LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722+ million members worldwide. It’s a great platform for connecting with other professionals, promoting your business, and finding job opportunities.
Many nonprofits and charitable organizations use LinkedIn to increase awareness of their cause, connect with potential donors and volunteers, post job openings, and network with other nonprofits. LinkedIn offers a free nonprofit account option to verified 501(c)(3) organizations in the United States.
Having a LinkedIn nonprofit account makes it easy for people passionate about your cause to find and connect with your organization. It also allows you to join LinkedIn’s nonprofit community and take advantage of other resources offered exclusively to nonprofits.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to create a LinkedIn nonprofit account, best practices for setting up your nonprofit profile, tips for using LinkedIn to further your mission, and answers to frequently asked questions.
Requirements for Creating a Nonprofit LinkedIn Account
To create a LinkedIn nonprofit account, your organization must meet the following requirements:
- Be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States
- Have an organizational email address (Gmail, Yahoo, etc. addresses will not qualify)
- Your website URL must contain your nonprofit name in the domain
Examples of qualified nonprofit website URLs:
- www.HabitatForHumanity.org
- www.WWF.org
- www.RedCross.org
If your organization meets these criteria, you can apply for a LinkedIn nonprofit account. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Create a LinkedIn Profile
First, you’ll need to create a LinkedIn profile to represent your nonprofit organization. When setting up the profile:
- Select “Organization” as the profile type
- Use your nonprofit’s name as the profile name
- Upload your nonprofit logo as the profile image
- Enter your nonprofit’s website
- Select “Nonprofit” for the organization type and enter your founding year
Step 2: Apply for the Nonprofit Account
Once your nonprofit profile is created, you can apply for the nonprofit account status. Here’s how:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile settings
- Select “Partner Program” from the left sidebar
- Click “Apply” on the Nonprofit section
- Enter your nonprofit’s tax ID number and answer eligibility questions
- Agree to LinkedIn’s terms and submit the request
It takes about 3-5 business days for LinkedIn to review and verify the nonprofit status. You’ll receive an email notification once it’s approved.
Step 3: Confirm Your Nonprofit Email
After your request is approved, you’ll need to confirm ownership of your nonprofit email address. LinkedIn will send a confirmation email, and you just need to click the link inside to verify.
Once you confirm your nonprofit email, your free LinkedIn nonprofit account will be activated!
Setting Up Your Nonprofit’s LinkedIn Profile
Now that you have a LinkedIn nonprofit account, it’s time to complete your organization’s profile. A comprehensive profile allows people to understand your mission, activities, and impact.
Here are tips for setting up your nonprofit’s LinkedIn profile:
Profile Photo
Upload a high-quality logo or photo representing your nonprofit. It’s the first thing people will see, so make sure it looks professional.
Cover Photo
The cover photo should convey your organization’s cause. Use inspirational images, infographics, or quotes.
Introduction
Write a summary that explains your nonprofit’s mission, history, and areas of focus. Share major accomplishments and impact to date.
Website URL
Link to your nonprofit site so people can easily learn more.
Nonprofit Overview Section
Provide details like your founding year, company size, headquarters location, type of nonprofit, etc.
Highlights and Media
Showcase major organizational milestones, campaigns, partnerships, awards, press mentions, etc.
Jobs
Post open job listings at your nonprofit to attract candidates passionate about your mission.
Life Section
Share photos of your team, events, office spaces, and success stories to humanize your nonprofit.
Videos
Add fundraising videos, PSAs, and other videos highlighting your work.
Optimizing your nonprofit’s LinkedIn profile in this way provides transparency, helps your story resonate with more people, and gives your organization credibility.
Using LinkedIn to Further Your Nonprofit’s Mission
Now that your nonprofit is on LinkedIn, here are some best practices for using the platform to support your mission:
Grow Your Audience and Followers
Build an engaged following on LinkedIn by connecting with other nonprofits, partners, donors, foundations, media contacts, influencers, and anyone passionate about your cause.
Post regular updates to stay top of mind. Engage with followers by liking and commenting on their posts.
Promote Content and Campaigns
Share infographics, videos, blog posts, and details on current initiatives happening at your nonprofit. Ask partners and supporters to help spread the word.
Fundraise
Spotlight specific donation campaigns and share ways to get involved. Use LinkedIn’s donation sticker to add a “Donate Now” button directly on your posts.
