We Had Google Ad Grants Years Ago and Let It Lapse: How to Get It Back

Someone set it up in 2019. They left in 2021. Nobody has logged in since, and nobody is sure whether the account still exists.

If that sounds like your organization, you are in good company. A lapsed Google Ad Grants account is one of the most common situations we see, and the path back is usually shorter than applying from scratch. The account did not fail. It was left alone. That is fixable. Here is the order of operations.

First, find out what you actually have

A lapsed account is in one of three states, and each has a different path back.

• Deactivated for policy. The account exists but Google switched it off, usually for a click-through rate below 5 percent for two months, missing conversion tracking, structure, bidding, or an unanswered program survey.
• Cancelled or inaccessible. The account was closed, or it still exists but the single admin email belonged to someone who left.
• Active and idle. The account is still live and simply has not been touched. Its award has been expiring every month, unused.

Start in the Google for Nonprofits dashboard, not in Google Ads. The dashboard shows whether the organization is enrolled, who the administrators are, and whether Ad Grants was activated. If nobody at the organization can sign in, Google provides an account recovery path for nonprofits whose admin has left. Use it before you do anything else, and do not create a second Google for Nonprofits account for the same organization; duplicates slow every later step.

If the account was deactivated

This is the most common state and the most direct fix. Bring the account into compliance with Google's account management policy, then submit the reactivation request. In practice, an account that lapsed years ago needs more than the one fix named in an old email, because the rules have moved. Expect to add conversion tracking, switch every campaign to a conversion-based Smart Bidding strategy, confirm specific geo-targeting and at least two sitelinks, and pause keywords with quality scores of 1 or 2. The full recovery sequence is in how to get a suspended Ad Grants account back.

If the account was cancelled or nobody can access it

Recover administrative access first. Google for Nonprofits lets an organization regain control when the previous admin is gone, and adding a second administrator on an organization-owned email address is the single change that prevents the same problem next time. Once you are in, check whether the verification is still current; Google now verifies nonprofits through Goodstack rather than TechSoup, and an organization verified years ago may be asked to confirm its details. Then activate Ad Grants from the dashboard, or request reactivation of the existing account if it still shows there. Do not open a standalone Google Ads account; grant accounts are created through the dashboard.

If it is still active and simply idle

This is the best case and the most wasteful one. The award has been expiring every month, and the account may have drifted below the click-through floor if old ads kept running against old searches. Sign in, check the account status, and read the last few months of performance. Then treat it as a rebuild: fresh keywords in the five families that match your mission, ads that echo the searches, conversion tracking on the actions that matter, and Smart Bidding once tracking is recording. Our article on why most of the Ad Grants budget goes unspent is the checklist.

The account did not fail. It was left alone. That is fixable.

What changed while you were away

• Verification. Goodstack replaced TechSoup as Google's validation partner. Guides that mention TechSoup are out of date.
• Bidding. Accounts created on or after April 22, 2019 must use conversion-based Smart Bidding on every campaign. Older accounts benefit from the same switch, because it lifts the 2 dollar cap that applies to manual bids.
• Conversion tracking. Accounts created since January 2018 and any account on Smart Bidding must record at least one meaningful conversion a month. See the conversion tracking requirement.
• Campaign types. Performance Max and eligible Google Maps placements are now allowed in Ad Grants accounts.
• The program survey. Google periodically requires a response, sent to the notification email on the account. If that email belonged to someone who left, the survey may be why the account went dark.

Not sure which state your account is in? Tell us the organization and the website and our team finds out, then writes back within one business day with what is there and the first thing to fix. Get your written audit.

Rebuilding so it does not lapse again

Every lapsed account we see shares one history: the account had a person, not an owner. When the person left, the account stopped. Fix that structurally. Put the admin role on an organization-owned address that more than one person can reach. Set the notification email to a shared inbox. Put a monthly review on the calendar with a named owner: click-through rate, conversions recorded, keywords paused, negatives added, survey emails answered. Document where the tracking tags live. Or hand the routine to a team that does it every month for a living. Either way, the account should survive the next staff change.

Questions nonprofits ask about lapsed accounts

Do we reapply or request reactivation?

If the account still exists in your Google for Nonprofits dashboard, request reactivation after fixing it. Reapply only if the account was cancelled and no longer appears, and even then start from the dashboard rather than a new Google Ads account.

Does the award we did not use come back?

No. Unused budget expires monthly and a deactivated account does not accrue. The award resumes once the account is active again.

Can the account be moved to a new email?

Yes. Recover access through Google for Nonprofits, then add administrators on organization-owned addresses and remove the ones that have left.

We redesigned the website since then. Does that matter?

It can help or hurt. Google's website policy applies to the site as it is today, so a redesign that dropped the security certificate, thinned the content, or broke links can block reactivation until it is fixed. A redesign that made the mission clearer usually helps. Our guide to getting a nonprofit website approved lists what Google looks for.

Find out what your old account still holds

You do not need the old login to start. Tell us where to look: your nonprofit, your website, and what you remember about the grant. Within one business day you will have a written audit covering whether you qualify today, what is unused, what puts the account at risk, and the first thing to fix. No pitch, no obligation. Get your Google Ad Grants audit, or call (313) 364-8828.

Zoya Syal is Content and Production Manager at Nonprofits Engine, where she leads the content and testimonial work for a team that helps small nonprofits get set up and funded.