Google Is Giving Museums $10,000 - Everything You Need To Know About The Google Grant
Updated: Jul 6, 2021
Google is offering museums $10,000 in advertising. And the best part? It replenishes every month.
What is the Google Grant?
Google is offering $10,000 in Google Ads to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations. If you are a qualifying nonprofit, you will receive $10,000 in in-kind Google Ads advertising every month. This grant is supposed to aid non profit organizations in receiving the help and support they need so that they can accomplish their missions.
But please note, this isn’t a cash donation. This money automatically goes into your Google Ads account and it can only be used on buying Google Ads. Those who don’t know much about Google Ads might say that they wish they could just have the money in cash, but for those who are familiar with the advertising platform… well, let’s just say that when done correctly, $10,000 worth of Google Ads on the world’s most popular search engine can generate a lot more money than just $10,000.
What are Google Ads?
Google Ads are the first results to appear at the top of the page when someone searches for something on Google.
Ads are linked to specific keywords and are presented when a person searches for those terms. For example, someone in your city searches “What to do with family this weekend”, and so your ad pops up: “Come to our museum! Great for kids and families.”
This kind of advertising is by far one of the most effective ways to gain exposure for your museum, since it’s so highly targeted and you only pay Google when someone clicks on the ad. Normally, people’s clicks would come out of your own marketing budget, but if you have the Google Grant, it comes out of the $10,000.
Is it Hard to Get the Grant?
Great news, getting the Google Grant is easy! All you have to do is apply through Google with basic information about your museum and a copy of your IRS issued 501(c)(3) document. You must also meet the following qualifications:
501(c)(3) tax status
Not affiliated with a school, state, or healthcare organization
Have a functional and updated website
Agree to Google’s required terms and conditions
Are Google Ads Easy To Run?
The truth is that running a Google Ads campaign can be a little tricky. And this is where a lot of museums get a little hung up on the Google Grant business. Without some kind of marketer on your team trained in Google Ads, you can get the grant, but you probably won’t go far.
While Google does provide an automatic, simplified version of the advertising platform to non professional marketers, most users find that this simplified version of Google Ads isn’t very effective. These simplified campaigns are called Smart campaigns, and typically they only receive 0-10 clicks per day. Contrast that to the 50 or 60 clicks per day that we professional marketers at Market My Museum can get for our clients, and you can see why we’re a little underwhelmed.
We Would Love To Help!
At this point you might be seeing one of the primary problems that Market My Museum is trying to solve. You have the museum, but we have the know-how. We’re a husband and wife who are seriously obsessed with museums, and in addition to providing this website full of useful museum marketing tips, we specialize in running Google Ads for museums.
We might be just a little biased, but we think it's a heck of a deal.
For a monthly flat fee, we sign you up for the grant and maintain your Google Ads with the goal of doubling, or even tripling, your daily visitors. We also:
strategize and research the most popular keywords for your ads
use ads to help you book your event rental space
use ads to help you attract more event attendees
use ads to help you get donations
use ads to help you get volunteers
In short, we put the Google Grant to work and make magic happen.
Want to learn more? We would love to chat! You can also learn about our Museum COVID Relief program, and how your museum is probably eligible to receive an entire month of free Google Ads management from us.
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