The considerations that must take place when starting a fundraiser can be overwhelming, but the first step is always determining what type of fundraiser you want to run. There are thousands of choices with pros and cons to each, but product fundraisers can be particularly successful in raising money for your cause. We’ll look at five benefits to running a product fundraiser.

1. Easy to organize

In contrast to fundraising events, which usually require months of planning and extra expenses like venue or catering costs, starting a product fundraiser is simple. To get started, you’ll just need to follow these steps:

• Establish your goal and deadline
• Choose a product fundraising partner
• Choose a product to sell
• Set up your physical or digital order form

Not only is the set-up easy, but selling is simple, too. No volunteer training or workshop is needed to teach someone how to sell. This is helpful for a fundraiser with a strict timeline since it requires very little planning and can be started or stopped at any time.

Running a fundraiser where your volunteers already know their roles is helpful, but they might not be needed at all in a product fundraiser. Depending on your organization, there are plenty of alternatives when it comes to selling your product. For example, you can leave a stack of order forms on the receptionist’s desk or accept orders completely online. If you’re selling products to fundraise for a school, you can give the product to the students and have them sell it.

2. Easy to market

Marketing is important for all aspects of a nonprofit, but product fundraisers are particularly easy to promote. Since they’re a tangible fundraiser, products make for great photo opportunities. Taking pictures of the items you’re selling can make nice social media posts promoting your products and fundraising goals.

Visuals are particularly influential when it comes to getting people interested in your cause. Feathr advises using compelling images to capture people’s attention as they’re scrolling through their social media feed. For example, if you’re selling food, detailed pictures of tasty snacks you’re selling can be really enticing.

Your product could also represent your organization in some way. Sell merchandise with your organization’s logo on it and supporters might be inclined to buy because they’d like to publicly show their support for your nonprofit. As an added bonus, selling something that displays your logo will make your supporters brand ambassadors. By wearing your logo, they’ll provide greater visibility for your brand.

3. Donors get something in return

Product fundraisers make it easier to raise money because people who wouldn’t normally donate to your cause might be interested in buying a product. These buyers might be incentivized by the fact that they could get something in return for giving, seeing your fundraiser as a purchase rather than a donation..

On the flip side, if your buyers are supporters of your organization, they might feel more connected to your nonprofit when they get something in return for donating. They’ll also be encouraged to give knowing that the money from their purchase is funding a good cause. No matter who the buyer is, this is an effective way to raise money because they’ll get a high return on their investment.

4. Reach a wider audience

Product fundraisers also make it easy to reach more of your supporters and wider community by selling both in person and online. Here are some ways you can advertise your nonprofit and its fundraiser outside of your organization’s immediate community of supporters:

• Social media
• Your website
• Word-of-mouth
• Flyers
• Partnering with local businesses

There are opportunities for sales in more places than you can imagine. For example, if students are selling cookie dough to raise money for their school, they might take order forms to a parent’s office after school. Their parent’s coworkers might be interested in buying cookie dough and placing an order to support your school.

5. Flexibility in product choice

The best part about product fundraisers is that they’re fully customizable! There’s a wide variety of things you can sell and the sales timeline is completely up to you. If you have a target audience in mind as you’re organizing the fundraiser, choose a product you know they’d like.

Also, consider when you’ll be running the fundraiser. Products can be seasonal, and this can work to your advantage.

For example, ABC Fundraising suggests selling Christmas ornaments as a fundraiser for a church during the Christmas season. Members of the congregation will be interested in buying ornaments regardless of your fundraiser, but will be especially motivated by their affinity for their church. You could even get the children in the church to make ornaments as a fun Sunday morning craft and sell those ornaments for the fundraiser.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to ideas for effective product fundraisers. Choose an idea that appeals to your audience the most and customize your fundraiser to work well for your organization. No matter what idea you choose, the benefits of product fundraisers can make a huge impact on your nonprofit.

If you’ve been in the fundraising world for a while, you might be familiar with the Google Ad Grant program. Google provides eligible nonprofits with $10,000 per month in ad spending to help boost their organizations’ reach online.

However, you may not know much about Microsoft’s new program, Ads for Social Impact, which functions similarly to the Google Ad Grant program. As of June 2022, Microsoft offers nonprofits $3,000 per month in ad spending for platforms such as Bing, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook, MSN, and Microsoft Edge.

Although the grant amounts differ between the two programs, both can help you spread awareness of your organization’s mission and raise money for your cause.

Our mission at NXUnite is to provide nonprofits with tools and resources that will set them up for success. We believe that the Microsoft Ad Grant is one such tool that will help organizations spread their missions and reach their fundraising goals. We’re happy to offer this guide so nonprofits can learn more about the program and how to enroll. Here are the topics we’ll cover:

• Microsoft Ad Grant Basics
• Benefits of Microsoft Ad Grants
• Ways to Use Microsoft Ad Grants
• Eligibility Requirements
• Microsoft Ad Grant Application
• Microsoft Ad Grant Best Practices
• Using Microsoft Ad Grants with Other Fundraising Tools
• Working with a Microsoft Ad Grant Agency

We have a lot to review, so let’s get started!

Microsoft Ad Grant Basics

Microsoft’s Ads for Social Impact program serves to help eligible nonprofits drive traffic to their websites and reach their fundraising and marketing goals at no cost to these organizations. The Microsoft Ad Grant covers $3,000 per month in ad spending for ads on multiple Microsoft-owned websites.

Since Microsoft Ad Grants cover so many different platforms, it can be difficult to picture what an ad created by a participating organization would look like. We’ll walk you through an example on Yahoo so you can visualize how a Microsoft Ad for your particular organization might look.

Let’s say that someone in your community is passionate about protecting wildlife. While checking their Yahoo email, this person might do a quick search for “save the turtles.” Yahoo will return a results page with the phrase “Ads related to: save the turtles” at the top. Underneath, there will be links to websites dedicated to protecting wildlife. These organizations are using Microsoft Ads to boost their reach and spread their mission online.

Nonprofits enrolled in the Microsoft Ad Grant program receive unique benefits that distinguish Microsoft’s program from Google’s. Your organization might already leverage paid search opportunities with Google or Microsoft. For nonprofits that use Google Ads, they must create a separate account for the Google Ad Grant program. In contrast, organizations that already use Microsoft Ads can apply their Microsoft Ad Grant directly to their existing account, allowing them to keep all of their campaigns in the same place.

Another difference between the two programs is the required account restrictions. Since Google Ad Grant accounts are separate from typical Google Ad accounts, there are more restrictions put on Google Ad Grant accounts, including minimum click-through rates, minimum quality scores, and maximum cost-per-click. In Microsoft’s program, all of your Microsoft Ads are under one account with none of these restrictions. That way, you can use the grant just as you would use funds for a regular paid search campaign.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time to move on to the benefits of enrolling in Microsoft’s Ads for Social Impact program.

Benefits of Microsoft Ad Grants

Besides expanding visibility for your website, there are many benefits of leveraging Microsoft Ad Grants. Take a look at some of the main advantages of participating in the program:

More site engagement.

While creating engaging content is a great way to improve your organization’s website, your content won’t fulfill its purpose if people can’t find your website in the first place.

By producing Microsoft Ads that highlight different pages on your site, you’ll encourage people to check out the resources they’re interested in. Someone looking to volunteer for a nonprofit will search differently than someone looking to donate, and by using your Microsoft Ad Grant appropriately, you can make sure both individuals find the information they need on your website.

More conversions.

Once you get more people to engage with your site, you’re likely to see more conversions. Just as businesses and other for-profit organizations track conversions to sales, nonprofits can track different types of conversions to measure the impact of their campaigns. Some online conversions your organization might track include:

• Donations
• Email list signups
• Event registrations
• Petition signatures
• Ticket sales
• Volunteer signups

By using the Microsoft Ad Grant to show prospective supporters the pages they’re interested in, you can increase the likelihood that people will perform the intended actions associated with those pages rather than aimlessly skimming your website.

Additional communication with your supporters.

As a nonprofit, you likely already use a mix of communication tools such as email, direct mail, phone calls, text messages, and social media. Microsoft Ad Grants provide an additional opportunity to reach out to your supporters in a more understated way.

While it’s important to engage with your supporters in a variety of different ways, it’s also important not to overwhelm them with too much information and too frequent communication. With Microsoft Ad Grants, you allow current and prospective supporters to learn about your organization on their own time and at their own discretion.

Better understanding of your supporters.

When a supporter interacts with your website, their actions provide several types of data for your organization. By keeping track of this data, you can figure out how to improve your campaigns and get the most out of your Microsoft Ad Grant.

To help you analyze your website activity, Microsoft provides tools such as event tracking, campaign analytics, and traffic insights. That way, you can leverage this information and use it to your organization’s advantage to make sure your website and content are serving your supporters as they should.

Set amount of funds each month.

Once you’re enrolled in the Microsoft Ad Grant program, you can be sure that you’ll receive $3,000 in your Microsoft Ad account each month. While this may seem like a given, many traditional grant programs allocate limited grant funds to qualifying organizations based on their needs.

Knowing exactly how much money in ad spending you’ll receive from Microsoft each month, you can better plan how your organization will use the grant without wasting time wondering how much money you’ll be allotted.

