This presentation is part of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Annual Conference. Registration is required to attend.

Google Grants provides up to $10,000 each month for nonprofit organizations to spend advertising in Google search. Most nonprofits don’t use the free grant, or don’t know that “conversions goals” are required to really get the attention of new potential supporters. This session will review pre- and post- Google Ads data for a smaller charity, and show how a measured goal (donation made, newsletter sign-up, advocacy action taken) can impact the overall ads program for reaching new audiences. This session will focus more on the process of selecting ad campaign words (using tools such as Google Keyword Planner), looking out for the “quality penalty” imposed by Google for ads which don’t generate clicks, and higher per-click eligibility rewards for meeting quality measures.
Steve Boland, managing partner, Next in Nonprofits

This event is part of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Annual Conference. Registration is required to attend.

No organization relishes talking about challenges, but not talking about them can certainly lead to even worse results. Transparency will often prompt improved support if it is voluntary (and not coming after an ill-timed report in the local news). This case study will follow the decisions of In the Heart of The Beast Puppet and Mask Theater as it went public with a challenging set of information about their annual May Day Festival and Parade. This tiered-communications approach had to dismiss some fears, and took an investment in staff and board time to show a potential path forward without over-promising. The transparency theme need not be limited to just difficult news. A commitment to using transparency tools such as the Charities Review Council and Candid (formerly Guidestar) can create a framework for how “boring” data can increase donor engagement – even if the donor doesn’t actually read it.
Steve Boland, managing partner, Next in Nonprofits