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What is the Microsoft Ad Grant? What Nonprofits Should Know

When you go to a theater, you naturally pay attention to center stage. In fact, theaters are structured so that center stage can be viewed from almost every seat. The lead actors and actresses are rarely far from this specific location.

Believe it or not, the theater is not that different from the world of digital advertising. Occupying center stage in theater has a similar effect to appearing in the first slot of the search results page – your audience recognizes your unique presence.

The Microsoft Ad Grant places the advertising spotlight on your nonprofit, so your mission can shine. Through the program, you can promote your organization’s most important web content, effectively driving more donations, volunteer registrations, event attendance, and awareness for your mission. In turn, you’ll forge deeper supporter connections and put your organization on a path toward achieving its goals.

In this article, we will cover all things Microsoft Ad Grant related. For reference, here are the main points we’ll cover:

Microsoft Ad Grants Overview
Microsoft Ad Grant Eligibility
Optimizing Your Ad Grant Campaigns
Working With a Microsoft Ad Grants Agency

While the grant can do a lot of good for your cause, know that it takes a considerable amount of work to manage. At any point, you can ease the workload by outsourcing Microsoft Ad Grant management to a professional agency. We recommend partnering with Getting Attention for all of your grant management needs.

In the meantime, if you’re ready to harness the power of pay-per-click marketing, let’s dive in!

Microsoft Ad Grants Overview

Also known as the Ads for Social Impact program, the Microsoft Ad Grant is a $3,000 in-kind monthly grant that can be used to create ads that amplify your nonprofit’s web content. Ads can be placed across all Microsoft-owned and operated websites including Bing, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook.com, MSN, and Microsoft Edge.

Similar to the Google Ad Grant, participants bid on mission-centric keywords and craft ads with compelling ad copy and a landing page. Their ads then have the chance to appear at the top of search engine results for their selected keywords.

The Microsoft Ad Grant became available for qualifying organizations in June 2022. Similar to a coupon, the grant program applies the monthly $3,000 to your existing Microsoft Ads account. Think of it as free advertising cash!

Microsoft Ad Grant Eligibility

Eligible organizations include nonprofits, public libraries, public museums, and some religious organizations. Universities, healthcare, political, and professional organizations are considered ineligible.

If you are a fully registered nonprofit organization, you have already satisfied one of the few eligibility requirements. Microsoft has a few other qualifications that you must meet before applying.

To register for the Microsoft Ad Grant, you must:

Hold 501(c)(3) status, which means you are fully registered as a nonprofit organization and the IRS recognizes you as an official charitable organization and exempts you from tax obligations.
Adhere to Microsoft’s anti-discrimination policy.
Have a mission that benefits the broader community. This includes but is not limited to providing relief to the poor, improving social welfare, or advocating for human rights.
Only assign grants to eligible staff. This includes paid nonprofit employees and unpaid executive leaders.
Only use grants for your nonprofit. You are not permitted to share your grant with affiliate or sister organizations.

After you have checked off all of the eligibility criteria, you are ready to apply!

Steps to apply

If you’re familiar with the Google Ad Grants application process, Microsoft’s process shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Lucky for you, the application process is painless. It only contains two significant steps: prequalification steps via Microsoft for Nonprofits and the application for Microsoft Grants. Let’s explore these steps a little further.

Step 1: Apply for Microsoft for Nonprofits.

You will first need to apply for Microsoft for Nonprofits. Visit the Microsoft for Nonprofits application where you’ll complete these four steps:

Welcome and Policies
Organization Information
Verifying Phone Number
Account Creation

These steps should take around 10 minutes to complete. Microsoft should get back to you about your acceptance into the Microsoft for Nonprofits program within 24 hours after your submission.

Step 2: Complete the Microsoft Ad Grants Application.

After Microsoft approves your application, you can now apply for the Microsoft Ad Grant itself.

This step includes providing additional organization information and information related to your position at your nonprofit. Microsoft requires that only current users within your nonprofit apply. The grant application should take even less time than Step 1 to fill out. Confirmation of your Ad Grant status should appear within 10 business days.

Optimizing Your Microsoft Ad Grant Campaigns

If leveraged effectively, the Microsoft Ad Grant can give your nonprofit center stage on the search engine results page. Once you occupy this coveted position, there are some best practices to help you maintain your lead role.

From keywords to landing page optimization, there’s a lot you can do to make your nonprofit stand out through the program. Let’s explore our recommended tips further!

Choose the right keywords.

To properly optimize your website for your Microsoft Ads, it’s important to have an understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) basics. SEO refers to tactics that help your nonprofit rank highly on search engines such as Yahoo, MSN, and Google. It’s the behind-the-scenes work necessary to increase your nonprofit’s visibility online.

Driving more traffic to your site is the end goal of every SEO strategy. One of the best ways to strengthen your SEO strategy is by targeting the right keywords for your organization. Competition for keyword targeting can be stiff, so it’s important to tailor your keywords to your specific content and audience.

High-authority websites have dominance over certain keywords. For example, including the keyword, “Twitter” for a social media fundraising campaign is not specific enough to your content and audience. Instead, including specifics like location can help you refine your keyword selection.

For instance, let’s say you work at a environmental nonprofit that wants to drive more traffic to your fundraising campaign to fight climate change. In this case, you might target terms like:

Donate to prevent climate change
Give to stop global warming
How to stop climate change

Then, you’d link to your specific campaign page, urging people to give. Choosing specific keywords for your mission and campaigns will help you put your content directly in front of individuals most likely to get involved.

Select compelling imagery.

With the right keywords in place, it’s time to make your landing pages stand out with some dazzling images. Often, images communicate messages that words cannot fully convey. Logos, infographics, and edited organization photos should all consistently align with your brand’s message.

Picking the perfect visual can be tricky. Here are some pointers to reference when selecting images:

- Loads quickly. Lag time matters. If an image takes too long to load, the likelihood of user page abandonment drastically increases. The best way to avoid this pitfall is to resize and compress all images on your site. By doing this, users stay on your site instead of exploring other comparable options.
- High quality. When resizing and compressing images, sometimes image quality is sacrificed. Review your images to avoid overly-pixelated or blurry visuals. If you design graphics for your site, it’s best to avoid fine lines and other indistinguishable elements.
- Informative. Is your image telling the right story? Select infographics that are up-to-date with your nonprofit’s goals and mission. Be sure your photos accurately reflect your organization’s values. If an infographic becomes overly complicated, look for ways to delete any unnecessary icons or text.
- Emotionally-charged. Photographs are digital snapshots of your mission in action. When you use a photo to highlight the passion you feel for your community, it strengthens your mission’s authenticity.
- Well-placed. A beautiful photo placed on the wrong page is a missed opportunity. Well-placed images aid in explaining the related written information on your web page. Be sure that your images and text are playing nice with one another. For example, a registration or information page about your volunteer program is the perfect place to feature images of your volunteers hard at work.

As you start choosing and redesigning your graphics, make sure they embody these common qualities. Whenever a user clicks one of your Microsoft Ads, your website will catch their eye, communicate professionality, and ultimately reel them into your content.

Types of Images

There are several types of images you can use to spice up your site. It can be tempting to find one image type and stick with it. However, having image variety provides a full picture of your nonprofit.