Ways to Use Microsoft Ad Grants

Just as it’s important to outline your goals for a fundraiser or social media campaign, it’s good practice to determine what you want to achieve by using your Microsoft Ad Grant. Setting goals for your campaigns will ensure that you’re using your grant money efficiently.

If you’re not sure what goals you’d like to accomplish during your time in the Microsoft Ad Grant program, take a look at some of our suggestions:

• Encouraging donations
• Expanding your donor or subscriber base
• Advocating about issues important to your organization
• Recruiting volunteers
• Spreading the word about upcoming events
• Encouraging actions like signing petitions
• Informing your supporters about matching gift opportunities

With your goals in mind, you’ll create campaigns with better focus and get the most out of your Microsoft Ad Grant.

Eligibility Requirements

If you’re interested in applying for the Ads for Social Impact program, you’ll need to make sure you’re eligible for the program. Microsoft has three main eligibility requirements. The first is status as a legally recognized nonprofit or non-governmental organization in your country. For United States-based organizations, that includes registering with the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

The next requirement is operating on a not-for-profit basis and serving a specific mission. Microsoft gives mission examples such as helping the poor, preserving the environment, and protecting human rights.

Microsoft’s final requirement is that all participating organizations are inclusive of others. They prohibit any organizations with discriminatory policies or missions from joining the program.

In addition the Microsoft’s three eligibility requirements, they also list ineligible organization types, such as:

• Governmental organizations
• Schools, colleges, and universities
• Healthcare organizations
• Public utilities
• Financial institutions
• Professional, commerce, and trade associations
• Professional and semi-professional sports organizations
• Political, labor, and fraternal organizations

For a full list of eligibility requirements, check out Microsoft’s program eligibility page here.

Microsoft Ad Grant Application

After determining your organization is eligible for the program, the next step is to fill out an application. There are two main parts of the application.

First, you’ll apply to Microsoft for Nonprofits, Microsoft’s overarching program dedicated to nonprofit tools and resources. This part of the application has four steps.

1. Welcome & Policies. When you begin the application, you’ll be asked to fill out information for your organization’s point of contact. You’ll also confirm that you understand the Microsoft for Nonprofits program policies.
2. Organization Info. In this section, you’ll fill out information about your nonprofit including your organization’s name, address, website, phone number, size, budget, mission statement, and IRS EIN.
3. Verify Phone. Next, you’ll verify your organization’s phone number so Microsoft can communicate with you.
4. Create Account. Finally, you’ll be able to set up your login for your Microsoft for Nonprofits account. You should hear back about the status of your application within 24 hours.

The second part of the application process is applying for the Microsoft Ad Grant itself. You’ll provide additional information about your nonprofit and point of contact, and Microsoft will get back to you within 10 business days.

Microsoft Ad Grant Best Practices

Once Microsoft accepts your Microsoft Ad Grant application, you’ll likely want to jump right in and start setting up campaigns. To enure your campaigns are effective, we recommend following a few best practices that other nonprofits have found helpful in the past. Here are some guidelines for running your Microsoft Ad Grant account effectively:

Structure your account appropriately.

Organization is key when it comes to Microsoft Ad Grant campaigns because it allows you to ensure that each campaign has its own specific purpose. The goal of each campaign should be the conversion you’re looking to boost.

For example, let’s say your overall goals for your participation in the program are expanding your email subscriber base, recruiting more volunteers, and informing your supporters about matching gifts. Establish your campaigns’ priorities right away by setting up three separate campaigns, one for each goal. That way, you can track the metrics for each goal separately. Additionally, you can create straightforward campaigns that each focus on one aspect of your mission, making it clear to supporters what you’re asking them to do.

Write clear ad copy.

When it comes to Microsoft Ad copy, the simpler, the better. People will only spend a few seconds looking at your ad, so you want to make sure your message is very clear. Short sentences are usually best. It’s also good practice to avoid uncommon acronyms or abbreviations that may confuse people.

Choose keywords carefully.

To make sure you’re choosing effective keywords, you’ll want to think backward. What are your supporters likely searching for? Those are the words and phrases you’ll want to choose as your keywords.

It’s best to choose specific keywords. People searching for “animals” aren’t necessarily looking for an animal shelter, but those searching for “volunteering with animals” or “adopting a pet” might be.

Keep track of your campaign metrics.

Luckily, Microsoft has built-in analytics options that allow you to easily track the success of your campaigns. Analyzing this data and implementing the insights you glean from it will allow you to shape your campaigns and content to your supporters’ needs.

For example, if you see that people are going straight from your volunteer registration page to your contact information page, it might be useful to add a section with contact information on the volunteer registration page itself for easy access.

Use automatic bidding.

In order to show up in searches for certain keywords, you’ll bid for them along with other organizations. You can submit bids manually, but Microsoft has automatic bidding options that will save your team time and energy.

These bidding strategies include ones for enhancing your cost-per-click, maximizing your clicks, maximizing your conversions, and achieving your target cost per acquisition and return on ad spend.

Following these best practices will ensure that you’re managing your campaigns efficiently and effectively.

Using Microsoft Ad Grants with Other Fundraising Tools

At NXUnite, we’re passionate about connecting nonprofits with the tools and resources that will launch them toward success. While Microsoft Ad Grants are one such tool, leveraging a variety of tools and strategies will help your organization spread awareness and raise money for its cause. Take a look at how your organization can use Microsoft Ad Grants in conjunction with other valuable fundraising tools:

• Google Ad Grants. While we’ve compared the Microsoft Ads for Social Impact program and the Google Ad Grant program, your organization can take advantage of both for maximum impact. You can create similar campaigns on both platforms so that people can find your organization on both Microsoft and Google search engines.
• Venmo. Many people use personal Venmo accounts, but you can also set up an account for your organization. That way, people can easily donate to your nonprofit. To promote your organization’s Venmo account, create a Microsoft Ad Grant campaign linking to your donation page. Then, include Venmo as a donation option on the page.
• Panels. Attending panels is a great way to learn more about nonprofit resources from experts and professionals. This wisdom you acquire from these discussions may spark inspiration for a new campaign or approach to your Microsoft Ad Grant account.
• Email templates. No matter your campaign goals, you’re likely encouraging your supporters to take some sort of action on your website. To show your appreciation, it’s always a good idea to send a thank-you letter. Using a specific nonprofit email template can ensure that you thank your supporters appropriately.
• Matching gifts. If you’re really looking to maximize your fundraising, you can use your Microsoft Ad Grant campaign to inform your supporters about matching gifts. Matching gifts are corporate philanthropy initiatives where employers double or even triple donations made by their employees. All your supporters have to do is notify their employers of their donation. There are plenty of tools that make that process extremely simple.

Knowing which nonprofit tools are available for you to use is important, but knowing how to use them in conjunction with each other is even more powerful.

Working with a Microsoft Ad Grant Agency

While we hope this guide will help you manage your Microsoft Ad Grant effectively, we also understand that many nonprofits have constrained time and energy to devote to new projects. That’s where digital marketing agencies come in.

There are organizations out there that are specifically dedicated to helping nonprofits manage ad grants. They know the ins and outs of different ad grant programs and how to optimize your account. These types of agencies can help with any stage of the grant management process, such as:

• Determining your Microsoft Ad Grants eligibility
• Applying for the program
• Managing your campaigns
• Optimizing your content

Reaching out to a digital marketing agency can take the burden of managing your ad grant off your team. You can feel at ease knowing that experts are taking care of your account.

More Fundraising Tools

By now, you should understand what the Microsoft Ad Grant is and how powerful of a fundraising tool it truly is. By enrolling in the Microsoft Ad Grant program, you’ll be able to work toward your organization’s fundraising goals and raise awareness for your cause.

As we mentioned, there are many other great fundraising tools out there. These articles will allow you to learn more about some of the ones we recommend:

• How Google Ad Grants Can Help Your Fundraising. In this article, you’ll learn more about the Google Ad Grant program, allowing you to compare it to Microsoft’s program. Better yet, you can take advantage of both programs and the benefits they have to offer.
• How Venmo for Nonprofits Can Help Organizations Raise More. Venmo is not only a personal mobile payment service, but nonprofits can also leverage the platform to collect donations. This article walks through how nonprofits can use this tool to boost their fundraising efforts.
• Donor Thank-You Letters. Most likely, one of your campaign goals is to increase donations. Thank your donors for contributing to your organization using one of these templates.

As a nonprofit professional, you know that staying within your organization’s budget often requires a little creativity. Especially when it comes to nonprofit marketing, your team might have lavish ideas and big plans without the resources to pursue them.

However, nonprofit marketing is vital to the continued success of your organization. It’s how you spread the word about your nonprofit’s upcoming events and opportunities and get people excited about contributing to your cause. Without a strong nonprofit marketing plan, it’ll be difficult to move forward and pursue your mission effectively.

Additionally, there are a lot of considerations that go into successful nonprofit marketing. That’s why we’ve created this nonprofit marketing guide. We’ll teach you the basics as well as strategies you can use to promote your organization, even on a budget.

