From a small company that started out in the garage of a home in California, Google has grown to become one of the largest and most successful companies in the world.
Although the company makes a tremendous amount of money each year, they have set aside a significant amount of money each year to help out non-profit organizations through the Google Foundation.
The Google Foundation was setup as a separate organization that allows Google to help various organizations, sharing a portion of their annual income to those organizations that are in need.
Advertising Help
Each year the Google for Non Profits program helps over 6000 organizations by allowing them to advertise on Google to promote their organizations. Small and large non-profits alike can benefit from this program and leverage the power of Google’s Adwords program to get the word out about what they do.
For example, a non-profit that specializes in literacy programs could be given a credit toward purchasing keywords that promote their business. Every time someone searches for keywords related to your organization or literacy programs, your advertisement would be displayed prominently.
This can increase the scope of a non-profit, allowing them to reach thousands of people who might not otherwise be able to find the non-profits website. These Google grants have helped many small non-profits increase in size year over year, sometimes increasing revenue 25, 50 and even 75%!
Depending on the size of your organization, you could receive anywhere from $300 to $10,000 in Google Adwords credits each month, to promote your organization. The catch is that the words you will be bidding on will be capped at $1 per word, so for example, if you were given $10,000, and you had to pay $1 per click, you could have 10,000 more visitors to your non-profit’s website in one month.
For most smaller organizations, this much extra traffic could help them increase their donor base, build awareness or recruit volunteers to help them achieve their goals.
Google Research Grants
Google has also been instrumental in funding research projects in various fields from green energy to pandemic prevention. These grants were given out in the form of cash given directly to a non-profit or a researcher who was undertaking important work that would help the general public. These grants were given out, sometimes in the millions of dollars and went to worthy causes around the world.
Many of these grants were focused on improving the lives of people in third-world countries, improving their health and preventing diseases for example. Some of the funding that Google provides also comes in the way of donations of technology and infrastructure support and not simply just writing large cheques.
They have come to the rescue of organizations that help the environment by leveraging some of their technological assets to help improve the environment.
Google Invests in Clean Energy
Google is working hard to improve the environment, taking part in and funding projects that further the development of wind and geothermal energy. Because they recognize that our earth’s resources are finite, they are committed to working with and funding organizations that support green energy initiatives.
Currently Google is reporting that they have provided almost $1 Billion in funding for green energy projects -other aspects of Google Foundation include YouTube for Non-Profit’s, Google Earth and Google Apps.
How to Obtain Google Grants?
To obtain Google grants to advertise a non-profit, you simply apply online but you have to meet a few requirements before they will consider you for the program. For a full list of eligibility criteria this website is a great source of information: http://www.google.com/nonprofits/eligibility.html – generally there is a common trend in organizations that they will approve.
The organization must help a disadvantaged people group of people in some way or another. The most obvious eligibility criteria is that the organization must be an IRS approved 501 (3) organization as all others will not be approved.
Other stipulations include that the organization cannot be involved in vehicle donations or selling goods or services on their website. Religious groups promoting a single faith will also be excluded from the process.
A Corporation That Cares
Although Google is one of the largest companies in the world, they are committed to using their vast resources and wealth to help non-profit organizations and researchers. It doesn’t matter how big or how small your non-profit is, you can apply to see if Google can help.
Whether you need a small boost in your advertising and awareness efforts, or you require multi-million dollar funding for a research project, the Google Foundation is willing to look at your application.
By: Bradley Barks
About Brad
Brad is our lead researcher and editor - he enjoys business, meditation, being active and always learning - his goal is to successfully help you research, find, secure, and enjoy grants and scholarships.
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