Google Ad Grant agency? Reflect on what conversions are most important to you—if you’re looking to recruit donors and make donation requests of interested individuals, your strategy will look different than if you’re just trying to raise awareness of your cause.
  2. Price: Different Google Ad Grant agencies will have different prices and service packages available. You’ll want to select an agency that fits your needs and your budget.
  3. Approach to Google Ad Grants: Since some digital marketing agencies provide Google Ad Grants services as well as other offerings, you’ll want to consider whether you’d be happy with these types of agencies or if you’d prefer to work with an agency that deals specifically with Google Ad Grants.
  4. Certified by Google: While not completely necessary, a Google certification means that Google has vetted the agency’s work and recognized that they have in-depth knowledge of Google Ad Grants.
  5. Reviews: Read reviews of the Google Ad Grant agency and see what other nonprofits have to say about their services. Pay particular attention to if they’ve previously worked with nonprofits similar to yours or working in a similar vertical.
  6. Case studies: To get a more in-depth look at how your potential Google Ad Grant operates, check to see if they have created any case studies of successful partnerships. You can use these to evaluate the agency’s effectiveness.
  7. Free consultations: After you’ve narrowed down your choices to a couple of options, consider requesting a free consultation from these agencies. Having the opportunity to see how different agencies would handle your nonprofit’s specific Google Ad Grant strategy will allow you to better assess if you would be happy partnering with them.

While your Google Ad Grant is just a part of your nonprofit’s overall digital marketing strategy, it can still create significant results for your organization, such as greatly increasing awareness of your cause and helping you to recruit passionate new supporters. Work with a Google Ad Grant agency that understands your nonprofit’s unique needs and that is able to assist you as you need.

Click through to schedule a free consultation with the Google Ad Grant agency Getting Attention.
Here are five stellar Google Ad Grant agencies your nonprofit could work with.

5 Top Google Ad Grant Agencies

To help jumpstart your research for a great Google Ad Grant agency to work with, here are five agencies to consider.

1. Getting Attention

Getting Attention is an agency dedicated specifically to Google Ad Grants. It boasts a diverse, global team of seasoned experts with years of experience that will help you set up and maintain your Google Ad Grant account. They will take the time to get to know your mission and your beneficiaries, then apply that information toward creating personalized Google Ad campaigns that help your nonprofit stand out on the search engine results page.

Their services include:

  • Google Ad Grant applications: If your nonprofit doesn’t already have a Google Ad Grant account, Getting Attention will guide you through the application process and help you get started with the program.
  • Account hygiene: It’s important to have up-to-date data on how your ad campaigns are doing in order to improve them. Getting Attention’s team is dedicated to removing outdated and unnecessary data to make sure your nonprofit doesn’t get bogged down.
  • Keyword research: This Google Ad Grant agency is committed to constantly improving your nonprofit’s messaging through thorough keyword research,  which will help drive traffic to your website.

Getting Attention offers free consultations to interested nonprofits and has an affordable plan with a monthly fee for their services.

2. Platypus Digital

A digital marketing agency that specifically focuses on nonprofits, Platypus Digital is determined to connect charities to the people they need, such as donors and fundraisers. Based in the UK, they have a focus on cultivating a strong relationship and mutual understanding with their clients and have helped over 180 charities with their digital marketing services.

Some of the services they offer include:

  • Google Ad Grants management: As one of Google Ad Grant’s Certified Professional Agencies, Platypus Digital has extensive knowledge and experience to apply to your nonprofit’s Google Ad Grant strategy.
  • Google Analytics: Aside from Google Ad Grants, Platypus Digital also performs audits and health checks on your Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to help you reach your desired results.
  • Meta Ads: Social media is a great digital marketing opportunity for nonprofits. Platypus Digital can help you make the most of this opportunity through Meta Ads, increasing visibility through Instagram and Facebook.

To help you gain greater insight into Platypus Digital’s work, the agency provides case studies of its specific offerings. These include their SEO, data review, and conversion rate optimization services.

3. Digital Ninjas

This agency works with organizations large and small to achieve their digital marketing goals. They pride themselves on being flexible partners, offering expert and impartial advice with data-led planning and execution. Some of the features they offer include:

  • A/B testing and optimization: By comparing the results of similar keywords, Digital Ninjas will be able to optimize your ad campaigns.
  • Web experience improvements: To keep website visitors interested and engaged, this digital marketing agency will help you revamp your existing website or even build you a new one.
  • Personalized QR codes: Digital Ninjas uses QR codes to seamlessly connect the offline and digital world, taking direct mail to the next level. With personalized QR codes, you’ll be able to redirect supporters to your donation portal with all available details pre-populated.

Digital Ninjas has previously helped organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Pink Elephants. They offer flexible pricing and packages and employ dedicated Customer Happiness Ninjas to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your partnership.

4. Luminate Marketing

An agency that specializes in working with mission-driven organizations, particularly in the religious vertical, Luminate Marketing adjusts its services to meet your budget and help bring your mission to light. Their offerings include:

  • Vision workshops: If your nonprofit isn’t sure about where to start with digital marketing, these vision workshops are designed to help you hone in on your messages and create a marketing plan that works for you.
  • Branding and design: Luminate Marketing can help you develop logos and brand guides and can help you create digital and print designs for your promotional purposes.
  • Strategy and messaging: If you need an expert’s opinion, by partnering with Luminate Marketing you’ll have ongoing access to their team of professionals who can work with you to refine your approach and content.

Luminate Marketing’s offerings come at a range of different price points. Aside from their paid services, they also provide a list of free resources for organizations that don’t have the capacity to partner with them at the moment.

5. TrueSense Marketing

TrueSense Marketing is a full-service, strategic, direct-response fundraising agency. With over 50 years of history and over 400 team members, they are dedicated to listening to your donors and helping your nonprofit grow. Their services emphasize:

  • Recruiting new donors.
  • Retaining existing donors.
  • Reactivating lapsed donors.
  • Increasing your donors’ gifts.
  • Engaging your donors meaningfully.

Their previous clients include food banks, animal care, veterans services, and many other types of nonprofits seeking to get the word out about their cause.

Click through to schedule a free consultation with the Google Ad Grant agency Getting Attention.
Let’s take a look at some additional resources about Google Ad Grant agencies.

Working with a Google Ad Grant Agency: Next Steps

With this guide, you can make an informed decision about whether working with a Google Ad Grant agency is the best step for your nonprofit, and if it is, which agencies would be best suited for you. Consider how Google Ads will fit into your nonprofit’s overall marketing plan, and partner with an agency that will help you create the impact you desire.

If you’re interested in learning more about Google Ad Grants, take a look at these resources:

Click through to book a free consultation with Google Ad Grant agency Getting Attention.