Here are the topics we’ll cover in this article:

• What is Nonprofit Marketing?
• Developing a Nonprofit Marketing Plan
• Nonprofit Marketing Strategies
• Nonprofit Marketing Ideas

Here at NXUnite, we connect organizations with various resources to help them in all areas of nonprofit operations. Marketing is crucial for nonprofits because it’s how people find your organization, learn about your cause, and contribute to your organization. We understand how tricky it can be to come up with a marketing strategy on a small budget, so we’re happy to provide this ultimate nonprofit marketing guide to help you out.

With that, let’s introduce what nonprofit marketing is and what it can do for your organization!

What is Nonprofit Marketing?

Nonprofit marketing is when mission-based organizations use promotional strategies to educate others about their cause and garner support. It’s an essential part of introducing your organization to people who may want to become involved, including prospective donors, volunteers, and board members.

For your current supporters, nonprofit marketing allows you to inform them about upcoming events and opportunities. You’ll want to grab your supporters’ attention and get them excited about what you have in store.

While implementing effective nonprofit marketing takes work, it can offer your organization a variety of benefits. If you stay organized and follow a detailed plan, nonprofit marketing can help you:

• Spread awareness. At the core of your nonprofit is your mission. Investing time in a marketing plan will not only help to promote your organization, but also educate people about your nonprofit’s cause.
• Raise more. The more people know about your organization, the more fundraising potential your organization has.
• Encourage recurring support. Of course, your nonprofit should appreciate each and every donation it receives. However, recurring donations provide a steady, consistent funding source. They also present the opportunity to build strong relationships with your long-term donors. Effective marketing can encourage donors to continue their support for your organization.
• Recruit other stakeholders. While crucial to your organization’s success, donations are not the only form of support people can lend to your nonprofit. Effective marketing will allow you to recruit other supporters for your organization, such as volunteers, members, event attendees, and board members.
• Promote your services. Potential supporters want to know exactly what steps your organization does to advance your mission. That way, they can decide if they’re interested in joining in. Using a well-developed marketing plan will ensure that your organization’s services are clear to interested parties.

To complete all of the objectives above, it’s not enough to just start posting on social media or adding articles to your website’s blog. You’ll first need to come up with a comprehensive marketing plan that outlines your marketing strategy across multiple channels.

Developing a Nonprofit Marketing Plan

To effectively promote your organization, you must set clear intentions for your marketing efforts. That’s why you need a nonprofit marketing plan.

Creating a comprehensive marketing plan ensures that you stay organized and focused on your goals throughout your marketing efforts. With all of the details planned ahead of time, you’ll be able to focus on creating well-designed promotional materials and getting people excited about your cause.

If you’ve never come up with a marketing plan before, it can be intimidating. To help you out, we’ve provided you with the major steps you’ll need to follow to create your own:

Step 1) Review your current marketing efforts.

It’s always good to take inventory of your current nonprofit marketing efforts. That way, you can figure out what successful elements you should continue implementing and what changes you’ll need to make. For a formal marketing audit, you can perform a SWOT analysis. Here’s what it entails:

• Strengths. Start off strong by describing what your organization does well.
• Weaknesses. Recognize any areas your nonprofit can improve upon.
• Opportunities. Identify potential external factors that could help your marketing efforts succeed.
• Threats. Pinpoint any factors that could potentially harm your marketing efforts.

This in-depth analysis will propel your new marketing efforts forward.

Step 2) Determine your marketing goals.

Just as your mission guides your overall operations, your marketing goals should inform your marketing efforts. Of course, you should keep your mission in mind and make sure your marketing goals serve that mission. It’s best to form SMART goals to make sure your goals are clear and meaningful. SMART stands for:

• Specific. Create goals with a certain initiative or event in mind.
• Measurable. Make sure you can track your goals with relevant performance metrics.
• Attainable. Keep your nonprofit’s resources and capabilities in mind.
• Relevant. Develop goals that will further your mission.
• Time-based. Hold your organization accountable by assigning a time frame to your goals.

In addition to following the SMART acronym, you’ll also want to list your goals by priority so you know which ones to divert the most resources to.

Step 3) Understand your audience.

Your audience is likely comprised of different groups such as donors, volunteers, and board members. Make sure you define each audience and their needs. To segment your audience even further, think about the different subcategories of your supporters.

Step 4) Establish your message.

To hone your nonprofit marketing efforts, you’ll want to boil your goals down to a few key messages you’d like to share. These messages should be unique to your organization and able to grab your supporters’ attention. To go along with your message, the language, calls-to-action, and visuals you’ll use should all be outlined as well.

Step 5) Determine your budget.

It’s tricky as a nonprofit to accomplish your marketing goals with few resources. To make use of what you have, you’ll want to determine a budget for your promotional efforts. If you don’t think you’ll have enough to make your goals a reality, try applying for a nonprofit marketing grant. Grantmaking organizations offer free funding for the purpose of promoting your organization and its services, making it a great way to power your marketing efforts.

Step 6) Choose appropriate marketing strategies.

The different marketing strategies or channels you choose to spread your mission should align with your goals and audience. From direct mail to social media, there’s a lot you can do to promote your cause.

In the next section, we’ll go over nonprofit marketing strategies you can use to promote your organization.

Step 7) Analyze your performance.

It’s important to keep track of your progress and performance using data. That way, you’ll know what worked and what needs to be changed for future campaigns. Choose metrics to track that will represent your definition of success. For example, if you’re implementing a social media campaign, you might want to track the number of shares, likes, and comments on your relevant posts.

As you can see, there are many things to consider when developing your nonprofit marketing plan. It can take time to complete a well-rounded plan, but it will be worth it to have your marketing goals, logistics, and strategy all in one place.

Nonprofit Marketing Strategies

There are plenty of ways to promote your organization. However, you should be careful to choose your nonprofit marketing strategies so that they align with your goals and audience. For example, if you’re targeting an older audience, it might not be the best idea to use social media as your main form of outreach.

The great thing about nonprofit marketing channels is that you can use them in tandem with each other. You will naturally want to promote your events via email and share your blog posts on social media. This way, you’re creating as many touchpoints as possible so your supporters can contribute to your cause in the way that works best for them.

To help you determine which nonprofit marketing strategies are best for your organization’s current needs, we’ve listed some of our favorites below:

• Google Ad Grants
• Print Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Direct Mail Marketing
• Event Marketing
• Video Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Website Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Text Message Marketing

Click on the ones you’re interested in to learn more or scroll through to check them all out!

Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits

Google Ads provide a way for nonprofits to promote their services and mission in Google search results. If someone searches for a term related to your organization, they can find your organization’s website as an ad at the top of the search results and navigate to one of your pages.

However, it can get expensive to run Google Ads. That’s exactly why Google offers an option for nonprofits called Google Ad Grants. The Google Ad Grants program provides eligible nonprofits with $10,000 per month in ad credits. That way, your organization can expand its reach in a way that aligns with its budget.

Through the program, you can market a range of content, including everything from your donation page to educational content. It’s up to you to pick the right keywords and develop ads that target those search queries.

As long as your organization is eligible and follows all program guidelines, it’s easy to get started. You can even work with a dedicated Google Grants agency for help with the application process or account maintenance.

We recommend the experts at Getting Attention. These individuals know the ins and outs of the program, striving to supercharge your ads and amplify your mission online.

Print Marketing

While the digital landscape helps break down geographical barriers, print marketing is a fantastic way to connect with your local audience members. Some nonprofits view it as “old-fashioned” or “outdated,” but print marketing is still a major force in the world of advertising.

Think about the last time you saw a poster for an upcoming event or received a flyer in the mail. When you consider how frequently you personally come across printed marketing materials, you’ll notice that it’s still prominent in people’s everyday lives even with the rise of digital marketing.

In a world driven by quick communication, people rarely see printed communication that they care about. Among stacks of junk mail and bills, a well-designed fundraising flyer is much more likely to catch their eye and mean something to them.

When dabbling in print marketing, there are plenty of options your nonprofit can use, including:

• Flyers and posters
• Brochures and pamphlets
• Newspaper and magazine ads
• Yard signs

Particularly for nonprofits, this type of marketing can help you connect with older supporters who aren’t as active online. Plus, many people interpret it as being more personal since it takes a bit more effort than sending mass emails or publishing a social media post.

No matter what type of print materials you create, you’ll want to make sure they’re designed to catch people’s eyes. Your graphics, fonts, and colors can mean the difference between someone stopping to read your ad and going on about their day without a second thought.

If graphic design isn’t your marketing team’s forte, consider hiring a third-party designer. We recommend Kwala! They work exclusively with nonprofits to produce professional marketing materials for both print and digital outreach.

They design everything from letterheads to capital campaign brochures, like the example above! Reach out to their team to start creating powerful designs for your nonprofit marketing materials.

Email Marketing for Nonprofits

So many nonprofit marketers rely on email marketing. It allows you to reach supporters of all ages and types, including donors, volunteers, event attendees, and board members. Since a large variety of people use email regularly, email marketing has a high ROI and is an easy way to stay connected with your supporters.

Additionally, it’s extremely easy to personalize emails using segmentation tools and email marketing software. That way, you can make your supporters feel special and send them information specific to their involvement with your organization.

