Turning a dormant grant into a mission delivery channel for a disability rights nonprofit
- Google Grant
The challenge
NDI's Google Ad Grant account had fallen out of compliance — click-through rates had dropped below Google's 5% threshold, putting the $10,000/month grant at risk of suspension. Campaigns were poorly structured, conversion tracking was broken, and the account was generating traffic without any measurable connection to NDI's mission outcomes.
The results
Cordelia Labs rebuilt the account from the ground up — driving CTR from below compliance threshold to a sustained 9%+, reducing cost per click by more than 43%, and scaling monthly traffic to 1,800+ qualified users reaching NDI's workforce and financial empowerment programs.
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9.86%
Click-through rate
Nearly 2× Google's 5% minimum threshold for Ad Grant compliance.
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1,830
Monthly clicks (peak)
Peak monthly traffic driven through the rebuilt grant account.
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$4.48
Average CPC
Efficient cost per click across all grant-funded search campaigns.
The Google Ad Grants program is $10,000 per month in free search advertising for eligible nonprofits. For NDI, that grant was at risk — click-through rates had fallen below Google's 5% compliance floor, and without intervention, the account faced suspension.
The compliance problem
NDI's account had several structural issues common to grant accounts managed by generalist teams: ad groups were too broad, keywords were matched too loosely, and conversion events weren't tracked back to any meaningful action on the site. The result was volume without intent — traffic that looked fine in the dashboard but wasn't connecting to NDI's actual mission outcomes.
Rebuilding from the keyword level
We restructured the account from scratch — tighter ad groups organized around NDI's specific programs and audiences, keywords matched to high-intent searches, and ad copy rewritten to earn clicks from people who actually needed NDI's resources. Conversion tracking was instrumented across every meaningful action: resource downloads, contact form submissions, newsletter signups.
Compliance as a byproduct of good strategy
Staying above Google's CTR floor isn't a separate goal — it's the natural result of running campaigns that match the right message to the right search. When your keywords are tight and your copy is relevant, click-through rates follow. NDI's account went from compliance risk to 9.86% CTR, nearly twice the minimum threshold.
The output
1,830 monthly clicks at peak. $4.48 average CPC. Every dollar of the $10,000 grant working. And for the first time, NDI had conversion data that connected grant-funded traffic to the people they exist to serve.
About the client
National Disability Institute
The National Disability Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to building a better financial future for people with disabilities. NDI provides financial education, coaching, and resources to help individuals with disabilities achieve economic independence and stability.