Through a long-standing partnership with the South Dakota Community Foundation, Click Rain has helped turn free Google advertising into meaningful results. By continually refining its Google Ad Grant strategy, we increased grant utilization by 324% and website traffic from ads by 297%, connecting more people with the Foundation’s scholarships, grants, and resources.
Making More of $10,000 in Free Monthly Media
The Google Ad Grants program gives eligible organizations access to up to $10,000 each month in free Google advertising—creating an opportunity to reach people actively looking for their organization, services, and resources. For nonprofits, every marketing dollar matters.
But having the grant and making the most of it are two different things.
Click Rain has partnered with the South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) on its Google Ad Grant strategy and management since 2015. Over that time, SDCF has received more than $187,000 in free Google advertising, helping connect thousands of people with information about the Foundation, scholarships, grants, and other resources.
And in 2026, we found an opportunity to make that resource work even harder.
An Ongoing Strategy, Not a Set-It-and-Forget-It Campaign
Making effective use of the grant requires ongoing attention: understanding what people are searching for, aligning campaigns with organizational priorities, measuring what happens after someone arrives on the website, and adapting as Google introduces new opportunities.
As SDCF's longtime marketing partner, Google Ad Grant strategy and optimization is one piece of the work Click Rain has supported over the years. That ongoing partnership gives our team a deeper understanding of SDCF's audiences, goals, and digital presence—context we can bring back to the grant as we continually look for opportunities to improve performance.
In 2026, that meant adding Performance Max to SDCF’s existing strategy.
Finding a New Opportunity With Performance Max
Performance Max uses Google's automation and audience signals to optimize campaigns around specific goals, complementing the keyword-driven search campaigns traditionally associated with the grant.
For SDCF, adding Performance Max significantly increased our ability to put available grant dollars to work.
In fact, 35% of all Google Ad Grant spend SDCF has received since 2015 occurred within the past year.
Compared to the previous year, grant spend increased 300%, and clicks increased 138%.
Looking specifically at the shift from 2025 to 2026, the impact was even more pronounced:
+324%
Google Ad Grant dollars utilized
+569%
Ad impressions
+297%
Clicks to the SDCF website
Of course, simply adding a new tactic to the campaign wasn’t the end goal. Studying how people interact with SDCF’s site and finding the best ways to direct them to useful content was.
Turning Free Media Into Meaningful Website Activity
From January–September 2026, SDCF's Google Ad Grant campaigns have driven nearly 6,000 website sessions—many of which convert to meaningful actions on site such as multiple page engagement, form submissions, resource downloads, and more.
Those interactions represent people actively engaging with SDCF and its resources—from learning more about the foundation to exploring scholarships, grants, and other opportunities.
By tracking what happens after the click, Click Rain can look beyond impressions and traffic to understand how the grant is contributing to meaningful website activity—and continue optimizing accordingly.
Your Media Is Only as Strong as Where You Send It
Someone searching for a scholarship, grant opportunity, or nonprofit resource should land on a website that makes that information easy to find and the next step clear. Strong campaign strategy and strong website strategy work together—the right search query can bring someone in, but the website has to deliver on what they were looking for.
That's another area where our long-term partnership with SDCF comes into play. Click Rain also supports SDCF's website and is currently partnering with SDCF on its next website, giving our teams an opportunity to think about the entire digital experience rather than treating media and the website as separate efforts.
For other nonprofits, that doesn't have to mean taking on a large custom website project. Click Rain's website subscription model makes a professionally developed website more accessible through a predictable monthly investment. Built in Craft CMS, these sites pair professionally designed themes with an organization's own brand, messaging, and content, along with foundational SEO and flexible tools for ongoing updates.
For nonprofits looking to make the most of resources like Google Ad Grants, it's a practical way to strengthen both sides of the equation: helping more people find your organization and giving them a better experience once they do.
More Than Getting the Grant
For an eligible nonprofit, up to $10,000 in free monthly Google advertising is a significant opportunity. But getting the Google Ad Grant is only the beginning—SDCF's results demonstrate what can happen when there's an ongoing strategy behind it. Since 2015, Click Rain has helped SDCF continually evaluate and optimize the grant as the organization, its audiences, and Google's advertising platform have evolved.
Melissa Prostrollo, Senior Search Strategist at Click Rain, specializes in Google Ads strategy and optimization, helping nonprofit organizations make the most of their dollars. “Google Ad Grants exist within the ever-changing ecosystem of Google search. Features get added and changed regularly, making it important to stay aware of the Google Ads offerings and how to make the most of them for your organization.”
The result is a resource SDCF already had access to becoming an increasingly valuable part of its digital marketing strategy.
Make the Most of Your Nonprofit's Dollars
Whether your nonprofit needs help determining if the Google Ad Grant is a fit, applying for the program, getting more from an existing grant, or strengthening the website you're sending people to, Click Rain can help connect the pieces. Connect with our team today.
