Hi, I'm Jen Boland

Over the last year and a half, I've been digging into nonprofit Google Ads accounts. What started as routine audits turned into something I couldn't unsee.

In one audit alone, I found $175,000 in annual savings hiding in plain sight—wasted spend that could have funded programs, hired staff, or served more people.

But here's what really made me angry:

Nonprofits are unknowingly bidding against each other on Google.

This happens when one nonprofit's Google Ads target the branded keywords of another nonprofit. Food banks bidding on food bank names. Homeless shelters competing for each other's donors. Organizations with the same mission, accidentally driving up each other's costs.

Let me give you a real example: One organization was spending $1,300 per day on branded terms they could have protected. That's 2,600 meals that never got served. Every. Single. Day.

This isn't theoretical. This is donor money evaporating into an accidental auction.

I started documenting this publicly

In November, I wrote about the brand bidding problem on LinkedIn. The response surprised me.

8,195 impressions 68 reactions 18 comments

Read the full post →

"The focus of nonprofits should always be on their missions, not on defending their name."

— Sara Shahid

"Despicable. Paid search conquesting is so low."

— Evan Blackford, Expert Marketer & Fundraiser

Nonprofit leaders responded

The comments and messages poured in. Development directors. Executive directors. Board members. Consultants who specialize in Google Grants.

The numbers from that one post: 8,195 impressions. A prior post hit 6,415. The first time I wrote about this? 2,562.

The message was clear: this problem is real, it's widespread, and nobody has solved it.

So I did.

Introducing The Fair Search Coalition

The Fair Search Coalition is a cooperative of nonprofits who agree not to bid on each other's branded keywords.

It works like this:

You sign up. I add your organization to a shared negative keyword list. You upload this list to your Google Ads account once a month. It takes about two minutes.

That's it.

Every member's branded terms are protected from accidental competition by every other member. The more nonprofits join, the more protection everyone gets.

No software to install. No complex integrations. No recurring fees. Just mutual protection among organizations that should never have been competing in the first place.

Where we are right now

I'm going to be transparent with you:

Right now, I'm managing the list in a Google Spreadsheet. However, I've already built a working prototype that can automate this—but I'm holding off on building a fully functional tool until I know people actually want this.

Once we hit 50 founding members, I'll spend the time and money to turn this into a secure, fully automated tool. Until then, it's me, a spreadsheet, and a mission.

I'm looking for 50 founding members

As a founding member, you'll get:

• Your branded keywords protected by every other member in the coalition
• Immediate access to the shared negative keyword list
• Direct input on how this coalition evolves
• Monthly updates on growth and new features
• Recognition as an early supporter who helped build this

Your commitment:

• Upload the shared list to your Google Ads account monthly (~2 minutes)
• Agree not to bid on the branded terms of other coalition members
• Optional but appreciated: tell other nonprofits about this

That's the whole deal.

Sign the No-Bid Pledge

Ready to protect your branded keywords and stop accidentally competing with fellow nonprofits?