Here are some ideas for using email marketing effectively:

• Send a weekly newsletter with the most recent updates and urgent needs.
• Send monthly emails with donation requests and upcoming opportunities.
• Thank new subscribers for joining your email list with an automatic reply.
• Thank donors for contributing to your cause with an automated email.
• Segment your supporters into different groups for more personalized email campaigns.
• Append email addresses to make sure you have accurate contact information and can reach as many of your supporters as possible.

Considering how easy it is to draft and automate emails, email marketing is a great choice for promoting your organization and sharing news with your supporters.

Direct Mail Marketing for Nonprofits

Although many nonprofit marketers think direct mail is dead, it actually has a higher response rate than emails. Perhaps this is because direct mail is even more personal than emails, and people acknowledge the extra time that went into the campaign, especially if you’re using segmentation.

Additionally, the letters you send your supporters serve as physical reminders of your organization and their involvement. Having something tangible that’s associated with your nonprofit may encourage supporters to donate or attend one of your events.

You can create direct mail campaigns for donation requests, event invitations, thank you letters, and more. While you can use direct mail to simply inform people about your organization, it’s best to include a call-to-action to ensure the time and funds you put into your campaign pay off.

To help you create direct mail campaigns that drive your supporters to take action, we’ve compiled some tips:

• Incorporate storytelling. Make your direct mail outreach even more personal with strong storytelling. While facts and statistics are helpful for understanding what your organization does, people want to feel a connection with your nonprofit. For example, if your organization is an animal shelter, tell your supporters about a dog you’ve rescued and given a better life. Seeing the impact your organization has had will inspire people to become a part of it.
• Include powerful visuals. People are drawn to images/ Plus, visually-engaging images help to break up text, make content easier to read, and can help communicate your message. Your supporters will get more out of your letter if you include meaningful visuals that connect to the copy you’ve written. Consider using pictures of real people your organization has helped or informative graphics that illustrate different points you’ve made.
• Combine your campaign with digital marketing. While direct mail is an effective outreach method, you can make it more engaging by connecting it to your online marketing efforts. Including a QR code that connects to an event registration page or listing your social media handles will allow your supporters to navigate smoothly across different digital marketing channels.
• Append mailing addresses. How useful can your direct mail campaign be without your supporters’ addresses? You might not have all the mailing addresses for your supporters, but working with a data append service can help you obtain the information and put it to good use.

Direct mail is a great way to show your supporters you care about them. However, it’s important to regularly check your supporters’ communication preferences to make sure they’re okay with receiving letters from you.

Event Marketing for Nonprofits

Hosting an event provides a chance for people to get to know your organization in person. You can form a connection with potential supporters and tell them directly about the impact they could make on your organization.

There’s a wide range of events your nonprofit can host. If you have the budget for a more lavish event, try hosting a gala. To get your supporters up and active, organize a marathon. The possibilities are endless!

No matter which type of event you’re hosting, there are some general ways to make sure your event is successful at accomplishing your goals. For the ultimate nonprofit event, make sure to:

• Maintain consistent branding across your digital and physical event materials.
• Include your mission on digital and physical event signage.
• Encourage event attendees to stay in touch and show their support.
• Send all attendees thank you letters and follow-up surveys.
• Offer event merchandise so attendees can continue to support your cause.

While they do take a lot of time and resources to plan, events are powerful nonprofit marketing tools. People will remember their experience at your event and retain that association between their enjoyment and your nonprofit.

Video Marketing for Nonprofits

Video marketing has become very popular in recent years, and it’s easy to see why. Videos are even more engaging than static images and can allow you to share an abundance of information in a short amount of time.

While YouTube was one of the first modern video-sharing platforms, others such as TikTok and Instagram have caught onto the short video craze. Nonprofits can take advantage of these platforms to promote their events and missions.

There are several reasons why video marketing is so impactful, including:

• Easy to process. Did you know that people process visual content 60,000 times faster than written content? This makes it easier to inform your audience about your mission or upcoming opportunities.
• Elicits emotion. Reading a paragraph or looking at an image could make you feel something, but it’s much more likely for a video to move you. This emotion can inspire action and a deeper connection to your cause.
• Shareable. Social media platforms make it easy to send videos to your friends over text or through the apps themselves. This way, your supporters can help amplify your cause for you.
• Entertaining. Most people would simply prefer to watch a video to learn about a topic as opposed to reading about it. Videos make topics come to life and will do a better job of capturing your audience’s attention.

While we’ve mostly discussed video marketing in the context of social media, that’s not the only place you can share videos your organization has created. Consider creating an informational video to live on your website’s homepage or a thank you video to send to donors after they’ve contributed.

Videos are extremely valuable marketing tools, but note that they can also slow down the load time of your website. Remember to turn off auto-play to help your website load as quickly as possible.

Social Media Marketing for Nonprofits

Since social media is free, it’s a great marketing choice for nonprofits. It also encourages interaction with your organization and its content. People can comment, like, and repost your content, maximizing its impact.

Social media also gives your organization the opportunity to leverage current trends and build a brand personality. Recently, small brands have blown up on TikTok for their funny and relatable content, and there’s no reason why nonprofits can’t do the same.

Although there’s a variety of social media platforms that all feature different types of content, follow these suggestions to improve your organization’s online presence:

• Share important news about your organization and cause.
• Create a brand identity to boost awareness and recognition.
• Ensure your content includes calls-to-action such as event registrations, donation requests, and volunteer signups.
• Describe real people’s experiences with your organization to recruit new volunteers and employees.
• Thank donors, employees, and volunteers for their contributions.

Considering the number of different social media platforms out there, you’ll want to think hard about which ones fit best with your audience, content, and mission.

If you’re looking to fundraise, Facebook and Instagram are great choices because they have built-in peer-to-peer fundraising features. However, if your goal is to rally young supporters around your cause, TikTok may be a better fit. Be strategic about your organization’s social media presence for the best results.

Website Marketing for Nonprofits

Your nonprofit’s website is likely the first place people go to learn more about your organization, so it’s important to do it right. Your website should not only host valuable information about your organization, but it should also inform supporters about upcoming events and opportunities.

Whether you’re creating your nonprofit’s website or optimizing it, use these tips to make your website ready and engaging for users:

• Review the WCAG and ADA guidelines to make sure your website is compliant.
• Include well-placed call-to-action buttons and links to direct traffic to different pages on your site.
• Make sure your website is easy to navigate and use.
• Regularly check all tools and content management systems to make sure they’re working as they should.
• Maintain a cohesive brand identity throughout your site.

Think about your website as the hub of supporter activity. It’s where you collect donations, share updates, describe events, and educate people about your cause. Since your website has several functions and purposes, it’s important to make sure it’s working properly and is designed effectively to provide a positive user experience.

Between following the above tips and ensuring your graphic design strategy inspires users to explore your site, your site will be well-equipped to be your ultimate marketing asset.

Content Marketing for Nonprofits

Content marketing allows you to create valuable nonprofit content that can bring traffic to your website and build your reputation in the field. You can create standard blog posts as well as downloadable resources.

To help you get started with content marketing, here are some different types of content you may leverage:

• Informative content about your mission or news in your field
• Typical blog content that’s SEO optimized to help with your page’s search engine rankings
• Shareable content that can help spread your mission further
• Ready-to-use templates and downloadable resources for others to use

Writing content takes a lot of time and effort, so you may want to consider creating a copywriting team for your organization. That way, you can have a group dedicated to filling your blog and adding value to your website.

Text Message Marketing for Nonprofits

Since people are always on their phones, text message marketing has a high open rate and the potential to reach your audience quickly.

One way to use text message marketing effectively is by leveraging a text-giving tool. That way, you can create effective text-to-give campaigns that provide an easy donation option.

You can also use phone appends to make sure you reach all of your supporters. Phone appends fill in the missing phone numbers in your supporter database and update outdated ones. Having this data helps to ensure that you’re reaching out to the right people with the right contact information.

Besides initiating a text-to-give campaign, there are other opportunities for text message marketing. You can use this outreach method to:

• Announce events
• Send urgent appeals
• Remind volunteers about upcoming shifts or training
• Promote donations throughout your campaign or event
• Send donation receipts

While similar to email marketing, text message marketing is better for shorter messages and encouraging your supporters to take action. With a higher open rate, text message marketing allows you to reach your supporters in a way that’s convenient for them.

Beyond the few we discussed, there are so many more nonprofit marketing strategies your organization can leverage. Remember, don’t overwhelm your marketing team. Think about the purpose of your campaign and the characteristics of your audience, and choose the right platforms for your nonprofit. That way, you can reach out to supporters through different channels without wasting time and resources on unviable options.

Nonprofit Marketing Ideas

It can be difficult to come up with specific ideas for how to market your nonprofit, especially for organizations just starting out. There are so many things to keep in mind, which can quickly become overwhelming.

To help you out, we’ve narrowed down some of the most essential nonprofit marketing ideas to make your campaigns stand out, including:

Develop design, personality, and attitude guidelines.

If you want people to recognize your organization’s branding, then you have to make sure it’s cohesive. Work with your nonprofit marketing team to carefully develop your nonprofit’s persona and graphic design preferences.

Commit to improving your content’s SEO.

It’s important to know how to optimize your content for search engines and which factors contribute to your content’s rankings. Research SEO best practices and determine the top keywords you want your content to rank for.

