• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, March 1, 2018

Google gives $10,000 in credits to each of the 35,000 nonprofits it supports monthly worldwide to buy ads on its search engine -- but for some, the perk could come to pass. One report suggests that some nonprofits are hiring search agencies to boost performance.

In December, Google announced it would stop funding groups that generate clicks off less than 5% of their ads in two consecutive months, after the search engine found some ads receive few clicks.

These updates went into effect on January 1, 2018 for all Ad Grantees. Some are struggling to comply, although Google initiated a training program in 2018 to help educated non-profits.

Organizers at non-profit Greenlining Institute, which flights for social injustice, are afraid of losing the funding, reports Reuters. Conrad Contreras, communications manager for Greenlining Institute, said in a Twitter tweet that 5% for nonprofits in the two-month window is "unrealistic." Contreras did not suggest that reaching a 5% click-through rate was not unrealistic. 

After Google began the training program, the average click-through rate in February rose to about 6%, reports Reuters.

Still, charities face limitation, Susheila Juggapah, digital content manager at London charity networking organization CharityComms, told Reuters. It's not always possible to reach that goal.