Can Google Ads Grants Help Your Canadian Charity or Nonprofit?

TL;DR: Yes. Canadian registered charities and incorporated non-profits can qualify for Google Ad Grants, which provides up to $10,000 USD a month in free Google Search ads, once Google's validation partner Goodstack confirms their status. Government bodies, hospitals and schools are excluded. To keep the grant, an account must meet Google's ongoing policies, including a 5% monthly click-through rate and conversion tracking. Only registered charities can issue tax receipts for the donations those ads bring in (Income Tax Act s. 149.1(1)), and donation ads count as fundraising under CRA guidance CG-013.

What is Google Ad Grants?

Google Ad Grants is Google's free search-advertising program for nonprofits. It gives each approved organization up to $10,000 USD per month (about $329 USD per day) in ad credit, converted to the account's local currency. [1] Ads appear as text ads on Google Search results when people search for terms related to your mission. Google Ad Grants is different from Google Ads, the paid platform businesses use. Grant accounts follow extra rules that paid accounts do not.

For a small charity with no advertising budget, the grant can put your programs, volunteer pages and donation page in front of people already searching for them.

Who is eligible for Google Ad Grants in Canada?

In Canada, Google accepts organizations registered as one of the following: [2]

• a charity registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA);
• a nonprofit operating entity with tax exemption;
• a federal nonprofit corporation (for example, under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act); or
• a provincial nonprofit (for example, under Ontario's Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010).

Every applicant must also be verified by Goodstack, Google for Nonprofits' validation partner, and must agree to the Google for Nonprofits Additional Terms of Service. [2]

Three types of organizations are not eligible: [2]

• government entities;
• hospitals and health care organizations; and
• schools, academic institutions and universities.

Many Canadian hospitals and universities are registered charities, but that does not make them eligible. Their separately registered foundations and philanthropic arms are eligible, so a hospital foundation can apply even though the hospital cannot.

Does it matter whether we are a registered charity or a non-profit?

Yes, for donations. Both can get the grant, but only a registered charity can issue official donation receipts. The Income Tax Act limits receipting to "qualified donees," a category that includes registered charities but not ordinary non-profit organizations (ITA s. 149.1(1)). An incorporated non-profit is tax-exempt under ITA s. 149(1)(l), but its donors get no tax credit. For a full comparison, see the difference between a charity and a non-profit in Canada.

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If you are a non-profit, do not write ads or landing pages that promise tax receipts. Promote memberships, events, programs or volunteering instead, and follow the fundraising rules that apply to non-profits.

If you want to receipt donations later, you can convert your non-profit into a registered charity.

What rules must we follow to keep the grant?

Google deactivates Ad Grants accounts that do not meet its account management policy. Most problems come from the rules below. [3][4]

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Click-through rate (CTR) is the share of people who click your ad after seeing it. Conversion tracking records when a visitor completes a meaningful action on your site. Smart Bidding lets Google set bids automatically to get more of those actions. Older articles mention a $2 maximum bid. That limit applied to manual bidding, and Google's current budget guidance no longer describes it. [1]

Deactivation is not permanent. Once you fix the problem, you can request reinstatement through Google's Ad Grants Policy Compliance Guide. [3]

How can Ad Grants help a small charity?

Ad Grants helps people who are already searching find your charity. Practical uses include:

• Donation campaigns. Send searchers such as "donate to food bank Hamilton" straight to your donation page.
• Volunteer recruitment. Target searches like "volunteer with seniors Ottawa."
• Program awareness. Help clients find your services, such as "free tax clinic Brampton."
• Events. Promote a charity walk or gala to people in the event's city.
• Measurement. See which keywords lead to donations or sign-ups, then shift your budget to them.

Ad Grants ads are text ads on Google Search. They do not run as display (banner) or YouTube video ads. Paid ad clicks also do not improve your organic (unpaid) search ranking.

What CRA rules apply to a charity's Ad Grants ads?

Ad Grants does not change a registered charity's CRA obligations. Three rules matter most.