Establish a connected online presence.

We’ve discussed different digital marketing strategies. Whichever ones you choose to implement, it’s best to create paths that connect each platform to each other. For example, include the link to your website in the bio of your social media accounts. That way, people can go straight from one touchpoint to another seamlessly.

Create a nonprofit marketing budget.

One of the most important parts of your marketing plan is your budget. You’ll want to make sure you can gather all the resources you need to promote your organization effectively while still staying within your organization’s means.

Analyze your data.

If your organization isn’t constantly reviewing the data it has and making decisions based on that data, then you’re missing out on crucial opportunities to grow your nonprofit. Data provides concrete evidence for what your marketing team is doing well and what they could work on. Some metrics you could track include:

• Clickthrough rate (CTR)
• Conversion rate
• Email open rate
• Social media impressions and reach

Keeping track of the data associated with your campaigns allows you to improve your future marketing endeavors.

Emulate larger organizations.

The great part about starting a nonprofit is that there are thousands of model organizations to base your strategies on. Find an organization similar to yours and see how they’ve reached success to help inform your own nonprofit marketing efforts.

Implement segmentation.

Dividing your supporters into groups based on shared factors allows you to customize their experiences. That way, you can demonstrate that you understand your supporters’ needs and are willing to meet them where they are.

Personalize your supporters’ experiences.

Segmentation isn’t the only way to give people a personalized experience. Consider sending handwritten thank you cards to your donors or featuring a volunteer of the month on your social media pages. Showing your supporters that you care will only deepen their connection to your organization.

Above all else, it’s important to continuously review your marketing efforts. That way, you can adapt to any new trends or identify any areas that need some work. Just because your organization was up to date five years ago doesn’t mean you can’t change your branding or segmentation to be more current to the present day.

Remember, your number one consideration should be your supporters. All of your promotional efforts are directed at gaining and retaining supporters, so it’s necessary to think about their needs and keep them in mind throughout the whole nonprofit marketing process.

Conclusion and Additional Resources

Now that you know all about nonprofit marketing, it’ll be easier to dive right into the process. Equipped with a marketing plan, strategies, and ideas, you’ll be all set to start reaching out to potential supporters and growing your nonprofit.

While we went over the basics of nonprofit marketing in this guide, there are still so many areas that you can dive into. Especially if you’re a newer nonprofit marketing professional, you’ll likely want some additional resources to look over.

Here are some articles that can teach you a little more about nonprofit marketing:

• Nonprofit Marketing Ideas: Promote Your Cause Effectively. Looking for more nonprofit marketing ideas? This guide will walk you through different categories of marketing ideas to help promote your organization.
• Marketing Analytics: A Guide for Marketing Professionals. As we mentioned, it’s important to review data from your campaigns and adjust them as needed. Check out this article for help with your marketing analytics.
• 18 Free & Discounted Nonprofit Marketing Tools to Use Today. Check out our list of the top eighteen free or discounted marketing tools to empower your mission on a budget.
• Microsoft Ad Grants: The Complete Guide for Nonprofits. Microsoft offers a program that’s similar to Google Ad Grants. Learn how to market your mission on Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines with this guide from the experts at Getting Attention.

Whether they consciously think about it or not, nonprofits collect data every day. From accepting donations to receiving new email newsletter sign-ups, every time a nonprofit interacts with its supporters, it’s absorbing different data points.

These days, all types of organizations understand that data should guide decision-making because it acts as clear evidence for trends and occurrences within your industry or operations. Nonprofits should be no different. Using data effectively can help your organization optimize its content and spread its mission even further.

The only problem with this data-driven approach is that if your organization has incorrect or incomplete data, then it can be difficult to comfortably rely on that data. That’s where data appends come in.

Data appends fill in the gaps in your data so that you can make well-informed decisions and communicate with a larger breadth of your supporters. If your organization isn’t familiar with data appends, then we’re here to help you learn the basics and how you can get started with the data append process.

Take a look at the questions we’ll answer in this guide:

• What Is a Data Append?
• What Types of Data Appends Are There?
• What Is a Data Append Service?
• What Value Do Data Append Services Add?
• What Is the Data Append Process?
• How Do I Select a Data Append Service to Work With?

Here at NXUnite, we connect nonprofits with the tools they need to be successful. We believe that data appends are an essential part of good data hygiene, which all nonprofits should practice in order to improve relationships with supporters and grow their organizations. Learning about what data appends are and how they work is the first step in improving your organization’s data hygiene, so you’ve come to the right place!

Equipped with data appends, your organization will not only improve its data hygiene but will also gain better insights into who your supporters are and how you can best reach out to them. But first, let’s learn what data appends are and how a data append service can help you with the process.

What Is a Data Append?

A data append is a piece of new information added to your nonprofit’s database. During the data appending process, data append services pull data from external sources to correct incorrect data or supplement incomplete data. They use any supporter information that you supply them with, such as contact information, to correctly identify the right individuals across different sources.

Data appends are important because they ensure your database is more complete with the information you need. For example, you could be missing an email address for an important donor. Without their email address, you won’t be able to thank that donor for their contributions or update them about your organization, potentially jeopardizing your relationship with them.

3 Different Approaches to Data Appending

While all data appends refer to adding new information to a database, there are different ways to go about the process and obtain the data you need. These are the three different approaches to data appending:

1. Forward: Forward appending is what most people think of when discussing data appends. It occurs when an append adds to basic information your organization already has. For example, you may have a donor’s name and mailing address, but a data append could add their phone number as well.
2. Reverse: As the name implies, reverse appending is the opposite of forward appending. With this approach, your organization uses a singular piece of data to fill in the related basic information. You might have email addresses from your newsletter subscribers, but you could use reverse appending to fill in their names.
3. Fractional: For a combination of the previous two approaches, use fractional data appending. In this case, you could use a supporter’s name and email address to find their mailing address. Fractional appending puts the best of both approaches together to find the information you need.

To determine which data append approach to take, think about which type of data you’re looking for. As we mentioned, forward appending is most typical and the most beneficial for nonprofits, so it’s never a bad idea to start there.

Data Append Timing

In addition to the different approaches to data appending, there are also two different categories of data appends based on the timing of when you’ll receive them:

• Batch: Just as it sounds, batch appending is when organizations send a batch of information to be appended. This approach is best for nonprofits with large databases that have a clear need for organization. For example, you might be missing some of your volunteers’ phone numbers and mailing addresses. To fix this, you can send a file with the data you have to a data append service, and they will add the missing information all at once.
• Real-time: For automatic updates to individual records, use real-time appending. Once you send in your information, a server will update it in real-time when needed. An example of a situation where you could use real-time appending is if you want to analyze your newsletter sign-ups and fill in contact information that subscribers left out.

Again, the choice between batch and real-time appending should depend on your organization’s needs. For most types of data appends, batch appending is more beneficial because it allows you to get all the information you need at once. However, real-time appending can be useful for ongoing data append-based solutions.

What Types of Data Appends Are There?

There’s a wide variety of data types you can append to your nonprofit’s database. Depending on your marketing goals and the information you have missing, you can choose the data appends that best fit your organization’s needs.

If you’re not sure which types of data would benefit your nonprofit, we’ll walk through the four different categories to give you a better idea of what your organization might need.

1. Contact Information

A lot of the data we’ve talked about so far falls under the umbrella of contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses. Believe it or not, social media profiles are also a type of data append in this category.

Communication with your supporters is essential to keeping your nonprofit running smoothly. Make sure your contact information is complete, up to date, and accurate with contact information appends. It’s important to review and update this type of data regularly since supporters’ contact information can change frequently for a variety of reasons.

2. Demographic Information

Demographic information allows you to learn a little more about who your supporters are. Types of demographic information you might collect include:

• Age
• Gender
• Race and ethnicity
• Income
• Employment
• Level of education
• Marital status

Although the benefits of having supporters’ demographic may not be as clear as those for contact information, knowing more about your supporters can help you reach them more effectively.

For example, date of birth appends allow you to know each supporter’s age so that you can segment them based on how old they are. Younger donors may respond better to text message outreach and social media campaigns while older donors may prefer direct mail. Additionally, knowing your supporters’ dates of birth presents the opportunity to offer birthday gifts or perks.

3. Geographic Data

Using geographic data appends can assist you in creating location-based campaigns. Segmentation based on location can be useful if your organization only operates in a certain area, if there are different localized branches of your nonprofit, or if you’re hosting in-person opportunities in certain areas.

The main geographic data append type is mailing address appends. Having the addresses of your supporters can allow you to send them direct mail and notify them of local opportunities.

4. Donor Wealth Screening

Donors are the primary source of your fundraising, so it can be helpful to know a little more about their assets. That way, you can predict how much and how likely they are to donate. It’s important to focus your marketing efforts on donors who seem to be open to upping or continuing their support at the moment. Doing so can help you prevent wasting time and energy on donors who may not currently be interested in lending their support.

Here are examples of donor wealth data you could append to your donor database.

• Net worth
• Likeliness to give
• Prior donations to other nonprofits
• Business and foundation affiliations
• Real estate
• Stock holdings

Data append services use donation and wealth databases to find this information based on the donor data you supply them with. Once you receive your donor wealth appends, you can customize your outreach to each donor based on their ability and propensity to give.

