The Challenge – Growing a Mission Without a Digital Strategy
Hope Force International (HFI) has a powerful mission: to respond to crises with compassion and trained volunteers. But when it came to digital outreach, they were missing a critical opportunity.
Despite being an established nonprofit, HFI had never heard of the Google Ad Grant—a $10,000/month resource available to nonprofits for promoting their cause through search ads. They had no ad account, no digital acquisition strategy, and no capacity to manage a complex setup process.
At the same time, their need was clear. They wanted to:
Increase visibility around disaster preparedness and volunteer training
Build a stronger, more engaged email list
Reach people in crisis at the exact moment they were searching for help
What they lacked wasn’t vision—it was digital firepower.
Our Approach – Using Urgency to Drive Connection
Soulheart began by removing the friction. We handled every step of the Google Ad Grant process: from application and domain verification to account structure and campaign launch. What often takes nonprofits months of frustration, we executed in a matter of weeks.
But we didn’t stop at setup.
We built a strategy rooted in relevance—launching search campaigns designed to show up exactly when people were searching for urgent, disaster-related topics. From “how to prepare for a tornado” to “flood safety checklist,” each campaign paired a high-intent search with a mission-aligned resource, such as a downloadable guide or volunteer opportunity.
Instead of casting a wide net, we prioritized precision:
Ads were tied to real-time search trends
Each landing page was optimized for clarity, value, and conversion
New subscribers were tagged based on disaster type, enabling segmented email follow-up
In short, we met people at their moment of need—and showed them Hope Force’s mission as part of the solution.
The Transformation – From Dormant to Dynamic
Hope Force went from having no digital acquisition engine to running a compliant, performance-focused ad system that connects their mission with people who need it most.
Before Soulheart | After Soulheart |
No Ad Grant account | Fully approved and strategically managed |
No paid campaigns | Active campaigns driving clicks and conversions |
$0 ad spend | $3,700+ monthly ad spend in the first few weeks with room to scale |
No list growth plan | Segmented, disaster-aware email list growing weekly |
No traffic strategy | High-intent search terms drive mission-aligned visits |
Poor visibility | Ads show up during real disaster searches |
Limited engagement workflows | Subscribers funneled into relevant email journeys |
This wasn’t just about driving traffic. It was about building a digital system that attracts, engages, and activates future donors, reservists, and advocates.
The Results – Measurable Growth in Just 3 Months
Soulheart’s approach wasn’t just efficient—it was effective. The campaigns quickly gained traction and consistently met Google’s strict 5% click-through rate requirement, ensuring long-term grant eligibility.
March 2025 (Launch Month)
Impressions: 1,500
Clicks: 50
CTR: 3.33%
Spend: $368
A soft launch focused on setup, testing, and establishing baseline benchmarks.
April 2025
Impressions: 5,994
Clicks: 339
CTR: 5.66%
Spend: $3,702
Subscribers: 40+ new email subscribers from lead magnet campaigns
Account reached compliance and conversions began accelerating.
May 2025
Impressions: 7,281
Clicks: 365
CTR: 5.0%
Spend: $5,000+
Campaigns continued to scale while maintaining efficiency and relevance.
Each month, new subscribers were added. Each subscriber represented a real person—someone in crisis, someone searching for hope, someone now connected to HFI’s story.
“Before partnering with Soulheart, we had no presence on Google Ads. Now, thanks to their expertise with the Google Nonprofit Grant, we have a strong and growing presence—and we’re seeing new leads come in every month.”
Maddie Ramos
Hope Force International
What’s Next – Scaling Momentum for Even Greater Reach
With solid results and a proven system, Soulheart continues to partner with Hope Force to scale their efforts. The focus moving forward includes:
Expanding campaigns to additional types of disasters
Developing new lead magnets and downloadable content
Building out email automation workflows based on user behavior
Moving toward fully utilizing the $10,000/month grant allocation
This is more than a marketing campaign—it’s a digital mission strategy. One that will help Hope Force reach more people in their moment of need and activate more hearts into action.
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(2013-25©)