Here are some common image types to consider when reworking your site for Microsoft Ad Grants:

Infographics. Infographics are a great option to streamline educational information. Maybe you have an engaging concept for a fundraising campaign. Using an infographic to describe your fundraising goals, progress, and how to enter is a great way to educate your users.

Photographs of those you serve. Putting a face to your cause helps users identify who they are benefitting when they give to your nonprofit. Because humans are relational creatures emotional photographs function as a visual connection between your users and your mission.

Photographs of your staff. Your employees, volunteers, and leadership act as unofficial nonprofit brand representatives. Their smiling faces also tell a story about your mission’s impact. Helping others can be contagious, and an engaging photograph of your staff motivates users to join your cause.

Your logo. As the king of visual cues, your logo is crucial to your online identity. All reputable nonprofits have distinct, unique logos as a part of their branding. Make sure you keep your nonprofit’s logo design minimalistic to maintain quick recognition, and aim to create a design that communicates trustworthiness. Then, feature it prominently on the web content you promote through Microsoft Ad Grants, such as in your navigation bar.

Now that you have your visuals in place, let’s examine why you should optimize your landing pages.

Ensure your landing page is informative

As a general guideline, you want your users to find their desired search information as quickly as possible. Using Microsoft Ads to lead users to your homepage is inefficient and unproductive. It’s better to direct them to a specific landing page that includes just one or two calls to action.

For instance, maybe your landing page is dedicated to providing volunteer information. To maintain user interest, it’s essential that this landing page is neatly arranged and full of relevant content. Volunteer testimonials, high-quality photos of volunteers, and a call-to-action link like “volunteer today” would be great additions.

As you evaluate your landing pages, ask yourself these key questions:

Is my landing page well-structured for a positive user experience? (Does it load quickly? Do all of my links work?)
Is the content on my landing page relevant?
Do I use eye-catching and informative imagery?
Is there at least one call to action on my landing page?

If you answer yes to these questions, you are good to go! If not, you should re-evaluate your landing pages before promoting it with the Microsoft Ad Grant. For more advice on advertising campaign optimization, check out Getting Attention.

Working With a Microsoft Ad Grants Agency

Perfecting an actionable SEO strategy and cleaning up your website can feel like hefty tasks. Don’t sweat if your team is not full of tech-savvy individuals. Managing your digital presence is time-consuming, so maybe a more efficient use of your time would be found working with an external partner.

Professionals trained in Microsoft Ad Grant management exist to help you take full advantage of your advertising budget. If you are considering working with an agency to increase capacity, let’s answer some questions you might have.

What are the advantages of working with an agency?

Working with a professional Microsoft Ad Grants manager empowers your team to take full advantage of the program. By partnering with an agency, you can expect:

- Expert advice. When working with an agency, you take the guesswork out of SEO strategy. Agency experts know which strategies deliver the best results, so you don’t have to waste your time experimenting.
- Full-time monitoring. Agencies can help you set reachable goals and track your progress. Having eyes on your online marketing status means that an agency can make quick and meaningful adjustments when needed.
- More time to focus on your cause. Running a nonprofit means you have a lot of different aspects to manage. Hiring an agency can take one more item off of your to-do list. That way, when more traffic appears on your site, you’ll be ready for it.

Depending on the exact agency you partner with, the benefits might run deeper than this. These are just some of the most common ones you may encounter.

What should I be looking for in an agency?

Each nonprofit’s needs will vary when it comes to managing the Microsoft Ad Grant. Depending on how much of the account maintenance you want to outsource, look for these core services:

Ad campaign formulation and maintenance. Juggling several campaigns at one time can be demanding work. Look for an agency that can create new online content while actively monitoring your campaign performance.

Website optimization. Search for a Microsoft Ad Grant agency that knows website optimization ins and outs. From website design to SEO, the right agency will be able to make meaningful improvements and create new pages where needed.

Account hygiene. Outdated and unnecessary data can clutter your site and hinder your load times. A detail-oriented agency will help you sort out any account management issues, monitor performance, and adjust your ads to generate the best results.

Grant reactivation. Sometimes unexpected things happen and you lose your grant status. That’s okay. Agencies are there to help you get back on your feet.

Keyword research. Keyword research can be tricky business. Look for an agency that specializes in keyword research so you can take full advantage of the Microsoft Ad Grant’s benefits.

As our recommended agency, the experts at Getting Attention are trained in Microsoft Ad Grant management. This means they are pros at creating impactful online strategies and know what it takes to stand out on search engines. With extensive nonprofit experience, they know how to initiate and maintain a valuable search engine marketing plan.

Conclusion and Additional Resources

When used productively, the Microsoft Ad Grant gives your nonprofit center stage in digital marketing. A well-branded online identity, refined keyword selection, and efficient landing pages should be top of mind during your ad grant journey.

Searching for more digital marketing tips? Here are some of our recommended resources for grant management, logo creation, and employer appends:

How Google Ad Grants Can Help Your Fundraising. Want some more information on Google Ad Grants? This guide is for you.
Microsoft Ad Grants: The Complete Guide for Nonprofits. Interested in exploring an in-depth look at Microsoft Ad Grants? Here is a complete guide.
Nonprofit Marketing Ideas: Promote Your Cause Effectively. Looking to jumpstart your nonprofit’s marketing efforts? Here are our top tips.

November 21, 2022/by Rafi

4 Awesome Tools for Creating a Nonprofit Logo

Nonprofit Tips

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear “the golden arches?” Whatever image your brain conjures, one thing’s certain: you associate McDonald’s with this phrase. This nickname stems from the chain’s iconic logo, one of the most recognizable in the world. Logos have the potential to associate favorable qualities with your brands, such as McDonalds’ salty fries or crispy chicken nuggets.

Though logo creation is usually associated with the for-profit sector, your nonprofit can benefit from strong branding as well. If your organization hasn’t created a logo yet, you’re missing out on the valuable prospect of brand recognition. This guide will help you make a nonprofit logo that stands the test of time and cements your presence in your community.

Table of contents:

Nonprofit Logo FAQ
Nonprofit Logo Examples
Tools to Create your Nonprofit Logo

Nonprofit Logo FAQ

Before we discuss tools to build your nonprofit’s logo, let’s answer some of the questions you may have about the purpose of nonprofit branding and logo creation.

What is nonprofit branding?

While nonprofits have many differences from for-profits, the importance of their brand is a significant similarity. Your brand is your nonprofit’s identity that you showcase to set you apart. It represents a variety of messages, including your mission statement, vision statement, story, and initiatives.

Your branding also includes aesthetic elements like your logos, graphic designs, colors, and fonts. It should be attractive and inviting to your viewer. It should be simple and meaningful so that anyone can pick up your organization’s spirit.

You should be purposeful about your organization’s branding strategy and prioritize certain traits. Here are some of the characteristics that should come across in your branding:

Professional
Personable
Reputable
Reliable
Trustworthy
Grateful
Selfless

This is only a handful of the attributes that you can capture with your branding. Whatever you choose to channel, ensure that it’s a holistic representation of your organization’s values, personality, and professionalism.

What’s the difference between a logo and branding?

