Google Me Some Donors, Please!
The headlines don’t lie. Except for the generosity of a tiny number of mega-donors, charitable giving has taken a hit over the past few years. Many nonprofits are struggling to meet fundraising goals. Fewer donors are sticking around, and the acquisition channels we’ve relied on for so long have been in a steady, painful decline. In 2024, the nonprofit sector experienced a 4.5% decrease in the number of donors compared to the previous year — the fourth consecutive year donor counts have fallen!
So what’s a fundraiser to do?
Of course, we look for areas of opportunity — and take advantage of them. Sustainer programs are thriving for many nonprofits, and it’s worth redoubling your focus on these high-value donors. Many groups are also seeing big returns from mid-level donor efforts — acquisition, stewardship, and upgrades are paying off across the sector.
But one channel is emerging as a major success story — and yet still flies under the radar for many nonprofits: search engine marketing (SEM). That’s right — those little Google ads that pop up when you type in a search query have quietly evolved into a powerful engine of growth. Search ads have proven to be an effective digital fundraising tool for nonprofits, delivering an average return on ad spend (ROAS) of $2.75 for every dollar spent. That’s not only higher than the average return from many direct mail campaigns, but it also significantly outperforms other digital channels like social media and display advertising.
If you blinked, you may have missed the breathtaking, tech-driven transformation in search over the last couple of years.
Long gone are the days of painstaking manual keyword bidding, where you had to constantly monitor and adjust settings to boost performance. Today, Google’s algorithm is broader and more flexible — your fundraising ad might show even if the searcher uses keywords you didn’t anticipate.
And then, of course, there’s the powerful new role of AI. AI-enhanced tools built into the Google Ads platform help you plan, develop copy, run tests, target new audiences, and customize reports. Google Trends, while not AI-powered, is a free, standalone tool that shows how interest in a topic changes over time. It's a great companion for keyword research and campaign planning.
Used in combination with AI-driven platforms like Semrush or Ahrefs — which help optimize content, analyze competitors, and identify strategic gaps — SEM success can come faster and at a lower cost.
Every nonprofit is different, of course. Local or national, broad appeal or niche focus — these all affect your ability to build a thriving SEM program. But many organizations that invest in and commit to paid search are seeing strong ROI and acquiring new, loyal, high-value donors.
What’s our role as fundraisers in making this happen? Lest you think AI can do it all on its own… we’re not there yet. Not even close.
Today, it’s still people — people with deep but very different expertise than just a few years ago — who make SEM work. It’s people who choose the right tools and know how to use them together for exponentially faster, smarter results. And perhaps most importantly, it’s people who interpret the data and apply it to the unique context of a particular organization.
So much has changed in our fundraising world — and the challenges are enormous. But as always, it’s on us as fundraisers to seek out opportunities like SEM, and to use every tool at our disposal to move our missions forward.
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