LinkedIn Ad Grants for Nonprofits: Rounds, Rules and the Discount That Isn't for Ads

LinkedIn has offered free ad credits to some nonprofits through an Ad Grants program that opens in rounds, but it doesn't discount ads for nonprofits. LinkedIn's nonprofit marketing page says "we don't offer discounts on our marketing products", as of October 2026, and we couldn't find an open Ad Grants round on LinkedIn's own sites.

So there are two different things behind the search "linkedin ad grants": a competitive grant that isn't always open, and a nonprofit discount that doesn't cover ads at all. This guide separates them and says plainly what we could and couldn't confirm.

What LinkedIn says about Ad Grants

LinkedIn's nonprofit blog post Does LinkedIn offer advertising grants for nonprofits? is the clearest official description we found. It's from 2022, which matters. It says:

• the Ad Grants program "allows eligible nonprofits to apply for free advertising on LinkedIn" and is part of LinkedIn Social Impact;
• it focused on three areas: "Racial and gender equity", "Economic opportunity for professionals facing barriers" and "Environmental sustainability";
• your nonprofit "doesn't need to be a current LinkedIn customer to apply", but you need a LinkedIn Page for your organization;
• grants can be used for volunteer recruitment, talent acquisition and awareness;
• the program "opens for applications at various times throughout the year."

The post gives no dollar amount. It points readers to LinkedIn's Social Impact site for the next round and to an email address for updates.

What we couldn't confirm

We checked LinkedIn's Social Impact site and its nonprofit pages in October 2026. The Social Impact homepage lists programs such as the Future of Work Fund, pro bono resources and LinkedIn for Nonprofits, but no Ad Grants program or open round.

Third-party grant listings describe recent rounds. For example, one listing described a 2025 round with an 11 July 2025 deadline and grant funds to be used between September 2025 and June 2026, with applications through a survey form. Some listings quote credit amounts. We couldn't confirm any of those details on a LinkedIn page, and the focus areas they list don't match LinkedIn's 2022 post exactly. Programs like this change between rounds.

What that means for you:

• Be wary of anyone charging to "apply for your LinkedIn Ad Grant." LinkedIn's pages mention no application fee, and past rounds used an application form.
• Treat amounts and deadlines you see on listing sites as unconfirmed until you see them from LinkedIn.
• If your work fits the focus areas, email LinkedIn's Ad Grants address from the 2022 post and ask whether a round is planned.

The LinkedIn nonprofit discount (not for ads)

LinkedIn for Nonprofits does have a standing discount. Its online discounts page says eligible nonprofits can get "up to a 50% discount" on "applicable packages for hiring, learning and our Sales Navigator solutions", as of October 2026.

Two catches on that page:

• It changed this year. The page says "the 75% online discount for one Sales Navigator seat on a per member basis is no longer available" as of 1 July 2026. Older articles that quote 75% off Sales Navigator are out of date.
• There's no checkout. You fill in a form and a LinkedIn consultant follows up. The price you get depends on that conversation, and the page doesn't list eligibility criteria.

None of it applies to advertising. As LinkedIn's 2022 post puts it, "we do not offer discounted LinkedIn ads due to the pay-per-click pricing model." What nonprofits buying ads do get, per the marketing page, is "dedicated support to help nonprofits make the most of their advertising campaigns."

Is paid LinkedIn advertising worth it for a nonprofit?

It depends on who you're trying to reach. LinkedIn is where people present their work lives, so it suits:

• recruiting staff, board members and skilled volunteers;
• reaching corporate partners, foundations and employee giving programs;
• events and content aimed at professionals in your field.

It suits general fundraising and broad awareness less well. LinkedIn's marketing page says Sponsored Content can "Start with any budget and stop your ads at any time", so you can test small. We haven't run LinkedIn ads for Storyline, so we can't give you cost numbers from our own account, and we'd be wary of anyone who quotes a typical cost per click without showing their data.

If you do test, set one goal, a small fixed budget and an end date, and send people to a page with one clear action.

The free things that work on LinkedIn

Before you spend anything:

1. Set up and complete your LinkedIn Page. You need it for any Ad Grants application anyway. LinkedIn's marketing page links to a "LinkedIn Pages: Action Plan for Nonprofits" guide.
2. Ask staff and board to list your organization as their employer or board role, so their networks see your updates.
3. Post the work, not the ask. Stories of what you did, jobs and volunteer roles, and events tend to travel on LinkedIn better than donation appeals.

Where free ad money still exists

If you came looking for free ads in general, the largest program still running is Google Ad Grants, which Google's Ad Grants page says gives each qualifying nonprofit "up to $10,000 per month in search ads shown on Google.com", as of October 2026. It reaches people searching, not professionals scrolling, so it answers a different need than LinkedIn. It also has rules that can pause the account; read the requirements first.

NonProfitSaver makes the Google Ad Grants Kit ($97 once, early access; sales haven't opened yet) for Google Ad Grants. It does nothing on LinkedIn, and you don't need it to apply for the Google grant. For a comparison of every program we could verify, see free advertising for nonprofits.