Having a strong and cohesive brand is necessary to forge a positive initial reaction from your viewer. Moreover, all the human brain takes is a tenth of a second to form its first impression, so you have little room for error. Your logo is a part of your overall branding strategy, but it’s extra important because of how many eyes are on it. Logos use aspects of your branding like font and color scheme to establish a strong connection to your organization as soon as your viewer takes in your logo.

Think of your branding as your outward composure, and all of your viewers are strangers meeting you for the first time. In many instances, your logo functions as a greeting, the first hint of your brand your viewer gets.

What is graphic design?

Nonprofit graphic design is the combination of text and pictures to convey information or branding. According to Top Nonprofits, “images are powerful because they can communicate what words cannot. They can not only fortify your brand identity, but they can also communicate to your audience in a meaningful way.” You can use graphic design to transcend language barriers and catalyze audience growth.

You’ll need to use graphic design concepts to develop your logo. If you aren’t a design professional, don’t worry, you aren’t alone. The tools in this article will help you build a logo, no matter your previous experience with graphics.

What’s the purpose of your nonprofit logo?

What would the American Red Cross be without its eponymous emblem or the World Wildlife Fund without that cute panda? Logos are bite-sized symbols of your organization meant to leave your footprint across both the internet and your physical community.

As such, logos are a core part of every nonprofit’s branding strategy and are essential for building up recognition and trust. Plus, logos can be used to build cohesive marketing campaigns, even when you’re communicating with supporters are multiple, disparate platforms. For instance, they can be used to bring your unique presence to materials, such as:

Websites
Blogs
Signs
Letters
Emails
Social media profiles
Promotional merchandise

All of the world’s top nonprofits have recognizable logos, which has helped them spread their reach on a global scale. It’s a versatile marketing tool that you must have in your arsenal to make your organization a thought leader in your space and beyond.

Nonprofit Logo Examples

Let’s take a look at some effective nonprofit logos to give you an idea of what to prioritize.

Why we love this logo: The New York Peace Institute’s logo reflects its mission perfectly. The overlapping speech bubbles represent the amicable discourse that the NYPI champions. The white bubble in the center represents a middle ground where the two opposing sides can understand each other.

Why we love this logo: What’s not to love about this logo? The bigger elephant is shown guiding the smaller elephant, which encompasses the mentoring project’s mission of supporting young people through tumultuous times. The design is simple and easily comprehensible. Plus, look how adorable those elephants are!

Why we love this logo: This logo for the national wildlife federation is another great example of nonprofit branding. It’s shaped like a governmental seal, which implicitly establishes the organization’s credibility. The inclusion of the ranger’s hat on the raccoon hints at a deep connection between humans and animals that the federation advocates for.

Why we love this logo: If you’re in the nonprofit sector, you’re probably already familiar with this iconic logo. United Way is one of the foremost nonprofit organizations in the United States, and its branding lends to its success. Though there are hundreds of chapters across the country, their branding is consistent and identifiable. The logo itself is colorful and welcoming, conveying a sense of warmth to people who know nothing about the organization.

Now that you understand the importance of branding and creating a powerful logo, it’s time to get creative!

Tools to Create Your Nonprofit Logo

The process of creating visual branding like logos can be an intimidating undertaking, especially if you aren’t experienced in digital design. Thankfully, there are thousands of graphic design services available to help you make a fantastic logo. Plus, if you’re creating it yourself, you’ll find that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel; 95% of leading brand logos only have one or two colors in their logo. We’ll discuss what makes each platform unique so that you can decide which is best for you.

Tool #1: Kwala

Overview: Kwala’s an all-in-one platform that specializes in all things nonprofit graphic design. Unlike many for-profit design platforms, Kwala specifically targets nonprofit organizations. This service will put your nonprofit in contact with a graphic designer. Once you’ve determined they’re a good fit, they’ll provide comprehensive graphic design services on a monthly basis with unlimited edits.

What it specializes in: Kwala creates designs for many parts of the nonprofit branding process. Beyond creating logos, they make designs for multiple products, such as t-shirts, flyers, table runners, yard signs, stickers, and posters. They also have an educational blog so that you can learn more about the importance of graphic design.

Why we love this provider: Kwala isn’t just another graphic design platform: this team believes in the nonprofit sector’s power to change the world. Kwala acknowledges that many nonprofits don’t have the time or resources to afford quality graphic design services despite their utility. The Kwala team understands just how much time and effort goes into running a nonprofit, so their process is streamlined to help you achieve your mission and broaden your audience.

Kwala understands the power of graphic design logos and the value of showcasing your work in a clean, artistic way to appeal to donors. The team advocates for small businesses and nonprofits by providing them with excellent graphics to compete with larger competitors. Because of their experience in the nonprofit industry, they know which designs appeal to donors.

If your nonprofit is looking for a logo provider with a personalized and professional approach, Kwala is your graphic design solution.

Tool #2: Canva

Overview: If you’ve ever looked into design apps for social media posts, chances are you’ve heard of this platform. Canva is a popular graphic design service that has over 60 million users across the world. It provides premade templates alongside the capability to make graphics from scratch.

What it specializes in: The majority of Canva users use it for creating social media content. They offer templates for numerous types of content, such as infographics and event flyers. Plus, you can resize the templates to be optimized for any social media platform or post types, like stories or feed updates.

In recent years, Canva expanded its offerings to cover many parts of the branding process. Here are some materials that you can make on the platform:

Logos
Flyers
Banners
Posters
Resumes
Invitations
Business cards
Collages
Graphs

As you can see, Canva is a one-stop shop for your self-created graphic design needs.

Why we love this service: Canva is a great logo maker because it’s so accessible, no matter your career or expertise. It appeals to a range of skill sets by supplying multiple levels of graphic design services. Additionally, it offers several tiers of advanced tools via different levels of payment plans.

As for logo making itself, Canva has little to no barriers to entry. The platform has a community tab where you can view what other users have created, which is a great place to draw inspiration from nonprofits that you admire. It also has a specific tool to guide you through the logo creation process. This tool makes it simple to channel your brand identity into an impressive logo.

Though the service doesn’t cater specifically to nonprofits, the Canva team still understands the need for graphic design in the nonprofit sector. It wants to reward nonprofits by offering their pro features for free. Consider taking advantage of this discount to access all of the tools Canva has to offer.

Tool #3: DesignMantic

Overview: DesignMantic is a graphic design platform that allows you to create a logo design. The platform will automatically generate logo designs based on your organization’s name and focus area, and you can change the design until you’re happy with it. Plus, you can request as many logos as you want until you’ve found the right one. Once you’ve decided which design you want, you pay a fee for complete ownership of the logo.

What it specializes in: DesignMantic is primarily a logo-generating service, but it also creates templates for t-shirts, flyers, and websites.

Why we love this service: This service is great because of how accessible, fast, and user-friendly it is. The only information you need to provide is your nonprofit’s name and focus area, and it will instantly provide hundreds of contenders. This system ensures that your logo will be relevant to your nonprofit’s area of expertise.

Like Canva, this platform isn’t tailored around nonprofit needs, but it still offers them valuable deals. If your organization applies to DesignMantic in advance, you can keep your favorite logo without paying the ownership fee. So, if your organization is on the go and looking for an inexpensive and quick logo solution, DesignMantic is your best bet!

