Not-for-profit marketing has three audiences, not one: the people who need your help, the volunteers who deliver it, and the donors who fund it. Most charity marketing only talks to donors. The cheapest place to start is usually Google's Ad Grants, up to US$10,000 a month in free Search ads, which most charities use only a fraction of. I run grants accounts for welfare and mental health charities, and the same patterns come up in nearly all of them.
Written by Dan Picken, founder. Last checked 29 October 2026.Big numbers, but unevenly spread. Charities with under $500,000 a year in revenue make up 60% of the sector. For most charities, every dollar of marketing has to work twice: raising money and finding the people who need the service.
Source: ACNC: Australian Charities Report, 12th edition (2024 data)
How people find a charity
Someone sees a story, feels something, then goes looking. Before they give, most check that you're real, that the money helps, and whether it's tax deductible.
The psychology
Donors aren't buying anything, which makes the worries different. They're mostly about whether the money will matter.
01
In a field experiment, telling donors their gift's overhead was already covered increased the donation rate by 80% and total donations by 75% compared with a standard seed-money appeal.
Show them: What a gift pays for, in specifics. If a funder covers running costs, say so.
02
Fake charity scams are common enough that the ACNC tells people to check the Charity Register before donating.
Show them: Your ABN, a link to your ACNC listing, real names and a real address. Make the check easy.
03
In a large field experiment, offering a matching gift increased both the chance people gave and how much was raised, but bigger match ratios like 3:1 did no better than 1:1.
Show them: A matched appeal when a funder will match, at a simple 1:1. No need to promise more.
04
Gifts to a deductible gift recipient can be claimed as a tax deduction. Donors giving before 30 June often check this first.
Show them: Say clearly whether you have DGR status, on the donate page and the receipt.
05
The National Fundraising Principles include acting on requests to stop being asked. People give more freely when they trust they can say no later.
Show them: How often you'll be in touch, and an easy way to stop.
From my audits
I manage Ad Grants for welfare and mental health charities. These are the leaks I see most.
Up to US$10,000 a month on offer, a few hundred spent. The fix is usually conversion tracking and campaigns built around what people actually search for.
Every campaign asks for money, while people searching for help and people wanting to volunteer find nothing aimed at them.
Long forms, slow payment pages and no Apple Pay or Google Pay. Every extra field loses someone on a phone.
No plan for June, when people give before the end of the financial year, or for December appeals. The busiest weeks get the same ads as any other.
A receipt and nothing else. Telling donors what their gift did is the cheapest way to get the second one.
Ad Grants value calculator
Google gives eligible charities up to US$10,000 a month in Search ads. Most use a fraction of it. Put in your own numbers from Google Ads to see what you're using, what you're leaving on the table, and what the results are worth.
Donations, volunteer sign-ups, referrals and calls. Not page views.
Your average online donation, or what a volunteer or referral is worth to you.
Change this to today's rate.
Grant used a year
A$0
Extra spend rarely converts as well as the first dollars, which is why the last line halves your rate. See the Spend Curve.
AI search
More people ask ChatGPT or Google's AI 'which charities help with...' or 'where can I volunteer near me'. Those tools build an answer from what they can find and check about you.
ChatGPT searches the web for current information, so your own site, news coverage and directory listings shape what it says about you.
Your charity's name, purpose and location should read the same on your website, ACNC listing, Google Business Profile and social pages, so AI tools can match them up.
What to do now
My take: AI tools reward charities that explain themselves plainly. 'We make a difference in our community' says nothing a machine or a person can use. 'We provide free financial counselling in Newcastle' does.
Australian rules
Fundraising has rules on top of normal advertising rules. These are the ones that come up most, checked on 29 October 2026.
Most states have adopted the National Fundraising Principles, which include never misleading donors and acting on requests to stop being contacted. Check your state's fundraising rules too.
Only say gifts are tax deductible if you're a deductible gift recipient. It's one of the first things careful donors check.
The ACMA's spam rules set out consent, sender details and unsubscribe requirements. Charities have some specific treatment, so check how the rules apply to your messages.
Grants accounts must follow Google's account management policy, including a 5% click-through rate and real conversion tracking, or the grant can be switched off.
A marketer's summary, not legal advice. Check with the ACNC, your state regulator or a lawyer for your situation.
The channel mix
The not-for-profit hub
Start with what's free and searchable: Google Ad Grants if you're eligible, a Google Business Profile, and clear pages for each service and each way to help. Then a donate page that works on a phone. Paid campaigns come after the basics work.
Up to US$10,000 a month in Google Search ads, or about US$120,000 a year. Most charities use far less. The calculator on this page shows what yours is worth from your own numbers.
Research suggests donors give more when they know their gift goes straight to the cause. In one experiment, saying overheads were already covered by a funder raised total donations by 75%. If a funder covers running costs, say so.
Yes, in the research. A large field experiment found a match increased giving, but a 3:1 match did no better than 1:1. A simple dollar-for-dollar match is enough.
Many give before 30 June, at the end of the financial year, when gifts to deductible gift recipients can be claimed, and again around Christmas. Plan appeals and grant campaigns for both.
Yes, as paid ads. Meta's ads aren't free like Ad Grants, so they're best for appeals with a strong story, volunteer recruitment and reaching people who already follow you.
Keep going
Takes a minute. Audits come back within 1 to 2 business days. For anything else, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
What happens next