Recruit Volunteers
Post about volunteer opportunities at your nonprofit and invite people to sign up via your website or a volunteer portal.
Find Board Members
Search LinkedIn connections and groups to identify experienced professionals that may be interested in serving on your board of directors.
Discover Corporate Partners
Research companies on LinkedIn to identify those with missions and CSR programs aligned with your nonprofit’s focus areas for potential partnerships.
Join LinkedIn Groups
Become a member of LinkedIn groups related to nonprofits, volunteering, philanthropy, and your specific cause to connect with other engaged professionals.
Share Job Openings
Attract passionate talent by posting your nonprofit’s job listings and engaging with candidates on LinkedIn.
Leveraging LinkedIn in these ways helps share your mission with more people, drive engagement and donations, and further your nonprofit’s impact.
LinkedIn’s Nonprofit Resources
With a nonprofit account, you gain access to additional resources from LinkedIn to help grow your presence and support your cause:
LinkedIn Nonprofit Community
Join this group exclusively for nonprofits to network, share best practices, ask questions and more. There are over 25,000 nonprofit professionals in the community.
Nonprofit Success Hub
This online resource center provides tips and original research on how nonprofits can use LinkedIn most effectively.
Nonprofit LinkedIn Learning Courses
LinkedIn Learning provides free unlimited access to 7,000+ expert-led courses for nonprofits. Take courses relevant to your role like social media marketing, project management, and more.
Virtual Events and Training
LinkedIn hosts special virtual events and training sessions exclusively for nonprofits to develop new skills and discuss trending topics. Recordings are also made available.
Elevate Top Posts and Articles
Nonprofits can elevate 2 posts and 2 articles for free every month for wider reach on LinkedIn. Great for promoting your most important content.
Grant Application Prep Course
This LinkedIn Learning Path helps nonprofits create more persuasive grant applications to win funding opportunities.
So take advantage of these nonprofit resources from LinkedIn to amplify your presence and accomplish your mission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions about creating and managing a LinkedIn nonprofit account:
What are the key benefits of having a nonprofit LinkedIn account?
Benefits include:
- Increased visibility – Promote your nonprofit to 722+ million LinkedIn members
- Free job postings – Post open roles to attract purpose-driven talent
- Specialized nonprofit resources – Access groups, content, events, and training
- Grant research – Identify corporate and foundation grant opportunities
- Volunteer recruitment – Promote volunteer needs to engaged professionals
- Donor networking – Connect with individual, corporate and foundation donors
Is there a fee for a nonprofit LinkedIn account?
No, LinkedIn offers free nonprofit accounts to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations in the U.S. Premium subscriptions are also available if you want further features.
Can we have multiple nonprofit profiles on LinkedIn?
No, each nonprofit organization can only have one LinkedIn profile. But multiple employees can be admins on the organization’s profile.
How do I switch a personal profile to a nonprofit page?
Contact LinkedIn’s customer service. They can convert eligible personal profiles into a nonprofit organization profile.
How do I add employees as admins on our nonprofit profile?
As an admin, go to your Settings > Partners > Select Employees. Enter the name, email or profile link of employees to add as admins.
Can I merge duplicate nonprofit profiles on LinkedIn?
Contact LinkedIn support to merge duplicate profiles for your nonprofit into a single page. You’ll need to be an admin on both profiles.
How often should our nonprofit post on LinkedIn?
1-2 times per week is ideal. Share a mix of original updates, articles, images, and videos to provide value and stay engaged with your audience.
What’s the best way to grow our nonprofit’s followers on LinkedIn?
Post high-quality content consistently, engage with your target audience, join relevant LinkedIn Groups, and connect with those passionate about your mission. Follow other nonprofits and influencers in your space to build connections.
Conclusion
Creating a LinkedIn nonprofit account provides tremendous opportunities to increase awareness, fundraising, volunteers, donors and impact for your organization.
By setting up an optimized LinkedIn profile, frequently posting value-driven updates, and engaging with your target audiences, any nonprofit can build a presence and accomplish its mission. Take advantage of LinkedIn’s specialized nonprofit tools and resources to take your advocacy to the next level.
We hope this guide gave you the steps and best practices to create a thriving nonprofit LinkedIn account and presence. Now go connect with the world!