What Is a Data Append Service?

Since data appending can be rather difficult and time-consuming when done by someone who’s inexperienced, it’s best to turn to the experts. A data append service can help you obtain all different types of data appends. They work to fill in the gaps in your database to help you understand and reach your target audience better.

Data append services are reputable sources for help with your data hygiene. They can append any type of data you need. Additionally, efficient data append service providers will talk to your organization about your current data needs and concerns in order to help you figure out your next steps along your data journey.

You may still not be convinced that partnering with a data append service could be helpful for your organization. If that’s the case, we’ll explain the exact value data append services bring to the table for nonprofits in the next section.

What Value Do Data Append Services Add?

As a nonprofit professional, you must be incredibly careful to budget your funds and resources effectively. Data hygiene is important because it can save your organization time and money by making sure you’re reaching out to the right people.

Basic Benefits of Data Appends

Leveraging data append services is a smart investment for nonprofits because they can help you reach your target audience more efficiently. You’ll be able to make more data-driven decisions and have the right contact information for your supporters.

Now that you know the basic premise of what data append services do, let’s explore the benefits they can provide to your organization:

• New information. Data append services provide you with information you didn’t previously have access to. Whether that’s phone numbers, dates of birth, or mailing addresses, the right data append services can find the information you need.
• Accurate information. You may be missing information in your database, but you may also have incorrect or outdated information that needs to be updated. Data append services check the data you already have and replace outdated data with the most current information.
• Better segmentation. The more you know about your supporters, the better you can group them based on qualities relevant to your campaigns. Segmentation is a great way to customize each supporter’s experience and help them build a deeper connection to your organization.
• Time conserved. With access to the right resources, your nonprofit probably could find append data on its own. However, that would be very time-consuming for your team. Leave it to the experts who offer professional data append services, know what they’re doing, and can help save time that you can reallocate to other projects.
• Money saved. The investment of working with a data append service is nothing compared to the money you’ll lose on behalf of bad data. Data append services can help correct errors in your database to lower your marketing costs.

Beyond rounding out your supporter database, data appends add value to your organization in several different ways.

Nonprofit-Specific Benefits of Data Appends

While the above benefits apply to any organization, there are specific benefits for nonprofits that data append services provide, such as:

• Increased mission awareness. At the heart of your organization is its mission. Once you have the data you need to communicate with your supporters effectively, more people will become aware of your nonprofit’s cause.
• More donations. Now that you’re reaching out to the right audience, you’re bound to see more funds flood in for your cause. Especially if you’re able to leverage donor wealth appends, you’ll be able to improve your fundraising efforts tremendously.
• Industry-relevant data. Of course, all organizations could benefit from knowing their supporters’ names and email addresses, but there are certain data points that are especially useful for nonprofits. For example, if you know a donor’s employer, you can discover whether that employer participates in matching gifts and use that knowledge as an incentive for donors to contribute. Data append services geared toward nonprofits like NPOInfo are helpful resources for identifying opportunities to use data more effectively for your nonprofit.

If you’re looking to understand your supporters better, hiring a data append service provider is the right choice. While your organization won’t have to do much besides supplying them with the data you already have, it’s helpful to know how the data append process works so you can ask them any questions you may have.

What Is the Data Append Process?

We’ve talked a lot about the fact that data append services take the information you already have about your supporters and use it to find the data you’re looking for. How exactly does that process work though?

There are several steps that data append services follow in order to deliver data appends to their clients. Here are those steps:

1. Format the data. Before sending over your supporter data, make sure it’s all in the same format. Data append services typically prefer a comma-separated value (CSV) format for the data.
2. Upload the data. Next, compile all of the data into one file and send it to your data append service of choice.
3. Match the data. Once they receive your supporter data, the data append service will compare it to the databases they have in order to identify which information is missing or inaccurate.
4. Complete the appends. In this step, data append services enhance the data you’ve provided by adding the information they’ve found.
5. Check the data for accuracy. Before sending the appended information back to you, most data append services will check to make sure the data they’ve found is accurate. They may have manual or automated methods of verifying the data.
6. Send the data to the client. Lastly, the data append service will send the client the data file for them to download. While data append services like to work with CSV values, they can convert the file into virtually any format that the client prefers before sending it back to them.

The process is easy to follow, and once your organization formats and uploads the data, it’s all up to your data append service to put in the work. Since they’re experts in this area, they typically complete the process fairly quickly, allowing you to leverage your new data right away.

Now that you understand the data append process and how helpful a data append service can be, it’s time to find the data append service you’d like to work with.

How Do I Select a Data Append Service to Work With?

There are so many data append services out there that are ready to help your organization with its data needs. However, it’s important to do thorough research when finding a data append service provider to ensure that they have the qualities you’re looking for.

If you don’t know where to start, we’ve compiled a list of characteristics that we believe all data append services working with nonprofits should have, including:

• Employs accuracy checking. It would be a waste of your time and funds to go through the data append process and receive incorrect or outdated data. Look for a data append service that has accuracy checks or scans in place.
• Provides multiple kinds of appends. Chances are, you need multiple types of data, or you might in the future. Stick with the same data append service for all your data append needs by finding one that can provide all the information you’re looking for.
• Uses reputable information sources. You might not necessarily know where your data append service is getting their information from, but it doesn’t hurt to ask if they have a process of verifying the databases they’re using.
• Does a thorough job. Find a data append service that goes above and beyond to satisfy your data needs. In addition to data appends, you might look for a service that can talk you through your current data hygiene or opportunities for using your new data once you’ve received it.
• Has a quick turnaround. The faster you receive your data appends, the faster you can start using them to improve your marketing efforts and supporter communications. Ask your data append service how long they typically take to go through the process.
• Provides quotes. With a tight budget, your nonprofit will likely want to know how much data append services cost before committing. A reliable provider will give you that information ahead of time based on the information you need.
• Specializes in nonprofit data appends. For the best experience, partner with a data append service that regularly works with nonprofits. Of course, you can use a generic data append service, but for nonprofits, it’s best to work with one that is nonprofit-specific. They will understand your needs best and have the expertise you need to propel your organization forward on its data hygiene journey.
• Works with a variety of nonprofit organizations. Even if you’re working with a nonprofit-specific service, there’s no guarantee that they’ve worked with your organization type before. Look for a data append service that has worked with a variety of nonprofit organizations such as schools, healthcare organizations, and associations.

With these qualities in mind, NPOInfo is our recommended nonprofit data append service provider. They possess all the qualities we’ve listed above and have extensive experience providing data for nonprofits.

Conclusion & Additional Resources

Good data hygiene ensures that your nonprofit can gain important insights into who your supporters are. An essential component of data hygiene is data appends, which add missing information to your database to expand your supporter profiles. With data appends, you can personalize and even segment your supporter communications to connect with supporters on an individual level.

If you’re ready to move forward with the data append process, the next step is finding a data append service to work with. You can request a quote from NPOInfo, our recommended nonprofit data append service, to learn more.

If you need more information before diving into the data append process, that’s okay. Here are some additional resources about data append types that will help you better determine your organization’s data append needs:

• Email Appends: The Complete Q&A Guide for Organizations. These days, nearly every organization has some sort of email newsletter or communications. Ensure your messages are showing up in supporters’ inboxes with email address appends.
• Phone Appends: A Nonprofit’s Data Enrichment Guide. If you’re looking to call or text your supporters to inform them about upcoming opportunities, your nonprofit might benefit from phone appends. Check out this article to learn more about them.
• Your Ultimate Guide to Employer Appends for Nonprofits. Employer appends can help your organization identify matching gift opportunities. Optimize your fundraising potential with employer appends.

If you’ve been in the nonprofit fundraising world a while, you’ve probably heard of Google Ad Grants. For those who are unfamiliar, Google Ad Grants is a program created to help out nonprofits with their marketing and fundraising efforts by increasing their visibility online.

Participating organizations receive $10,000 per month to spend on Google Ads. These funds allow nonprofits of all sizes to grow their online presence and get more conversions.

It’s shocking how many nonprofits don’t already leverage the program. As long as your organization meets Google’s eligibility requirements and follows all rules of the program, you should have no problem getting into the program and staying enrolled.

Whether you’re looking to increase site traffic or connect with new prospects, leveraging Google Ad Grants is an effective way to reach your organization’s goals.

Whether your organization already leverages Google Ad Grants or has never heard of the program, we’re sure you have some questions. To clear up any confusion about the Google Ad Grants program, we’ve grouped the questions you likely have into these categories:

• The Google Ad Grant Essentials
• Google Ad Grant Eligibility Requirements
• Applying for Google Ad Grants
• Maintaining Your Google Ad Grants Account

Here at NXUnite, we’re always looking for new fundraising ideas that we can share with nonprofits, and Google Ad Grants is one of the most successful ones we’ve found. We’ve got a lot of questions to cover, so let’s dive right in!

What Are Google Ad Grants?

For those of you who are new to the program, we’ll start with the basics. The Google Ad Grants program gives eligible nonprofits $10,000 per month to spend on Google Ads. These ads typically appear at the top of relevant Google searches, allowing your organization to grab potential donors, subscribers, and volunteers’ attention.

