Google Ad Grants Rules:A Rundown of Compliance Policies

Google Ad Grants gives eligible nonprofits up to $10,000 per month in free Google Ads spend. That’s real money — and it stays yours only as long as you stay compliant.

Managing your Ad Grants account isn’t complicated, but it requires knowing the rules and actually following them. Here’s a plain-language breakdown of the seven core compliance requirements — and what you need to know about each one in 2026.

1. The 5% Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Google wants its users to find relevant results, so if your ads aren’t enticing enough, your grant is at risk. The specifics: if your account-level CTR falls below 5% for two consecutive months, your account is subject to temporary deactivation. New accounts get a 90-day grace period to come into compliance.

To maintain that crucial 5% CTR, optimize your ads. Make them relevant. Make them compelling. Trim keywords that drag your average down. Performance Max campaigns are exempt from the 5% rule, so they don’t pull down your account-level CTR — useful to know if you’re considering adding them.

2. Geo-Targeting

If you’re a local organization operating in New York, don’t waste your grant budget targeting audiences in Los Angeles or London. Use geo-targeting to ensure your ads reach people in areas relevant to your nonprofit. This isn’t just compliance — it’s also one of the fastest ways to lift your CTR.

3. The $2.00 Maximum Cost-Per-Click (CPC) Limit

Seems limiting, doesn’t it? Here’s what most articles miss: the $2 cap doesn’t apply when you use Smart Bidding strategies. With Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Values, Target CPA, or Target ROAS, Google’s algorithms bid whatever they think a click is worth — sometimes well above $2. Real-world CPCs in actively managed grant accounts often run $5–$15 per click. Single clicks above $50 happen.

The catch: to access any of these strategies, you need conversion tracking properly set up on your site (which is Rule 7 below). No tracking, no Smart Bidding, no escape from the $2 cap.

For most nonprofits competing on broader keywords, switching to a Smart Bidding strategy is the single biggest grant utilization unlock available. Most self-managed accounts use less than 30% of the available $10K/month — and stuck-at-$2-CPC is one of the most common reasons.

4. Active Management

Google likes to see that you’re actively managing your account. Regularly logging in and tweaking your campaigns keeps Google happy and your account in good standing. The fastest way to lose a grant isn’t a bad campaign — it’s a forgotten one.

Beyond logins, there are a few structural rules in this category worth flagging:

• At least 2 active ad groups per campaign, each with closely related keywords
• At least 2 active ads per ad group (Responsive Search Ads are now the default; expanded text ads were retired in June 2022)
• At least 2 sitelink ad extensions at the account level
• Annual program survey participation — Google sends this once a year, and missing it can deactivate your account

5. High-Quality Ads and Website

Poor quality ads are a big no-no. Keep your ads and keywords tightly related to what your nonprofit offers. Google also requires your website to be high-functioning and provide a good user experience — slow load times, broken links, or thin content can all jeopardize your account.

Active management means regularly checking your dashboard — not just creating campaigns and walking away.

6. Keyword Quality Score

It’s all about relevancy. If your keywords aren’t performing well — that is, if they have a Quality Score below 3 — they have to come out. Google now automatically pauses keywords with a Quality Score of 1 or 2, so this rule increasingly enforces itself, but it’s still worth checking your account regularly.

Be as specific and relevant as possible to increase your Quality Score. Long-tail keywords almost always outperform broad ones for nonprofits. And single-word keywords aren’t allowed except for a small list of approved exceptions (your own brand name, certain medical conditions, and a handful of others Google maintains a list of).

7. Conversion Tracking

Google wants to see that its grant is being put to good use. This means tracking at least one meaningful conversion. Whether it’s newsletter sign-ups, donation submissions, volunteer registrations, event registrations, or another action that signals user engagement — make sure to track it.

This rule is more important than it looks. Conversion tracking is the gateway to Smart Bidding, which is the gateway to bypassing the $2 CPC cap, which is the gateway to actually competing for valuable keywords. The whole grant economics depend on it.

What’s New in 2026

A few things have changed since this article was first published in 2023. If you’re applying for a new Ad Grants account or auditing an existing one, these matter:

• TechSoup verification has been replaced by Goodstack for new applicants. If you’re applying for the first time in 2026, you’ll go through Goodstack, not TechSoup.
• Performance Max campaigns are now allowed in Ad Grants accounts. They run differently from search ads and are exempt from the 5% CTR rule.
• Google Maps placements are now eligible, which gives nonprofits with physical locations another way to use the grant.
• Quality Score threshold is QS ≥ 3, not 2 (as noted above).
• Smart Bidding is mandatory for all accounts created on or after April 22, 2019.

Always verify details against the Google Ad Grants Policy before making decisions about your account — Google updates these requirements regularly, and the official policy page is the authoritative source.

Stay compliant, stay active, and your grant will keep doing what it’s supposed to do.