Educating Non-Profits on Google Offerings in Israel

I joined Google's sales team close to three and half years ago, just as we were beginning our operations in Israel. Shortly after joining, I came to learn about the Google Grants program. With joint effort and support from the local and global teams, we finally launched this program in Israel in November 2008.

We now have close to 40 non-profit organizations in Israel participating in the program. Volunteering for Google Grants is incredibly gratifying, as we get to do what we know best: online advertising. For the local team in Israel, helping non-profit organizations attract new volunteers, increase donations, serve more clients, and spread their messages is truly one of the greatest rewards.

We're a few months into the program, and have realized that organizations benefit most from a Google Grant when they understand how to use it to best meet their goals. Just being approved for a Google Grant isn’t enough. By taking the time to learn about AdWords and get involved in the account management process, an organization can really maximize its advertising grant.

With that end in mind, we held a small, educational event on May 7th in our Tel Aviv office to share with our program participants the many ways non-profit organizations and charities can benefit from Google's products.

Meir Brand, Google Israel's Country Director, kicked off the event with an overview of recent trends in the online world with an emphasis on Israel. Participants then learned how to manage and maximize an AdWords account and received a sneak peak into the intriguing world of YouTube, user generated content, and how video can serve as a powerful and engaging tool to convey an organization's message. After a short break, the non-profits also learned about the importance of a good UI and friendly website design, and saw how an entire organization can share information and ideas more easily using Google Apps, our cloud computing solution. Folks also had the unique opportunity to mingle with both Googlers who volunteer in the Google Grants program and fellow non-profits who could share their best practices and marketing experiences.

The opportunity to make positive changes and impact such important causes during this time of instability and uncertainty is truly a gift. It was also exciting to hear the verbal feedback from the participants during and immediately following the event. Here is one highlight:

"There are no words to express how your donation has helped us reach a wider audience and assist Holocaust survivors in Israel in order to exercise their rights. A small example of the impact: about 3,200 inquiries came to our site through the Google Grants advertising program - this is one-third of the traffic to our site since we launched!" --Hagit Grubstein, Aviv LeNitzolei HaShoah

Time and time again, my belief that working on Google Grants is a great way to do good in a community that often needs some guidance about how to get online. Together, we can really make a difference.

Posted by Rachel Lipschitz, Tel-Aviv Direct Sales & Google Grants Cultural Lead, Israel