To help you visualize Google Ads in action, we’ll give you an example. Say you’re a huge animal lover looking to make a difference. You might search “animal shelter” or “animal shelter near me.” From there, you’d likely see a Google Ad for a local animal shelter you can volunteer with or donate to in addition to other related resources.

While for-profit organizations can run Google Ads as well, Google Ads for nonprofits are a little different. To participate in the Google Ad Grants program, organizations must meet the eligibility requirements. Additionally, those who do not qualify for the program have to use traditional Google Ads and pay per click for their ads to run.

With the money granted by Google, nonprofits can bid on specific keywords and promote certain pages of their websites. Organizations choose which pages to promote based on their current goals. For example, if your organization has an upcoming event, you may want to highlight your event registration page.

Now that you have the gist of the program, it’s time to learn about its benefits in greater detail.

What Are the Benefits of Google Ad Grants?

If you’re going to spend time researching and applying for this program, you’ll want to know how it can benefit your organization. Take a look at the benefits Google Ad Grants could have for your nonprofit:

More engagement on your site.

To attract people to your organization, you’ll want to make sure you have the proper content on your website. However, your content could be great, but if potential supporters can’t find it, then it’s not serving its purpose.

The Google Ad Grants program helps to get the right web pages in front of the right people. For example, someone searching “donate to climate change donations” is likely looking for a place to contribute monetarily. As a result, you can use funds from your Google Ad Grant to promote your site’s donation page to this audience.

More conversions.

While you might associate conversions with sales and other related for-profit activities, nonprofits can also track conversions to measure outcomes and reach. Increasing conversions means that more people will be interacting with your site in the way that best suits them. Here are some examples of online conversions your nonprofit might track:

• Donations
• Volunteer signups
• Ticket sales
• Event registrations
• Petition signings
• Email list registrations

To increase site engagement and boost conversions, having the right content is key. If you don’t have the proper pages for meeting your conversion goals, then it will be difficult to increase conversions. However, once you create that content, Google Ad Grants can help you promote it accordingly and get it in front of the right audience.

Improving communication with your supporters.

Even with endless communication tools including email, calls, and social media, it can be difficult to interact with your supporters and share new information with them. Some people might feel overwhelmed with all the communication they receive from an organization. Others might be too busy to give your communication any attention.

Although Google Ad Grants don’t replace traditional communication strategies, they can enhance them. They provide a way for supporters to stay up to date on your content in a way that fits their own schedule and needs.

More information about your supporters’ goals.

Increasing communication effectively means understanding what information supporters need from your site. Using Google Analytics, you can see which pages users visit and what actions users take to learn more about which aspects of your organization are important to your supporters.

Since Google Analytics provides you with useful data about your campaign performance and website interactions, you can use that information to optimize your content and consequently increase engagement.

No competition for funding.

Google Ad Grants are not like traditional grants. While other grant programs have a limited amount of money that they distribute based on organizations’ needs, the Google Ad Grants program gives the same amount to all eligible organizations.

As long as your organization meets the program’s requirements, you will receive $10,000 worth of ad credits per month. This allows your organization to put more energy into using the grant effectively as opposed to stressing about how much funding you will receive.

What Can You Use Google Ad Grants to Accomplish?

Going into the Google Ad Grants program, it’s important to think about your goals as a participating organization. What pages do you want to promote? What conversions would you like users to make? These are some questions you may want to answer before applying.

To get you thinking, here are some reasons nonprofits use Google Ad Grants:

• To collect donations from current and potential donors
• To spread awareness about your organization’s cause
• To recruit volunteers for upcoming opportunities
• To share information about upcoming events and sell tickets
• To add subscribers to your email list
• To encourage users to take certain actions like engaging with your social media or signing a petition

The possibilities are endless with what you can use Google Ad Grants to accomplish as long as you define your goals ahead of time.

Is It Free to Participate in the Google Ad Grants Program?

As long as your organization is eligible for the program, it is free to participate! You must also follow the application process and stay compliant with all requirements once you accepted into the program.

Although the program is free for eligible organizations, determining your eligibility, applying, and preparing your account can be very time-consuming. If you want to participate in the program but don’t have time to figure out the process yourself, consider hiring a Google Grants agency. They will do all the hard work for you so you can focus on your goals as a participating organization.

How Large Does Your Organization Have to Be to Participate?

There’s no organization size minimum or maximum for participating in the Google Ad Grants program. Any nonprofit can benefit from the program and its opportunities to grow its online reach. Even small nonprofits will be able to access the program’s benefits, including increased engagement, more conversions, and greater knowledge about their supporters.

Google Ad Grants are great for smaller nonprofits because they allow opportunities for those organizations to grow as they expand their audience. However, if your organization is brand new, you might have to wait a few months to be eligible for the program. In the meantime, it will be helpful to learn more about the program and prepare your goals for participating in order to make the process run more smoothly once you’re eligible.

Which Types of Organizations Are Eligible for Google Ad Grants?

Since it’s free to participate in the program for any size organization, Google specifies several requirements that nonprofits must meet to be eligible for the program. The guidelines vary slightly based on your country, so be sure to check the unique requirements for your organization’s location.

The eligibility requirements are as follows in the United States:

• Register with the IRS as a charitable organization. In order to be a valid charitable organization, you’ll need to have 501(c)(3) status, exempting you from taxes. For verification of your organization, Google also requires you to register your organization with TechSoup.
• Accept the terms and conditions of the program. There are general Google for Nonprofits terms you’ll have to agree to as well as Google Ad Grant-specific certifications.
• Own your own domain and feature relevant content. Since you will be using Google Ad Grants to promote pages on your website, Google has some website requirements. These include owning your domain, featuring unique content, and including accurate information about your nonprofit’s purpose.
• Obtain an SSL certificate. Google wants to make sure your website is secure before they promote it, so they require Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certification. If you have installed it correctly, there should be a lock icon in the navigation bar in Google Chrome, and your URL will include https:// instead of http://.

If your organization follows these requirements, you should be good to participate in the program. However, the following organizations are automatically ineligible for the program:

• Governmental agencies and organizations
• Hospitals and healthcare institutions
• Schools, academic institutions, and universities

Google prohibits these organizations from participating in the program. However, if your organization falls under the last category, you may be able to participate in Google for Education, a similar program specifically for educational institutions.

How Do You Apply for Google Ad Grants?

Applying for Google Ad Grants for nonprofits isn’t complicated, but we’ve broken down the process into steps to simplify it even further. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to apply for Google Ad Grants:

1. Check the eligibility requirements.

As we just went over, there are several eligibility requirements for participating in the program. Before you apply, you’ll want to make sure you qualify and take any actions necessary to become eligible. This way, you can make sure the application process goes smoothly and avoid having your application rejected.

2. Sign up for TechSoup.

Once you’ve determined that your organization is eligible for the program, the next step is signing up for TechSoup. TechSoup is an organization that works with Google and other companies to give nonprofits access to helpful resources at discounted rates.

In order to register with TechSoup, follow these three easy steps:

1. Go to the TechSoup registration page and create an account.
2. Select your preferred language and the country where your organization is located.
3. Click ‘New Member,’ select ‘Register,’ and agree to TechSoup’s terms.

After you complete this process, TechSoup will give you a validation token that you’ll need to activate your Google for Nonprofits account.

3. Create a Google for Nonprofits account.

Google Ad Grants is just one of the resources Google provides under the umbrella of Google for Nonprofits. When you create your Google for Nonprofits account, you’ll be able to access:

• Google Workspace for Nonprofits, which grants your nonprofit access to Google’s suite of apps including Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Calendar, and Meet.
• YouTube Nonprofit Program, which enhances your YouTube account for the nonprofit space with features like a donate button and video annotations that link to your website.
• Google Earth and Maps, which allows people to find programs and resources near them.

In order to create an account, make sure you have your tax ID number, contact information, and TechSoup validation token on hand.

4. Set up Google Analytics.

It’s essential for your website to have Google Analytics connected to it before applying for Google Ad Grants. Circle back to the goals you have for participating in the program. This is where you’ll put them to work!

You should install Google Tag Manager and create some conversion tracking goals for your site that align with your goals for participating in the program. For example, you might want people to do one or more of the following:

• Sign up to be volunteers
• Register for an event
• Donate to your nonprofit
• Sign a petition for your advocacy campaign
• Spend a certain amount of time on your website

Adding these goals to Google Analytics will allow you to track which pages are most successful in acquiring conversions. It will also allow you to recognize which pages need some work so that you can adjust them accordingly.

5. Complete the Google Ad Grants application.

Now that the preliminary steps are complete, it’s time to actually fill out your Google Ad Grants application. You’ll have to log in to your Google for Nonprofits account to access it.

Part of the application process includes submitting your website for review. The Google Ad Grants team will look over your website and its content to see if your organization is ready for the program.

Another thing to consider about your application is whether you’ll choose to start a “Smart Campaign” or “Classic” account. “Smart Campaign” is a more basic option with automated settings. It requires less management whereas the “Classic” account has more tools and customization options included.

Finally, Google will review your application and respond within three business days. When Google approves your account, you’ll automatically be able to access and start using Google Ads to amplify your organization’s most important web pages.