Tool #4: Adobe Express

Overview: If you haven’t heard of any other services on this list, you probably at least know this one. The Adobe Creative Cloud is a juggernaut in the digital creation space, boasting over 26 million paid users around the world. While many Adobe programs are known (and, in some circles, infamous) for their complexity and priciness, there’s an answer for less tech-savvy users who still want to take advantage of industry-grade tools.

Adobe Express is perfect for beginner graphic designers who don’t need all the bells and whistles. It’s a web and mobile app that allows you to create a myriad of graphics and other branded elements. It brings together the best features of other Adobe products such as Photoshop, Premiere, and Acrobat and streamlines the design process.

What it specializes in: Despite its name, Adobe Express is anything but hasty. The platform includes templates for nearly any purpose or event, and logos are no exception! It gives you access to millions of stock photos, thousands of fonts, and integration with other Creative Cloud products. Similar to Canva, Express offers a custom logo creator as one of its features. Best of all, this powerful tool fits in the palm of your hand with its mobile accessibility.

Why we love this service: Adobe products are the gold standard for digital design, and Express opens these tools to a wider user base. From its mobile-friendliness to its ready-to-use templates, this platform is highly accessible but still robust enough to enhance your digital design portfolio.

If your nonprofit wants more features than what Adobe Express offers, you’re in luck: nonprofits can apply for a discount on all Adobe paid products. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and explore this expansive logo solution, now’s the time!

The Bottom Line

Now that some of your questions are answered and you have logo design options to pursue, you should confer with your team to decide which solution best fits your branding needs. If you need further information to help you choose, explore the service’s website or speak to a representative. You can even look at other examples of nonprofit graphic design to jumpstart your creative process.

Whichever branding you develop and the platform you pick, always allow your mission, vision, and values to inform your decisions. Likewise, if you work with an external graphic designer, ensure that they have a firm grasp of what makes your organization tick so that they can best represent your interests. With a cohesive brand identity and logo design, your organization will not only be seen but recognized and appreciated, which is exactly what it deserves.

Additional Resources

Do you want to learn more about nonprofit branding strategies, graphic design, and visual communication? Check out some of these resources to deepen your understanding of these concepts.

How to Choose Stock Photos (That Won’t Hurt Your Brand). Stock photos are a valuable graphic design element that, if acquired from the right sources, can enhance your digital persona. Learn how to choose the right ones that will add value to your brand and not distract your viewers.
5 Steps to Create a Great Nonprofit Graphic Design Strategy. If you want to create more than just your logo, consult this guide to round out your nonprofit’s graphic design portfolio.
5 Things to Keep in Mind When Designing a Logo. Now that you know which platforms you can use to develop your logo, you can start exploring insider tips for making your logo stand out during the design process.
5 Nonprofit Graphic Design FAQs to Help You Stand Out. Do you still have unanswered queries after reading this article? This FAQ’s got you covered.

July 26, 2022/by Rafi

4 Ways to Make Your Volunteer Program More Appealing

Nonprofit Tips

Consider this question: Would you want to participate in your organization’s volunteer opportunities? Take a moment to think about it, and be honest with yourself. If the answer is yes, you’re probably doing a great job of making your volunteer opportunities enticing and engaging. But if the answer is no, you likely have some work to do to make your volunteer program more appealing.

That might sound like a challenging task, but making your volunteer program more attractive to prospective supporters is simpler than you might think. It starts with creating an open line of communication with volunteers, listening to their feedback, and planning opportunities that align with their preferences and interests.

Specifically, we’ll take a closer look at four effective ways to make your volunteer program more appealing for current and prospective volunteers:

Match volunteers with their preferred roles.
Design an engaging orientation process.
Plan virtual volunteer opportunities.
Offer exciting appreciation initiatives.

InitLive’s volunteer engagement guide says it best: “Keeping your volunteers happy, motivated, and engaged in your organization’s mission is a key part of longer-term volunteer retention and program success.” These strategies are intended to keep volunteers engaged in your mission by offering unique, convenient, interesting volunteer opportunities that volunteers won’t experience at any other organization. Let’s dive in!

1. Match volunteers with their preferred roles.

Picture this: A new volunteer registers for an upcoming volunteer opportunity, eager to put their skills to work to help further their favorite nonprofit’s mission. The reason they signed up is that they noticed one of the volunteer roles matches their skills and interests.

However, on the day of the volunteer opportunity, the volunteer is assigned a different role. They’re still willing to help out, but disappointed that they didn’t get the opportunity to leverage their unique skill set.

What happened here? The organization didn’t have a plan in place for matching volunteers with their preferred roles. If your organization is in a similar situation, you might be bypassing an opportunity to engage volunteers more deeply in your work. Plus, you could be missing out on the ability to capitalize on volunteers’ unique skills, which can allow them to contribute more productively to your goals.

So, how can you ensure you’re appealing to volunteers’ preferences and making the most of their engagement? Use this three-step process, with the help of your volunteer management system and communication tools:

When volunteers register, ask them to fill out a quick survey with their skills, interests, and shift preferences.
Store this information using your volunteer management software and leverage it to match volunteers with the right roles. Robust volunteer management software will handle role-matching automatically using the information stored in volunteers’ profiles.
Send email communications highlighting upcoming opportunities that align with volunteers’ interests and availability.

Volunteers will appreciate your efforts to go above and beyond to offer them experiences that align with their preferences. This can help increase both volunteer engagement and volunteer retention, enabling you to continue to get to know volunteers, build long-term relationships with them, and cater to their needs.

And, when everyone’s participating in a role that suits them best, your volunteer program will function more smoothly and productively.

2. Design an engaging orientation process.

Put yourself in your new volunteers’ shoes and consider how they might feel after registering for a volunteer opportunity. They’re completely new to your program and mission, and may not be familiar with what the opportunity will entail or what’s expected of them. This can be pretty intimidating for first-time participants!

That’s why it’s important to put new volunteers at ease with a thorough, hands-on orientation and training process. Your training program should set volunteers up for success so that they feel completely comfortable engaging in your opportunities.

Whether your training program is a quick one-on-one orientation at the start of each opportunity or a full-fledged onboarding session, you should use the time to equip volunteers with everything they need to know to be successful. Incorporate these key elements into your training program:

Host fun icebreaker activities to get to know volunteers and allow them to meet one another. This helps volunteers feel welcomed and can lead to greater camaraderie and teamwork among participants.
Provide a thorough overview of your roles and associated tasks. Describe each volunteer position and what it entails, including any equipment volunteers will use or individuals they’ll be interacting with (such as fellow volunteers, your program coordinator, shift leader, etc.).
Allow volunteers to participate in hands-on activities to get familiar with your equipment or processes. For instance, introduce them to your online environmental-tracking database and practice data-entry procedures, or allow them to practice proper painting techniques so they can help construct a new house for a community member.
Review your volunteer policies and handbook. Ensure all volunteers are clear on various policies such as your screening policy, code of conduct, and dismissal policy.
Provide contact information for the person volunteers can go to with questions. Equip your volunteers with your contact information or the information for the individual they should get in touch with if they have questions before or during the volunteer opportunity.

When volunteers know exactly what they should be doing and how to carry out their assigned tasks, they’ll feel more comfortable in your program, encouraging them to continue engaging in your opportunities. Plus, they may even talk with their family members and friends about their positive training experiences, contributing to more volunteer recruitment for your program.

