Coalition on Temporary Shelter
Empowering Detroit Families Through High-Impact Visibility
About the Client
Coalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS) has been a safety-net and springboard for Detroit families since 1982. What began as an emergency shelter has grown into a full continuum of care that now includes affordable and supportive housing, onsite child care, workforce and education coaching, and the innovative Passport to Self-Sufficiency program, which helps parents build long-term economic stability. At its heart, COTS creates opportunities for families to collaborate, thrive, and succeed, aiming not just to end homelessness for one night but to break the cycle of poverty for generations to come.
The Challenge
COTS relies on a seven-to-eight-month giving season to fund much of its work, so digital visibility is crucial. Although a Google Ad Grant account had been opened years earlier, it never advanced beyond the default setup. With zero spend, clicks, or conversions, the team lacked both the hours and in-house expertise to turn the grant into a growth engine. They needed campaigns to promote their brand, launch supporter appeals, and spotlight the broader programs that extend well beyond temporary shelter. They wanted to use the grant to boost donations, spark volunteer sign-ups, and raise program awareness while speaking about their cause with dignity and hope.
The Results
Ad Grant spend
$ 0 → $8,230.38
Clicks
0 → 974
Conversions
0 → 428
We rebuilt the account from scratch, anchoring it in a full-funnel conversion strategy that tracks both completed donations and newsletter subscriptions. Performance Max campaigns, powered by expanded search themes and audience signals, opened new doors to high-intent supporters, while AI-Max search ads kept evergreen messaging live year-round. Dedicated campaigns promoted COTS’s podcast, flagship programs, and general mission content, and A/B testing refined emotional appeals, headlines, and descriptions. Finally, expanded geotargeting stretched brand reach far beyond metro Detroit without diluting local relevance.
By transforming a dormant grant into a data-driven outreach machine, COTS now reaches thousands of new hearts and hands each month that fuels donations, volunteers, and community awareness needed to help Detroit families lift themselves out of poverty with dignity.
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