How Do I Use My Google Ad Grants Account Successfully?

Now that you have your Google Ad Grants account, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the most out of it. The way to do so is to have a well-thought-out plan for how to develop and implement your ad campaigns.

While Google Ad Grants will certainly increase your website’s visibility, it’s the work you put into optimizing your account that will allow you to see the best results. Here are some ways to make sure your account is successful.

1. Create good content.

It’s easier said than done, but creating good content for your website is an integral part of your success with the Google Ad Grants program. Without good content, it doesn’t matter how much traffic comes to your website because users will be less likely to make conversions once they see your pages.

There are a couple elements your content should have to increase its value, including:

• Topics with high search volume. Your content could be well written and engaging, but if no one’s searching for it, then it doesn’t matter. Make sure to feature content with popular topics that will help people find your site. For help with figuring out how topics rank, look at Google Trends or Moz to research keywords.
• Focus. People typically only search for one topic at a time, so you’ll want to design your page to reflect that. Spread your content out so that each page has its own focus.
• Built-out pages. On the other hand, you want to make sure your content on each page is substantial. This is not only crucial for user experience but also for how Google ranks your page. You’ll also attract more users if your pages actually contain helpful information people are looking for.
• Calls to action. You’ve created your conversion goals, and now you want to make it clear to users what you want them to do in reference to those goals. For example, if you want people to register for an event, make sure to include a button or a link that will take them to your event registration page.
• Mobile friendliness. More and more searches these days come from mobile devices. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that your content is mobile friendly so that people can access it in the format you intend for them to. Additionally, mobile friendliness is one of Google’s ranking factors for organic traffic, which you’ll want to keep up in addition to your Google Ads.

The better your content is, the more people will flock to your website. Hopefully, this increased traffic leads to more conversions, which are important to measure and analyze to make continuous progress for your mission.

2. Track your campaign goals.

Data should be the guiding force in making decisions about your Google Ad Grants account, and lucky for you, there are tools at your disposal to help you use data effectively.

To get the most out of your Google Ad campaigns, you’ll have to set up conversion tracking and data analytics. These tools are included within Google Analytics, which you should already have installed. Use Google Analytics to set up goals so that you can track your campaign performance accordingly.

As we’ve gone over before, your goals for participating in the program are what shape how you will use Google Ad Grants to your advantage. You’ll want to track these goals to make sure you’re accomplishing them and adjust your website if you’re not performing as well as you had hoped. Ideas for goals are:

• Signing up for your email list
• Making a donation
• Submitting a volunteer registration form
• Buying a ticket for an event
• Signing a petition

For each goal that you have, you’ll want to set up conversion tracking in Google Analytics. That way, you’ll be able to see how well your goals are panning out and make necessary changes.

3. Get to know your audience.

The Google Ad Grant program has ways for you to limit who your ads are shown to. To take advantage of this feature, you’ll want to define your intended audience and keywords for each campaign. That way, you can ensure that each campaign is focused and reaching the people you want it to reach.

To get to know your audience, it’s also helpful to do some keyword research. Once you know exactly what people are searching for that’s related to your page, you’ll have a better idea of what keywords to include in your own content that will help them show up in searches.

If you have an idea of what your audience isn’t searching for or what unrelated audiences are searching for, use negative keywords. Unlike regular keywords, negative keywords are used to prevent your content from showing up in searches that contain certain words.

Once you’ve been using Google Analytics for a while, you can start to look through the search queries of people who visit your site to see which ones don’t result in conversions or aren’t related to your nonprofit. This process will allow you to add more negative keywords to your list and only show up for relevant searches.

4. Use other marketing efforts.

Google Ad Grants are certainly a powerful marketing tool, but don’t forget about what else is out there! Continue your usual marketing activities, whether that’s regularly posting on social media or sending out email newsletters once a week. The data you collect from your Google Ad Grants campaigns will also be useful to consider for these marketing methods as well.

Additionally, your Google for Nonprofits account gives you access to other marketing tools that you can leverage. For example, the YouTube Nonprofit Program makes it easier to fundraise on YouTube by teaching you how to create effective campaign videos and equipping your account with a donate button.

5. Focus on quality.

Although the program gives you $10,000 a month in ad spending, most nonprofits don’t use it all. This may be because some organizations don’t have enough time or resources to manage multiple campaigns. Alternatively, others may not have content geared toward their audience’s needs and therefore aren’t getting good results.

Whatever the issue is, you can still spend only a portion of what Google provides and have a successful Google Ad Grants account. For example, your audience may be specific to a certain area or interest that may allow you to reach it without spending the full amount of money.

In conclusion, remember to focus on the quality of your content and its ability to create conversions as opposed to haphazardly using all the funds Google provides.

How Do I Maintain My Google Ad Grants Account?

Maintaining your Google Ad Grants account is an ongoing process. You’ll want to make sure you’re using the funds Google provides effectively and that your campaigns reflect the data you’ve collected. Check out our suggestions for keeping your Google Ad Grants account strong:

• Run at least 3-5 campaigns. When you start using Google Ads, get a feel for how many campaigns your organization can manage at once. Less than three won’t be enough to show results, but too many campaigns might overwhelm whoever’s managing your account. You’ll want to have multiple campaigns to promote different aspects of your website. For example, one campaign might highlight your donation page while another simply promotes your homepage with background information about your cause.
• Connect your ad groups to your cause. Like your website’s landing pages, you’ll want to make sure your ad groups are focused on their respective topics as well as your organization’s mission. For example, if you’re an animal shelter looking for volunteers, your Volunteer ad group should include keywords like “volunteer at an animal shelter,” “work with cats and dogs,” and “help animals get adopted.”
• Use ad extensions to your advantage. Ad extensions invite users to click on your content by providing them with extra information. There are several different kinds of ad extensions. An example is callout extensions, which allow you to add bullet points under your ads to highlight what’s important.

While creating your account was easy, maintaining might be more complicated than you originally anticipated. Not to worry though! This just means you might benefit from the help of a professional agency. Google Grants agencies can save you time and energy by managing your Google Ad Grants for you.

What Are the Google Ad Grants Account Rules?

Just as Google has certain requirements for creating a Google Ad Grants account, they also have rules for keeping your account active. It’s important to follow these rules to not only run your account successfully but to also avoid suspension.

Google lists out the requirements for compliance in its official compliance guide, but we’ve summarized some of the most important ones below:

• Avoid using single-word keywords unless it is on this list of approved exceptions.
• Don’t use overly generic keywords.
• Only use keywords with a quality score higher than 2.
• Maintain a 5% monthly clickthrough rate (CTR).
• Set up conversion tracking with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.
• Create at least 2 ads per ad group and at least 2 ad groups per campaign.
• Include at least 2 sitelink ad extensions.
• Answer the yearly program survey.

To stay on top of these rules and any potential changes to them, make sure to regularly check the Google Ad Grants compliance page. You may want to bookmark it or schedule time on your calendar each month to review it. A Google Ad Grants agency could also answer any questions you may have about the program’s compliance requirements.

Why Was My Google Ad Grants Account Suspended?

As long as your account remains compliant with the program’s requirements, it will renew monthly, requiring no further action. However, not maintaining your account’s compliance could put your account at risk of suspension.

Take a look at some of the most common reasons Google Ad Grants accounts are suspended besides the compliance rules we’ve reviewed:

• Violating the program’s terms multiple times
• Not meeting eligibility criteria
• Losing 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
• Abusing the ad network
• Not reverifying your account when asked to do so
• Falsifying information about your organization

If your account does get suspended, don’t panic! A Google Ad Grants agency can help you to figure out the problem and how to solve it to get your account back.

Can Someone Help Me Manage My Google Ad Grants Account?

Yes! If you’re at all confused or need help in any step of the Google Ad Grants process, a Google Ad Grants agency is equipped to help you out.

You could turn to a regular nonprofit marketing consultant, but for the expertise you’re looking for, a Google Ad Grants agency would be a better choice. Since they spend all their time working to manage Google Ad Grants, they have the knowledge of and familiarity with the program that you’re looking for.

Google Ad Grants agencies will manage the entire grant management process, including:

• Determining your Google Ad Grants eligibility
• Applying for the program
• Researching keywords
• Managing your campaigns
• Maintaining your account’s compliance
• Optimizing your pages
• Reactivating your account if it is suspended

Whatever you’re having trouble with, Google Ad Grants agencies are the best source of help for your questions about the program.

What Else Do I Need to Know About Google Ad Grants?

By now, we hope you feel like an expert on Google Ad Grants! Now that you know all about what they are, how you can use them, and how you can manage your account, you have all the tools you need to be a successful participant in the Google Ad Grants program.

However, we know you might have even more questions that we weren’t able to cover. In case that’s the case, here are some resources that can help:

• Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits: The Complete Guide. Want to take a look at another handy guide all about Google Ad Grants? Getting Attention has you covered.
• Why Are Google Ad Grants Confusing? And How to Simplify Them. We’ve just given you a lot of new information, so it’s likely you’re confused about some of it. Check out this article to sort out any confusions you may have.
• How to Optimize A Google Grant Account: 8 Mistakes & 9 Tips. Once you’ve gotten your account up and running, here are some tips for making it the best that it can be.