3. Plan virtual volunteer opportunities.

One of the most common reasons why volunteers lapse is because they simply don’t have enough room in their schedules to add additional responsibilities to the list. By making your volunteer opportunities more convenient, you can subsequently make them more appealing to prospective and current participants.

One of the most effective ways to increase the convenience of your volunteer program is to offer a variety of virtual volunteer opportunities. Virtual volunteering allows your volunteers to cut out the commute, saving them time. They can participate in these opportunities on their own time and make their own schedules.

Plus, virtual volunteer opportunities make your program more accessible for volunteers who might have transportation or mobility restrictions.

Here are a few examples of virtual volunteer opportunities you might offer supporters:

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising opportunities. Encourage volunteers to create their own peer-to-peer fundraising pages and gather donations from family members and friends to support your volunteer program. You might launch your P2P initiative alongside a social media challenge to engage participants and encourage them to get their loved ones involved. This can help increase awareness of your volunteer program while giving supporters a chance to deepen their involvement.
Virtual helpline. If your organization operates a virtual helpline for community members, get your volunteers involved to help out. After properly training volunteers on communication best practices and what to do in different situations, create ongoing shifts for them to manage the helpline.
Web design. If you’re thinking about updating your volunteer program’s website, your volunteers themselves can help the process along. After all, they’re your website’s main audience, so their opinions and feedback can play a major role in shaping your web design. Ask volunteers to fill out a survey providing feedback on everything from the site’s branding to its functionality. You can even engage digitally-savvy volunteers to help complete the updates if you don’t have a dedicated web designer on staff.
Virtual events. Perhaps your organization hosts annual virtual events such as an online auction or live-streamed concert. Your volunteers can lend a hand by helping to keep track of bids, run the event livestream, or design and spread your event marketing materials.

Volunteers will appreciate having the ability to help out from the comfort of home. What’s more appealing than being able to participate in volunteer activities while wearing your pajamas?

However, volunteers might be less familiar with the concept of virtual volunteering, so it’s important to clearly communicate what each opportunity will entail. Double the Donation’s volunteer management guide recommends highlighting the baseline tasks for each role as well as the ideal outcomes that volunteers will achieve.

For instance, if your volunteers are participating in a virtual phone bank to help raise funding for your program, you should explain exactly how they’ll connect with prospective donors (such as via phone or text), provide them with a script, and let them know what the specific fundraising goal is (i.e. $10,000).

This ensures that volunteers feel completely comfortable in their roles, even when they aren’t participating or receiving training in person. Plus, they’ll be able to understand the bigger picture of how their actions help progress your organization’s mission.

4. Offer exciting appreciation initiatives.

People volunteer because they believe in an organization’s mission and want to demonstrate their support. Most don’t expect anything in return, but that doesn’t mean they won’t appreciate the occasional gesture of gratitude.

When you offer volunteers heartfelt messages and tokens of appreciation, they feel acknowledged and appreciated for the hard work they contributed. This makes your program more appealing and encourages volunteers to continue engaging and putting their best foot forward during volunteer events.

Just as you thank your donors, corporate sponsors, and other stakeholders, you should create a dedicated strategy for expressing appreciation to volunteers. Offer these tokens of gratitude to your volunteers:

Handwritten letters from community members.
Tangible appreciation gifts, such as branded T-shirts, water bottles, or tote bags.
Gift cards or free event tickets.
Regular impact reports that show the positive impact of volunteer work on your mission.
Endorsements for professional opportunities.
Access to networking opportunities or professional introductions.

A strong appreciation strategy allows you to continue engaging volunteers over time, ensuring you’re investing in long-term relationships with volunteers. Volunteers will feel the warm and fuzzy feeling of knowing that their efforts are appreciated by your organization and that they make a real difference.

Plus, volunteers who have worked with your organization for a long period of time may be able to help you out even more with corporate volunteer grants. Essentially, corporate volunteer grants are donations your volunteers’ employers will make after their employees work a certain number of hours and submit a grant application form. This means volunteers you have a long-term relationship with and want to help your nonprofit however they can have one more method to do so, earning your nonprofit free revenue.

If you’re not interested in participating in your volunteer opportunities, how can you expect your supporters to be? By making your volunteer opportunities more relevant, convenient, and rewarding for participants, you can increase their interest in your program and ensure their long-term engagement. Good luck!

April 22, 2022/by Rafi

How Google Ad Grants Can Help Your Nonprofit’s Fundraising

Corporate Giving, Fundraising Tips, Nonprofit Tips

Technology is more important than ever before, especially in the realm of nonprofit fundraising. With a majority of business conducted online, it is vital your nonprofit establish a strong digital presence to stay competitive in the fundraising space. However, this does not mean simply creating a website— your web presence must be well-known as a source for useful insights. That’s where Google Ad Grants come into play.

These grants are an integral tool in driving traffic to your organization’s landing pages and increasing donations. If you are unfamiliar with Google Ad Grants, no need to worry. This guide will walk you through everything there is to know by covering the following topics:

What is the Google Ad Grant?
How do Google Ad Grants work?
Google Ad Grant Management
Working with a Google Ad Grant Agency
Using the Google Ad Grant for Fundraising

After reading this article, you will have a better understanding of how to make the most of fundraising opportunities with Google Ad Grants. Let’s get started!

What is the Google Ad Grant?

The Google Ad Grants program is a corporate giving initiative that provides eligible nonprofits with monthly grants to promote their causes via Google Ads.

Eligible nonprofit organizations can display advertisements, products, services, offerings, and other marketing content strategically at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) for relevant keywords. For example, when someone Googles “animal nonprofits near me,” an ad for your organization’s website could appear at the top of the results. This immediately draws eyes to your messaging and helps expand audience reach.

Seeing the value that Google Ads offer businesses, Google created the Google Ad Grants program to provide nonprofits with $10,000 in Google AdWords spending each month. This means that organizations can utilize the “publicity” of Google Ad placement at no financial cost of their own.

Features of the Google Ad Grant

The Google Ad Grant is especially useful for organizations that are well-established digitally with missions that are frequently searched online.

Google Ad Grants can be incorporated into fundraising by placing your organization’s online giving page at the top of the SERPs for keywords closely related to your nonprofit. Creating a digital campaign through Google Ad Grants is one of the most effective methods for reaching your target audience without breaking the bank on a marketing budget.

A unique component of Google Ad Grants is that any eligible nonprofit can utilize the program. Unlike other grants, it is not awarded to a few lucky winners. This helps to take the pressure off of your organization, as the grant application process can be fairly competitive. If you’re interested in earning $329 per day in free AdWords spending, continue on as we dive deeper into how Google Ad Grants work.

How do Google Ad Grants work?

At first glance, Google Ad Grants can seem daunting. However, we are here to walk you through the information you need to know as you get started on your Google Grant journey – starting with Google Ad Grant eligibility.