Donation ads are fundraising. CRA's guidance Fundraising by registered charities (CG-013) defines fundraising as any activity that includes a solicitation of donations. [5] The ad credit itself is free, but related costs are generally fundraising expenses on the T3010 (line 5020). These include agency management fees or landing-page design, unless substantially all of the activity advances charitable purposes. For more on what counts, see Fundraising 101: Key Insights for Canadian Charities.

Ads must not mislead. CG-013 treats deceptive fundraising as unacceptable. Examples include misstating who receives the donation, the scope of the charity's work, or how much goes to programs. [5] Ad copy and landing pages must match what the charity actually does, and the CRA does review what your charity website tells it.

Advocacy is allowed; partisan content is not. Under CG-027, a charity can run ads supporting public policy dialogue and development activities that further its charitable purposes, with no limit on how much of its resources it spends this way. [6] A charity cannot use ads to support or oppose a political party or candidate (ITA ss. 149.1(6.1)–(6.2)). See can Canadian charities legally engage in political advocacy? Google's own advertising policies apply on top of these CRA rules.

If your ads collect email addresses, follow Canada's anti-spam law when you send follow-up messages. See our article on CASL for charities.

How do we apply for Google Ad Grants?

Plan on four steps:

1. Get verified. Create a Google for Nonprofits account and complete Goodstack validation using your CRA registration or incorporation documents. [2]
2. Apply for Ad Grants. From your Google for Nonprofits account, request Ad Grants and confirm your website meets Google's website policy.
3. Set up conversion tracking first. Choose at least one meaningful action, such as a donation, newsletter sign-up or volunteer form, before launching campaigns.
4. Build and monitor campaigns. Create at least two ad groups per campaign and two sitelinks, then check CTR and keyword Quality Scores every month.

Frequently asked questions

Can a non-profit that is not a registered charity get Google Ad Grants?

Yes. Google accepts federal and provincial nonprofit corporations in Canada once Goodstack validates them. [2] Such a non-profit cannot issue official donation receipts, though, so its ads should not promise tax receipts (ITA s. 149.1(1)).

Is the $10,000 grant in Canadian or US dollars?

The grant is $10,000 USD per month, about $329 USD per day. Google converts it to your account's local currency, so the Canadian-dollar amount varies with the exchange rate. [1]

Is there still a $2 maximum bid?

Not under current policy. Accounts created on or after April 22, 2019 must use conversion-based Smart Bidding. Google's current budget guidance describes no $2 bid cap. [1][3]

What happens if our click-through rate drops below 5%?

Google temporarily deactivates the account if its account-level CTR stays below 5% for two consecutive months. Pause low-performing keywords, then request reinstatement. [3][4]

Can a charity use Ad Grants ads for advocacy?

Yes, if the advocacy furthers the charity's purposes and is non-partisan. CRA guidance CG-027 permits public policy dialogue and development activities but prohibits supporting or opposing any party or candidate. [6]

Do we report Ad Grants on our T3010?

Report any money you spend running the program, such as agency fees, as fundraising or other expenses under CG-013's allocation rules. [5] Ask your accountant how to record the in-kind value of the ad credit in your financial statements.

Sources

[1] Google for Nonprofits Help, Understanding Budgets and Bidding (checked Oct 12, 2026)
[2] Google for Nonprofits Help, Eligibility guidelines — Canada (checked Oct 12, 2026)
[3] Google for Nonprofits Help, Account management policy (checked Oct 12, 2026)
[4] Google for Nonprofits Help, Ad Grants Policy Compliance Guide (checked Oct 12, 2026)
[5] CRA, CG-013, Fundraising by registered charities (modified Aug 20, 2024) [6] CRA, CG-027, Public policy dialogue and development activities by charities (revised Nov 27, 2020)
[7] Income Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 1 (5th Supp.), ss. 110.1, 118.1, 149(1)(l), 149.1(1), 149.1(6.1)–(6.2)

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