Welcome to the Google Ad Grants course. In this course I share with you everything I've learnt about managing Google Ad Grants: the strategy and the techniques you need to advertise your nonprofit's website effectively.

Many nonprofits struggle to use their Ad Grant effectively. Google Ads is a complex platform to learn, and the nonprofit sector has very different advertising needs to businesses. The Ad Grants program has additional restrictions, and there are strategic decisions to make about how to promote your services in a surprisingly competitive advertising environment.

However the program has gone through a recent renaissance. In 2025 a new campaign type was added, called Performance Max. Local nonprofits' ads can now appear on Google Maps. The program is opening to 100+ new countries, and the support forums have been overhauled and policies simplified. Even if you've already used an Ad Grant, there's new stuff to learn.

The good news is that for most nonprofit advertisers, the Google Ad Grant has the potential to be a valuable source of visitors to your website, and you can use it to target your audiences and get them to take action to support your organization's mission.

How to use this course

I recommend that you start by working through the first sections of the course in order: section by section and lesson by lesson. Follow the order of the curriculum.

But with one caveat: if for any reason you get stuck at the stage of setting up conversion tracking, don't let that stop you progressing to the lessons about creating your first Google Ads campaigns. Conversion tracking is the single most complex task you face, and you can always return to it later, and improve it later.

On reaching the end of each lesson, you can opt to click the button "complete and continue". As you complete lessons, that's indicated in the left-hand menu. You can go back to any lesson at any time.

The later lessons (fixing problems, beyond Ad Grants) are not meant to be progressed in order. They are reference documents that you can read as and when they are useful to you.

When watching videos, click the icon to open them in a full screen so you can see more clearly what I'm demonstrating on-screen. There is an icon within each video to make notes during the lesson: these can be referred back to at any time.

Please ask questions

If you have questions or want clarification on any points, leave a comment at the end of any lesson. I will respond to each one, and update the course content accordingly.

If you have feedback or requests for new lessons, please go to the very last item on the curriculum: the Feedback section.

What's fact and what's opinion?

Read enough about Ad Grants and Google Ads and you could be forgiven for getting confused. There's outdated information online. People have different approaches to advertising and there may be more than one way to achieve the same aim, so you might read conflicting advice. In this course I try to be clear when advice is factual or is my own opinion.

About your tutor Jason King

I've worked in the nonprofit technology sector for over 25 years, and in digital advertising for the last 10 years. I'm an Ad Grants certified professional, listed in Google's official directory. I manage a caseload of free Ad Grant accounts for nonprofits, as well as paid accounts. I also offer one-to-one consultancy sessions and training. I'm a Google Partner, and a diamond level Google product expert, helping people every day on the Google forums.

If you would like to book a consultancy, share your screen, and take a deep dive into your nonprofit's ads account, please book a one-to-one training session at kingjason.co.uk.

Please tell others

Have an opinion about this course? Please share a link to https://course.kingjason.co.uk wherever you're online.

Tools used to build this course

No AI was used in the creation of this course content.

Teachable—A tool for creating and selling your own courses and managing course users. You're using Teachable right now.

Loom—Makes it quick and easy to record my screen and narration, edit a video, then share it online. Get the paid version, the free version is barely worthwhile.

Blue Yeti microphone—With an InnoGear mic stand.

Audio-Technica ATH-M20X headphones—So comfy I forget I'm wearing them.

HP OmniBook 7 laptop—Fast, with a full-sized keyboard and 17 inch screen.

Palicomp desktop computer—UK company. My computer's getting on a bit but it's been a reliable workhorse.

Logitech C922 Pro Stream Webcam—Using Logitech Capture software to record video.

Last updated: September 2025