Eligibility Requirements

The good news about Google Ad Grant eligibility is that there are only a few organizational sectors unable to apply. Those include:

Government entities
Hospital or healthcare organizations
Schools, academic institutions, or universities

If your nonprofit organization does not meet any of the criteria above, you’re in the clear! The remaining eligibility requirements for the Google Ad Grant program are fairly simple. In order to be considered eligible, nonprofits must:

Have a functional website that contains valuable content that is relevant to the nonprofit’s mission.
Hold current and valid charitable status, which in the United States means registering as a 501(c)(3) organization.
Adhere to Google Grant program policies, including registration with Google for Nonprofits and TechSoup.
Obtain a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), proving that your online domain is secure.

If your organization meets these parameters, you are ready to progress in the Google Ad Grant process. As your journey continues, there are a few other factors to pay attention to. When awarding grants, Google works to ensure your organization is well-equipped to use Adwords funding efficiently. Your organization should keep the following criteria in mind:

Ensuring your site does not already contain revenue-generating ads.
Having the ability to manage Google Ads campaigns, meaning you’re able to evaluate keywords for relevancy, accuracy, and timeliness on a regular basis.
Selecting keywords that have a maximum cost of $1 per click.

By determining eligibility you can begin the application process to acquire your nonprofit’s very own Google Ad Grant. Let’s see how to get started.

Application Process

When it comes to the Google Ad Grant application process, there are three key steps organizations must go through to acquire a grant. In this section, we will break each of them down.

Step 1: Sign up for a Google for Nonprofits account.

Before you can apply for the Google Ad Grant, you need a verified account with Google for Nonprofits. Along with giving you access to the Ad Grant application, Google for Nonprofits provides organizations with several opportunities to increase visibility and drive conversions.

An account with Google for Nonprofits gives your organization access to:

YouTube Nonprofit Program: This program allows nonprofits to utilize YouTube’s many unique features and spread the word about their organization through visual storytelling. Videos are worth incorporating into your digital marketing strategy as humans process visual content 60,000 times faster than written content. With a Google for Nonprofits account, you can experience the benefits of video content and so much more.
Google Earth and Maps: This service shares compelling data visualizations that highlight your organization’s impact. Additionally, the use of Google Maps helps community members locate your nonprofit’s programs and resources nearest to them.
Google Workspace: This program offers complimentary access to Google’s most useful apps, such as Docs, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and Google Meet. These programs allow you to stay organized and efficient, keeping operations running as smoothly as possible.

Your organization can access these benefits and more by registering with Google for Nonprofits. Here is how to do so:

Visit the Google for Nonprofits registration website.
Agree to Google’s non-discrimination statements.
Fill out the subsequent forms, including contact and organization information.
Submit your request and await a response.

Filling out the request for a Google for Nonprofits account is a relatively quick process, but be prepared to wait a few weeks for your request to be accepted.

Step 2: Acquire verification from TechSoup or Percent.

Your nonprofit may need to wait a week or two after applying for a Google for Nonprofits account in order to be validated. Essentially, Google uses a third-party service to verify that your organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is eligible for the program before giving you access to a Google for Nonprofits account.

The validation process will be handled for you by either TechSoup, an international network for nonprofits, or Percent, Google’s nonprofit validation partner. The process typically looks like this:

Kick off the validation process by requesting a Google for Nonprofits account.
Google sends your request to Percent or TechSoup, who may contact your organization for additional information or documents.
Within 2-14 business days, Google’s validation partner will verify that your nonprofit is legitimate and eligible.
You’ll receive an email confirming that your nonprofit has been verified. Now, you can activate your Google for Nonprofits account.

Once you have completed this process, the final step is submitting your application for the Google Ad Grant program. Let’s discuss how to do so.

Step 3: Apply for the Google Ads Grant.

It’s time to submit your application for the Google Ads Grant. By following the process outlined below, you’ll open the door to a whole new world of free AdWords spending:

Create a Google AdWords account. AdWords will prompt you to select your billing country and timezone. Once submitted, it will take you to your new account.
Submit your pre-qualification survey and Ad Grant training. The training video will cover policy requirements, key guidelines, and best practices for managing your account along with a short quiz.
Submit the required materials for pre-qualification review. Google will respond with a status on your pre-qualification submission.
Once approved for pre-qualification, set up your first Google Ads campaign.
Submit your AdWords account for final review using the same steps of approval as the pre-qualification process.
Once approved, the nonprofit can begin running Google Ad campaigns!

The process of acquiring a Google Ad Grant is far simpler than it seems. As hassle-free, as it may be, it is important your organization stays on top of proper grant management. Otherwise, your time with Google Ad Grants may be short-lived.

Google Ad Grant Management

To maintain good standing with the Google Ad Grant program, there are a few key policies to follow. These include:

Account activity: Log into your account at least once a month and update the information every 90 days. This will show Google you’re still utilizing the program.
Ad relevance and geotargeting: It is important to run ads that have specific relevance to your audience. A great way to do this is through geotargeting, a process that ensures users are receiving ads relevant to them geographically.
Monthly keyword evaluation: Google requires a monthly Keyword Performance Report to ensure that you are optimizing your keywords for best results. This will put you in the best position to remain profitable. Avoid overly generic keywords and those with a quality score above 1 or 2, which Google will outline for you.
A minimum of 5% click-through rate (CTR): Google mandates a CTR of 5% after 90 days, in order to improve user experience and ad relevance. Accounts that fail to meet this requirement will be notified. If the account is not reached after two consecutive months, it will be suspended.
Account structure: When it comes to account structure, 2 is the magic number! Google AdWords campaigns must have at least 2 ads per ad group, with at least 2 ad groups per campaign. Additionally, campaigns must have at least 2 sitelink extensions.

Your organization can maintain the status of a Google Ad Grant recipient by practicing proper account upkeep. However, the pressure does not need to ride solely on your shoulders. With the help of an Ad Grant Agency, certified professionals can assist you with all of your Google Ad Grant needs

Running a Google Ad Grant Campaign: 4 Steps

Once your Google Ad Grant application is approved, you can begin researching keywords and planning your first campaign. Here’s a general overview of what goes into hosting a Google Ad Grant campaign:

1. Establish your goal.

Before choosing keywords or writing ad copy, consider what website pages you most want to drive traffic to. You can create an ad for any page on your website as long as it has valuable content, meaning your goal is only limited by the strength of your website.

We’ll dive more into how to launch a fundraiser with the Google Ad Grant later, but here are a few common goals that the grant can help you achieve:

Earn donations
Attract volunteers
Spread awareness of your cause
Promote services

To maximize traffic, create multiple keyword campaigns focused on the same goal. For example, you might create one donation-focused campaign that centers around keywords relating to giving and donating, whereas another might focus on benefits donors receive in exchange for giving, such as becoming a member, joining a community, and supporting a good cause.

2. Choose your keywords.

Your keywords impact which visitors see your ads, so don’t hesitate to spend a significant amount of time researching keywords or reaching out to a consultant for help. The exact keywords that will bring your campaign success depend on your audience, but there are a few general guidelines that benefit most campaigns:

Keyword relevance. Your keywords should relate to both your goals and your audience’s interests. Consider not just what you want supporters to do, but what they are likely to search for. For example, to promote an upcoming 5K fundraiser, you would choose keywords, like “fall marathons,” “charity 5K,” and “community fun run,” rather than focusing on the donation aspect of your event.
Negative keyword. Use Google Ad Grants parameters to determine what types of queries will show your keyword. In particular, consider if there are any topics that could be mistakenly associated with your keywords and result in useless searches. Use the negative keyword feature in Google Ad Grants to ensure your ads do not show up for queries that include a negative keyword. For example, if you’re collecting clothing donations for a homeless shelter, you might want to make “buy” and “purchase” negative keywords to filter out queries related to online shopping.
Keyword competitiveness. How many other organizations are likely trying to rank for your target keyword? Google awards ad space to organizations that successfully bid on the placement. While the allocated Google Ad Grant funds can go far, you’ll likely run out of them quickly if you target the same keywords as large organizations with dedicated marketing budgets.

