Can you tell me about the Microsoft Ads for Social Impact Grant?
Microsoft began awarding qualifying NGOs a monthly grant of $1,000 to utilize toward digital advertising in the summer of 2022. The Microsoft Ad award is comparable to the Google Ad Grant, however recipients may choose to promote on either platform using their award money. Bing, Yahoo!, and AOL are all part of the Microsoft Search Network, while Outlook.com, MSN, Microsoft Edge, and Ecosia are all part of the Microsoft Audience Network.
In the past, NGOs needed to put up their own money in order to take use of Microsoft’s marketing funding. However, the charity does not need to put any money into this program since it is just a grant. If a group contributes $800 monthly to the ad budget, the Grant will climb from $1,000 to $3,000, for a total of $24,000 over the course of a year.
Microsoft’s Ads for Social Impact Grant’s Perks
Raise people’s awareness of your cause.
Get more people involved and donate.
Bring in a steady stream of targeted visitors.
There Are Three Particular Advantages To Microsoft’s Ads-For-Social-Impact Grant
Target Market for Microsoft’s Commercials
In 2022, according to Microsoft statistics, Microsoft Advertising’s share of the US search market was 38%. Even while Google is still the market leader, Microsoft has captured 47 million Google-inaccessible searches.
Not only is this a sizable portion of Internet users, but Microsoft’s readership skews heavily toward charitable giving:
Only one-third (34%) of the population has completed post-secondary education.
More over half (53%) of all adults are in a committed relationship of some kind.
There are 35% of families whose income is in the top 25%.
Furthermore, Microsoft Search Network users had a 26% higher median online purchase value compared to other internet users.
As you can see, the Microsoft Ad Grant is a fantastic opportunity for your charity to get exposure to new contributors. This is a tremendous perk of using the Microsoft Ad Grant in your advertising campaign.
Practical Features of the Microsoft Advertising Grant
With the Microsoft Advertising Grant, there is no secondary auction, thus grant advertising are on same footing with paid ads in terms of competition. This is a significant perk since the potential audience for these advertising is so large.
Because there is less competition for certain keywords, Microsoft Advertising has a cheaper CPC (cost per click). This means that the $1,000 monthly advertising outlay may provide effects that are on par with much bigger donations.
Thirdly, Nonprofit Availability
The Microsoft Ad Grant stands out from the competition since it has laxer compliance standards. To remain in compliance with the Ads for Social Impact Grant, for instance, a nonprofit organization is not needed to keep up a certain click through rate (CTR).
More organizations will be able to benefit from Microsoft’s grant money since the company has looser guidelines. This is encouraging since it means our collective efforts may have a greater effect on causes big and small.
Microsoft’s Ads Have Limits on Their Social Impact Grant
Advertisements are restricted to the Microsoft Audience Network and its premium native domains. Microsoft’s Search Partner Network is ineligible for grant funding.
Landing pages that route readers to other sites are not allowed, and ads may only link to authorized domains.
Financial services, such as mortgages and credit cards, cannot be advertised.
Donations of substantial items, such as automobiles, yachts, or real estate, cannot be solicited in advertisements.
If your Microsoft Ads account is set to Expert Mode, then you will be eligible for grants.
The Microsoft Ads for Social Impact Grant is open to non-profit organizations.
Criteria for Eligibility:
Be a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) charity or non-governmental organization, and sign up as a Microsoft Charity Partner. To sign up, just click here.
Have a website that works and tells people what you’re about.
run for the greater good of the community without seeking financial gain.
As of November 2022, institutions such as hospitals, medical groups, schools, childcare facilities, colleges, and universities will no longer be able to apply for a Microsoft Ad Grant. (The charitable arms of academic institutions may qualify.)
It is illegal for a nonprofit to have a mission or policy that discriminates against people because of their race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, political affiliation, union membership, or veteran status in any of these areas: hiring, compensation, promotion, termination, retirement, training, programs, activities, and/or services.
Grant application instructions for Microsoft Ads for Social Impact
Register your organization with Microsoft for Nonprofits (approval may take 7-14 days).
Make a profile for Microsoft Ads.
This page is the application for the Ads for Social Impact initiative.
A lot of things are like the Google Ad Grant
There is no better way to get your name out there than with the help of grants like the ones offered by Microsoft and Google.
Only when a user clicks on one of your adverts will you be charged for that click using a pay-per-click grant. First impressions don’t cost much.
Both have conversion tracking enabled, so you can see what useful activities users do after clicking on your grant advertisements.
You may promote your website’s cause by making custom advertisements.
Contrast with Google’s Ad Grant
The Google Grant and the Microsoft Grant vary in many significant ways.
The Microsoft Ad Grant for Social Impact:
accepts show advertisements in addition to search ads
lacks a supplementary bidding system. As with paid commercials, grant-funded ones are fiercely contested.
has NO minimum CTR of 5%
Gives out $1,000 in grants per month, compared to Google’s $10,000
Avoids Google users in favor of those using Bing, Yahoo, AOL, outlook.com, MSN, Microsoft Edge, or Ecosia.
Permits the Use of Individual Keywords
Microsoft Advertising FAQs for Nonprofit Organizations
If you don’t spend $1,000 in a month, what happens?
