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Case Study

Man Up to Cancer Case Study

Man Up to Cancer Google Ad Grant spend by month, $349 to $5.43K.
Services

Turning an Underused Google Ad Grant into a Steady Source of New Members

$349 → $5.43K
Monthly Ad Grant spend (about 15x)
37
Record conversions, Sept 2026
508
Record clicks, Sept 2026
304
Conversions in 14 months
$52K+
Free Google ads put to work
Intro

The Client

Man Up to Cancer is a national nonprofit that helps men facing cancer avoid going through it alone. It offers an online brotherhood of nearly 2,000 members, more than 40 local chapters, an annual retreat and free care backpacks for men in treatment. Bend manages MUTC’s Google Ad Grant account.

Line chart: Man Up to Cancer monthly Google Ad Grant spend, Jan 2025 to Sept 2026, rising from $349 to $5,430 after an Aug to Sep 2025 account restructure
Monthly Ad Grant spend grew from $349 (Jan 2025) to $5.43K (Sept 2026) after the Aug to Sep 2025 restructure. Source: Google Ads.

Problem

The Problem

  • Free ad dollars were going unused. Google Ad Grants give nonprofits up to $10,000 a month in search ads. From January to July 2025, MUTC’s account spent $247 to $932 a month and brought in 13 conversions in seven months.
  • The rules are strict. Grant accounts have bid limits and quality requirements, and many cancer terms aren’t eligible, so the account struggled to show up.
  • Membership was moving to the website. In 2025 MUTC moved sign-ups from a Facebook group to its own site, so the ads needed to send men straight to the new sign-up path.

Google search ad preview for the Man Up to Cancer conference on men's cancer mental health
One of our Grant search ads, for MUTC’s men’s cancer mental health conference (Oct 2026).

Solution

How We Solved It

In August and September 2025, we restructured the account. Since then we’ve kept improving it every month.

  • Matched how men actually search. We added ad groups for specific cancer types, support groups, young adult cancer, meetups, caregivers and Spanish-language searches.
  • Pointed every ad to a matching page. Ads for colorectal, prostate and testicular cancer now go to the join page for that cancer. That improves relevance, which helps Grant ads show more often.
  • Let the right campaigns do the heavy lifting. Performance Max now drives most member sign-ups, while branded search stays focused only on people looking for “Man Up to Cancer.”
  • Cleaned up traffic every week. Weekly search term reviews cut irrelevant clicks, and we test new ad copy and sitelinks often.
  • Promoted the whole mission. We built small campaigns for MUTC’s podcast and conferences alongside the core membership ads.

Google Ads 12-month chart for Man Up to Cancer: 3.12K clicks, 65.3K impressions, 166 conversions, $34.7K cost, Mar 2025 to Mar 2026
The turn after the restructure: 3.12K clicks, 166 conversions and $34.7K in Ad Grant spend over 12 months (Mar 2025 to Mar 2026). Source: Google Ads.

Results

The Results

Bar chart: Man Up to Cancer monthly Ad Grant conversions, Jan 2025 to Sept 2026, with a record 37 in September 2026
A record 37 conversions in Sept 2026, up from 0 to 6 a month in Jan to Jul 2025. Source: Google Ads.

Bar chart: Man Up to Cancer monthly Ad Grant clicks, Jan 2025 to Sept 2026, with a record 508 in September 2026
A record 508 clicks in Sept 2026, up from 59 to 106 a month in Jan to Jul 2025. Source: Google Ads.

  • Monthly Grant spend grew from $258 to $5,010 between July and September 2025, as the restructure took hold. In September 2026 the account spent $5.43K.
  • September 2026 was the best month yet: a record 37 conversions and 508 clicks. Conversions rose 68% and clicks rose 70% over August.
  • 304 conversions in 14 months (Aug 2025 to Sept 2026), about 22 a month, up from about 2 a month before.
  • Over $52,000 in free Google advertising put to work over the same 14 months.
  • Branded search costs just $1.62 per conversion (Aug 2026).
  • Non-branded searches convert too. “Prostate cancer support group” converted at 42.86% for $4.57 per conversion (Jul 2026).

Conversions include member sign-up forms, donate button clicks and newsletter sign-ups. In September 2026: 17 sign-ups, 17 donate clicks and 3 newsletter sign-ups.

Running a nonprofit with a Google Ad Grant?

Most nonprofits leave thousands of free ad dollars on the table each month. We know the Grant rules and how to work within them. If your Grant isn’t spending, or isn’t bringing in members, donors or volunteers, let’s talk.

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