Picking the right keywords is an ongoing process, especially as you launch campaigns with new goals. Stay updated on what keywords are driving traffic and use a keyword research tool like Google’s Keyword Planner.

3. Create your ad.

Once your ad starts appearing for queries, make sure that it has a headline and description people will want to click on. Here’s a breakdown of the elements of a Google Ad:

At the top of each ad is a bold Sponsored tag, letting searchers know that this ad was paid for. This helps maintain transparency with searchers. Plus, if you ever need guidance on how to market your pages, you can look at other sponsored content to see what similar organizations are doing with their ads.

Next, is the headline and description. Your headline will be the title of the page you’re promoting. Choose a headline that won’t get cut off by Google’s character limit. Try keeping it to 50-60 characters to give it plenty of room on the page without getting shortened.

For your description, you’ll also need to keep character limits in mind (around 150-160 characters), and also consider what text would encourage someone to read your content. Write copy that reflects your content and relates to the user intent behind common search queries for your keyword.

4. Analyze your results.

Google Ads are far from a set-it-and-forget-it type of fundraiser. While successful ads can bring in regular traffic, you’ll need to keep an eye on your analytics to tweak campaigns, launch new campaigns, adjust bidding amounts, and pause or remove low-quality campaigns.

You can monitor your conversions by setting goals in Google Analytics and linking your Analytics account to your Ads account. This will allow you to see the queries that led supporters to click on your website and the actions they took once they got there.

If you need help managing your campaigns, consider reaching out to a Google Ad Grants consultant who can help you research keywords and maintain compliance with Google’s ad requirements.

Working with a Google Ad Grant Agency

Professionals at Google Ad Grant agencies canmake your Google Ad Grant experience run as smoothly as possible. As experts in their field, these agencies can assist with services like:

Google Grant Application. Experts will walk you through every step of the application process to ensure your account is reviewed and accepted.
Google Grant Hygiene. When it comes to Google Ads, data is everything. With the help of professionals, you will not have to deal with duplicate or outdated data weighing down your processes.
Google Grant Reactivation. If suspended, agencies can help get your account up and running again, allowing you to avoid the headache of going back and forth with the Google Ad Grant team.
Keyword Research. Professionals help make sure your website content is effectively serving audience needs while inspiring them to take action.
Google Grant Management. Tracking conversions and campaign performance is an ongoing process. With effective results requiring 3-5 ongoing campaigns, having professionals there to track performance and refine strategies continuously will help ensure success.
Optimizing website content. To best serve your audience’s needs, you’ll need to refine your landing pages to account for increased traffic and drive conversions. Ad Grant agencies can help keep your website in the best shape via constant keyword research, landing page relaunches, and more.
Practicing account upkeep. Agencies can make sure your organization is in constant compliance with Google Grant guidelines. This will help avoid the headache of having to go through the account reactivation process.

From start to finish, Ad Grant agencies are a valuable resource to help your organization optimize its Google Ad Grant management.

We recommend working with Getting Attention! As leading experts in their field, they’ll handle every aspect of the process for your team, working to understand your mission and achieve your marketing goals. Consider reaching out for a consultation with them to discuss your Google Ad Grant management needs.

Get a consultation with our recommended agency.

Using the Google Ad Grant for Fundraising

Are Google Ad Grants worth it?

Not convinced yet? Here are a few key statistics that showcase the importance of a quality online presence when it comes to fundraising:

75% of young donors are turned off by out-of-date websites.
Donors are 34% more likely to give on mobile-responsive websites.
51% of high-wealth donors (giving $200k+) prefer to give online.
When influencing donors, online resources are 20% more useful than direct mail.

To optimize fundraising potential, your organization must create a well-established online presence, and the Google Ad Grant can help immensely.

In addition to strengthening your online presence, there are several benefits of nonprofit marketing grants. These grants help to:

Carry out charitable initiatives. Online marketing and promotions, exciting fundraising events, and other initiatives can be taken to the next level with the right marketing grant.
Pay for your donor outreach. One of the primary components of nonprofit marketing is donor outreach efforts. From email newsletters to direct mail, these efforts can be resource-intensive. On the other hand, Google Ad Grants are free.
Help more people with your organization. With a well-developed marketing strategy, your organization will increase visibility and attract more supporters. The more people are aware of the issues your organization is fighting for, the more likely you’ll gain valuable support for your cause and be able to make a major impact.
Educate and spread awareness of your mission. A marketing grant helps to best educate and spread awareness of your mission. Effective marketing makes sure that people are aware of your nonprofit and all of its offerings.

These benefits represent the significant untapped potential your organization can unlock through nonprofit marketing grants.

How to Use Google Ad Grants to Promote Fundraising

Google Ad campaigns should drive users towards your nonprofit’s campaign pages to optimize fundraising potential. Draw inspiration for how to use Google Ad Grants to promote fundraising from the following examples:

We Care Animal Rescue

We Care Animal Rescue’s mission is to promote the general welfare of animals by fostering and caring for homeless cats and dogs. The organization works to find them their forever homes and overall educate the public on animal welfare.

We Care Animal Rescue began their Google Ad Grant journey with a few marketing goals in mind. They wanted to promote their new website, attract volunteers, and drive online donations. With the help of the Google Ad Grant, they saw a 350% increase in website activity and 125% increase in online applications. Needless to say, they experienced great impact.

Days For Girls

Days For Girls centers its work around increasing access to menstrual care and education for women. They do this through developing global partnerships, mobilizing volunteers, and innovating sustainable solutions that help shatter stigmas surrounding the topic of female care.

Their marketing goals included raising more money, getting more email subscribers, and increasing brand awareness. The Google Ad Grant enabled them to see a $212 increase in average donation value, as well as receive $5,000 in donations and 400+ conversions over a 60-day period.

DonorsChoose.org

DonorsChoose.org is the leading platform for giving to public schools. Their mission is to make helping a classroom in need easy for everyone. More largely, they’re working towards making quality education accessible nationwide, regardless of location. Teachers across America use the website to create projects requesting certain resources and donors are able to select the projects that inspire them.

The marketing goals of DonorsChoose.org were to connect more donors and teachers to the platform while keeping their budget lean. In using the Google Ad Grant, they were able to see 305,000 website visits, receive 4,900 donations, and attract 7,400 teacher registrations all in one year. With the help of Google Ad Grants, their organization underwent significant change.

Final Note on Google Ad Grants

Overall, utilizing Google Ad Grants will best position your organization in the eyes of the public. Google Ad Grants help to:

Increase online conversions such as event signups, donations, and volunteer registrations.
Broaden your reach to new donors.
Market multiple ad campaigns simultaneously.
Analyze and track performance to ensure your campaigns are improving.
Learn the best way to meet the needs of your digital supporters.