Each voucher is good for 45 days and is worth $1,000. A $1,000 voucher will be added to your Microsoft Ads account on the first of every month, and it will renew automatically. A voucher for $1,000 that isn’t used in full within 45 days will be voided. While there are no penalties for not using the whole amount, any monies not utilized within 45 days will be forfeited.
What if you blow through $1,000 in less than a month?
Once the $1,000 is depleted, you or your grant manager will need to suspend all advertisements until the next month, when funding will resume with a fresh coupon.
So, what exactly are these “Display Ads”?
Large, eye-catching images that represent your business and what you stand for are the key to the success of display adverts. As a result, more people will visit your website and more of them will make a purchase. Both the main content and the sidebar will display these advertising. They will not, however, take the place of your text ads. Cost-per-click pricing models are used for display advertisements.
Action Extensions are defined as.
These are really practical, for sure. Put a call-to-action button right next to your text advertising with Action Extensions. You may choose from one of 62 predefined call-to-actions (like “learn more,” “donate,” or “watch”). Your ad’s description will have a clickable extension like this one. It’s also possible to utilize Action Extensions in tandem with other ad extensions.
These add-ons help because they direct attention to the primary call-to-action (CTA) you hope users will take. In fact, according to research conducted by Microsoft, employing Action Extensions may boost conversion rates by 20%!
In which areas of the world will people be able to see your Microsoft ads?
Ads on Microsoft Advertising may be tailored to specific audiences based on their location, device, browser, and more.
Should you use a company to handle your Microsoft Ad Grant for you?
Yes, and I’ll tell you why. Even though Microsoft has made it easier to apply for and utilize the technologies associated with this award, there are still many moving parts involved in generating a positive return on investment.
Expert training and certification in the administration of the Microsoft Ad Grant is available to professionals, just as it is for the Google Grant.
Each year, the Nonprofit Megaphone team takes part in training provided by Microsoft Advertising and becomes “Microsoft Advertising Certified Professionals.” Exams and coursework in search advertising, native advertising, display advertising, and e-commerce advertising are all part of this curriculum.
We utilize our expertise to manage Microsoft advertisements for your business, streamline operations, and provide as a reliable resource for the inevitable issues that will arise.
Weighing the benefits of the Google Ad Grant vs the Microsoft Ads for Social Impact Grant, why should NGOs use both?
Each award has the ability to reach a different group of people, expanding your base of prospective donors and advocates. Advertisements provide value for both the vast majority of Google users and the 47 million Microsoft searchers who are not reached by Google.
The more pertinent issue is why you wouldn’t use both, given that they are both provided at no cost as advertising revenue to charitable organizations.
When used together, these donations may help spread the word about your cause, boost website traffic, and bring in new donors on a massive scale.
To discover how combining the Google Ad Grant with the Microsoft Ad Grant has helped some of our customers, please click here.
A Community Voice for Good Common Questions about Microsoft’s Grant Administration
Who will oversee the Microsoft Advertising Grant on your behalf?
The Microsoft Ads for Social Impact Grant is administered by a Grant Manager and an Analytics Specialist.
Your existing Grant Manager and Analytics Specialist will handle both your Google and Microsoft Ad Grants if you are currently using our Google Grant management services. If you have any issues concerning either grant, you may still get in touch with your existing Grant Manager at Nonprofit Megaphone.
How much more work do you anticipate this grant bringing?
You shouldn’t have to put forth much effort at all. With the help of our team, you may apply for the Microsoft advertisements for Social Impact Grant, implement conversion monitoring, have Microsoft search and display advertisements made, and have your account routinely managed in accordance with best practices. We will instruct you on setting up the UET tag on your website if Google Tag Manager is not currently in use at your company.
How do you plan on gauging the success of your Microsoft advertisements?
The effectiveness of your Microsoft Grant will be tracked in a separate report. There you may see important metrics like clicks, impressions, click-through rates, cost-per-click, and conversions. During Courtesy Calls, your Grant Manager will review Microsoft Ad results with you.
We will supply you with two separate reports that detail the success of both the Google and Microsoft grants if we are already administering the Google Grant for you. These reports will make it simple to examine information related to both projects; similar information will be covered during Courtesy Calls.
How are progress toward goals measured?
Our Analytics Experts will install and manage your Microsoft Ads conversion tracking for you.
By placing a Universal Event Tag (UET) tag on your website, we can monitor online conversions like engagement, visit length, and bespoke events. By doing so, we can determine how successful your campaigns have been and learn what kinds of useful activities users are doing in response to your ads.
When Google Tag Manager isn’t available, what then?
Our Analytics Specialist can set up a Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag in Microsoft Ads if you don’t use Google Tag Manager. We will then provide you the UET tag tracking code, which will need to be implemented by your web team. Every page on your site has to have it included in the head or body.
Takeaway
Clearly, the Microsoft for Social Impact Grant is a fantastic new opportunity for organizations of all sizes dedicated to social good. Due to the novelty of this charitable donation, many worthy causes are unaware of it and hence are losing out. Others are still learning about the Microsoft Grant and how to make the most of it.
Whether you choose to implement the Microsoft Grant on your own or work with us, we hope that this guidance will assist a wide variety of nonprofit organizations like yours succeed.