Boost your fundraising efforts with Google Ad Grants—and the assistance of a certified Ad Grant agency—today!

In the meantime, if you’re looking for further resources on Ad Grant programs, consider the articles below:

Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits: Everything You Need to Know: this article serves as another comprehensive resource outlining the information you need to know regarding Google Ad Grants.
What is the Microsoft Ad Grant? What Nonprofits Need to Know: this article covers Microsoft’s similar ad grant program, so you can discover which program is right for you.
How to Find Grants For Your Nonprofit Organization: this article provides readers with a detailed overview of how to find the grants right for your nonprofit organization.

December 2, 2021/by Rafi

Nonprofit ADA Compliance & Web Accessibility: 3 FAQs

Fundraising Tips, Nonprofit Tips

Your nonprofit’s website is the hub of your organization’s online presence. This is where you host important information about your mission and programming, promote your fundraisers, post involvement opportunities, collect donations, and more.

Clearly, your website is a critical tool for marketing your mission and connecting with your supporters, whether they’ve just heard of your organization and want to learn more or are regular visitors checking for updates on your work.

But is your website optimized so that users of all abilities can use it? In other words, is your website ADA compliant?

This is a critical question to reflect on because web accessibility isn’t just a nice bonus feature on a website that complements a beautiful logo or smooth navigation. In fact, it has increasingly become one of the most important elements of a showstopping nonprofit website.

In this guide, we’ll cover three frequently asked questions about nonprofit website compliance and accessibility:

What are nonprofit ADA compliance and web accessibility?
Why is full nonprofit web compliance and accessibility important?
What are some quick ways you can optimize your website for accessibility?

Making your website available to all possible visitors allows you to expand your nonprofit’s reach, bolster your reputation, and ultimately pull in more support for your cause, so it’s more than worth the effort to learn about and implement! Let’s begin.

1. What are nonprofit ADA compliance and web accessibility?

Put simply, web accessibility is the idea that the internet should be usable by all people, no matter their location, device, or ability. This includes more than just user-friendliness and clear navigation. If the internet (and your website) is fully accessible, then people all over the online world with diverse abilities and devices should be able to engage with it.

If you want to ensure your own website is accessible, you must consider the needs of all types of visitors, as well as make sure that your site is built with nonprofit web compliance best practices in mind. Nonprofit web compliance ensures that organizations and their websites are aware of and comply with relevant laws—in this case, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and requires all public accommodations to be fully accessible. Physical offices and facilities of nonprofits that serve the public fall under this category, but legal cases have increasingly considered websites to be public accommodations, too. In fact, as explained in this recap from Venable, in 2019 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stated that some websites (including nonprofits) may actually violate the ADA if they are not accessible to people who have visual, auditory, and other disabilities.

It’s imperative that your nonprofit and website keep the ADA in mind when designing or updating your website. If your nonprofit’s website is brought under scrutiny and is found to violate the ADA, you may even face large fines and legal action.

To ensure your own website is ADA compliant, look to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a set of usability standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. With three levels of compliance (A, AA, and AAA), your website needs to adhere at least to the AA level to be considered legally acceptable.

2. Why is full nonprofit web compliance and accessibility important?

Besides the fact that a fully compliant website could be legally required for your nonprofit in some circumstances, there is another key reason that accessibility matters. Without accessibility in mind, websites and other online apps can inadvertently exclude entire populations. Consider a nonprofit website that offers training videos for new volunteers but doesn’t offer any text elements alongside those videos. The videos aren’t fully accessible to people who are hearing impaired. To increase accessibility so that hearing-impaired visitors can get the information from those videos, the nonprofit would need to offer subtitles or a transcript of each video.

On top of making your nonprofit more inclusive, ensuring your website is accessible can provide numerous additional benefits to your nonprofit. Full web compliance:

Makes your website usable on all devices. The best nonprofit websites ensure that anyone can easily engage with them, no matter what device they use. After all, how your content is displayed can chage a lot depending on screen size and light settings. And with 85% of Americans owning a smartphone and over half of all web traffic stemming from mobile users, your website should definitely be usable on mobile screens.
Promotes a user-friendly experience. When your website is easy to use and engage with, people will associate it with a pleasant experience. They’ll keep coming back once they know that your website is effectively serving their needs.
Minimizes loss of website visitors. Furthermore, if your website is hard to use and otherwise inaccessible, you’ll likely see a decrease in online engagement. Fewer people will refer to your website and your bounce rate will rise.
Improves search engine ranking. A fully compliant and accessible website can also boost your nonprofit’s search engine optimization (SEO) because search engines will have an easier time reading an accessible site. This can in turn increase your search engine results page rankings and increase the number of visitors to your nonprofit’s website.
Boosts engagement and fundraising success. The more people access and interact with your website, the stronger their relationship with your mission becomes, which makes it easier to conduct outreach for your fundraising campaigns.

Taking the time to make your website accessible to all truly benefits your nonprofit’s entire community and beyond. By creating a more inclusive online community, you’ll be able to expand your nonprofit’s audience and see more overall success!

3. What are some quick ways you can optimize your website for accessibility?

In order to determine if your own website is fully compliant and accessible, let’s review the WCAG’s core principles of accessible design:

Perceivable information and intuitive user interface
Operable UI (user interface) and navigation
Understandable information and UI
Robust content and reliable interpretation

Considering these WCAG core principles, your top priority should be improving user experience. Consider the following quick ways you can prioritize user experience to improve your nonprofit website’s accessibility:

Make sure that all non-written content also comes with a text alternative. This applies to graphics, images, videos, and audio components of your website.
Avoid using sensory characteristics to relay important nonprofit content. For instance, if a field on your donation form is required but only designated as such by the color of the text, usually red, that has the potential to be an accessibility issue for colorblind users. Make sure to also indicate any important content or instructions with text as well.
Don’t use any graphics or videos with flashes and other bright lights. This can cause problems for those who are seizure-prone. If you really want to incorporate this type of content, make sure to include a clear warning.
Ensure that all page titles are clear and entry fields include the necessary instructions. You want to make your nonprofit website as easy to use as possible for your supporters. They should know exactly how to find your online donation page and should be able to fill out the giving form with ease.
Design an intuitive and easily navigable menu. This is a great place to organize all of your most popular landing pages so that users can quickly access the content they want.
Incorporate key calls-to-action (CTA) throughout your website. Make it easy for supporters to access the page they want by adding a link or button CTAs directing to it. This is especially useful for your online donation form and event registration forms.

As you leverage these tips, rely on Google Lighthouse to give you an idea of how accessible your web pages are. Lighthouse will give your page an accessibility score out of 100 and then highlight opportunities for you to improve your page’s accessibility.

Having an accessible and ADA-compliant website should be a priority for every nonprofit. After all, as you use tools like your website to connect with more and more supporters, you’re laying the groundwork for long-term relationships and sustained support for your mission.

Use what you’ve learned from these FAQs to start improving your website’s accessibility today. You can also work with a nonprofit web design company to hone your website’s accessibility. According to Cornershop Creative, the right partner will understand your nonprofit’s needs, including accessibility and inclusivity, and empower you to make your website a useful resource for your entire community.

October 13, 2020/by Contributor