LinkedIn has become an invaluable platform for nonprofits looking to expand their reach, build meaningful relationships, and further their mission. With over 722 million users worldwide, LinkedIn offers nonprofits unparalleled access to professionals across all industries and career levels. Utilizing LinkedIn effectively can help nonprofits increase awareness, fundraise more efficiently, recruit volunteers and board members, and build strategic partnerships.
Increasing Awareness & Fundraising
One of the biggest challenges nonprofits face is spreading awareness about their cause and attracting donors or sponsors. LinkedIn provides a platform to educate professionals about your mission and promote specific campaigns or fundraising events. Nonprofits can create LinkedIn pages to share their story, post regular updates, host conversations in LinkedIn Groups, and run targeted ads. This allows them to reach relevant audiences like corporate social responsibility teams, high-net-worth individuals, and industry professionals that align with their cause. Nonprofits can also leverage their employees’ and volunteers’ networks by encouraging them to share important posts. This word-of-mouth promotion helps expand your reach exponentially. Fundraising campaigns shared on LinkedIn tend to see higher engagement because users feel more invested after learning about the cause through a familiar connection. Nonprofits can also build relationships with potential corporate or philanthropic partners by connecting with key decision makers.
Tips for Nonprofits Fundraising on LinkedIn
- Create a Company Page to share your story and promote your mission
- Post regular updates on campaigns, events, successes, and needs
- Use rich media like images, videos, and presentations to bring your story to life
- Participate actively in relevant LinkedIn Groups to connect with your target audience
- Encourage employees and volunteers to share important posts to their networks
- Use sponsored content and targeted ads to get your message in front of the right people
- Connect with corporate CSR teams and philanthropic foundations to discuss partnerships
- Give LinkedIn members insider access and updates to make them feel invested in your mission
- Share case studies and humanize your cause by telling client success stories
Recruiting Volunteers & Board Members
Volunteers are the lifeblood of many nonprofits but finding consistent and qualified volunteers can be challenging. LinkedIn opens up new talent pools of professionals looking to give back. Nonprofits can promote volunteer opportunities to LinkedIn members in specific locations, industries, and functional roles that match their needs. For example, an environmental nonprofit could target posts to sustainability professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area. LinkedIn is also great for discovering potential board members based on their skills, networks, interests, and experience. Check out the volunteer experience and causes sections on member profiles to identify passionate professionals who may have capacity to serve in governance roles. The ability to message and connect with any LinkedIn member makes it easy for nonprofits to recruit by proactively reaching out.
Best Practices for Volunteer Recruitment
- Describe your volunteer needs and opportunities in detail
- Highlight the impact volunteers can make through their service
- Share photos and videos that capture the volunteer experience
- Leverage your employees’ networks by having them post and share
- Target by location, industry, skill set, interests to find the right fits
- Ask current volunteers to share opportunities with their connections
- Join and engage in LinkedIn Groups where your potential volunteers are members
- Give volunteers a glimpse behind the scenes to get them excited about the cause
- Ask supporters to provide recommendations on your Company Page to build trust
Strategic Partnerships
Partnerships with corporations, small businesses, and other nonprofits can help your organization increase resources, awareness, and impact. The expansive LinkedIn network makes it easier to discover mutually beneficial partnership opportunities. Engaging with potential partners through LinkedIn allows you to showcase your mission, share updates and successes, and start building a relationship. You can even directly message decision makers at an organization to discuss collaboration ideas. Partnership opportunities can range from sponsoring events, to skills-based volunteering, to donating a percentage of product sales. LinkedIn also facilitates pro bono consulting partnerships by allowing nonprofits to connect with professionals that have expertise their team may lack.
Forging Valuable Partnerships on LinkedIn
- Identify brands/companies that align with your cause and approach them
- Join industry-specific LinkedIn Groups to connect with peers and potential partners
- Share your assets and capabilities that could benefit a partner’s CSR goals
- Highlight partner brands on your Company Page and in posts when possible
- Collaborate on unique social content like live videos that benefit both parties
- Discuss potential pro bono consulting engagements to fill strategic gaps
- Cross-promote partner content and events to help expand their reach too
- Brainstorm creative co-branded products or campaigns to deepen partnership
- Provide reports on the collective impact of the partnership to demonstrate value
Thought Leadership & Industry Insights
As a nonprofit in your field, your team has invaluable insights and expertise to share. Positioning your nonprofit as a thought leader and industry expert through LinkedIn bolsters credibility and trust in your mission. Sharing reports, data, analysis, articles, and video helps educate both internal and external audiences. Your nonprofit can establish authority on issues central to your cause. Discussing findings from internal research, weighing in on policy or news events, and providing best practices helps demonstrate your unique value. LinkedIn provides additional opportunities to showcase thought leadership, like guest blogging on LinkedIn’s Publisher Platform or participating in LinkedIn’s Podcast Program. Your organization likely produces content worthy of a wider audience that LinkedIn can help amplify.
Steps for Establishing Thought Leadership
- Audit existing organizational content and expertise that might resonate
- Comment with insights and perspective on other posts and current events
- Share own content, data reports, articles, video and presentations
- Publish long-form posts using LinkedIn Publisher
- Participate as a guest on relevant podcasts and webcasts
- Host LinkedIn Live videos to share analysis and commentary
- Publish insights using regular LinkedIn posts, articles, and newsletters
- Promote team members doing great work externally as “Thought Leaders”
- Cite data and link to authoritative sources to underpin claims
- Repurpose content from other channels to maximize reach
Summary
LinkedIn is an extremely valuable platform that allows nonprofits to educate, engage, inspire, and mobilize professionals across all industries. Your nonprofit can leverage LinkedIn to:
- Increase awareness of your cause and promote fundraising campaigns
- Recruit passionate volunteers and qualified board members
- Build strategic win-win partnerships with aligned brands and nonprofits
- Demonstrate thought leadership and establish credibility on issues
By developing a compelling Company Page, sharing multimedia content consistently, connecting with your target audiences, and participating actively in relevant conversations, your nonprofit can unlock LinkedIn’s full potential. The ability to engage key stakeholders directly and spread your message through trusted employee networks results in higher visibility, credibility, and impact over time.
Tips to Increase Your Nonprofit’s LinkedIn Presence
| Tactic | Best Practices |
|---|---|
| Company Page | – Showcase mission, story, wins, team, and culture – Share photos, videos, and presentations – Encourage followers and likes – Enable donations and volunteer sign-ups – Get recommendations from partners |
| Content Marketing | – Educate and update audiences on campaigns, events, services – Post multimedia content regularly – Repurpose content from other channels – Use hashtags for discoverability – Publish long-form posts, articles, and newsletters |
| Engaging Followers | – Respond to all comments and messages – Ask questions to spark conversations – Send regular updates through newsletters – Share good news and organizational successes – Promote events and opportunities to get involved |
| Networking | – Join relevant LinkedIn groups – Follow partners, corporates, foundations – Connect with engaged members – Give back by liking, commenting, and sharing others’ content |
| Paid Advertising | – Promote content to targeted audiences with sponsored posts – Run fundraising campaigns with targeted ads – Retarget engaged visitors to drive conversions – Test different objectives like post engagement vs. clicks vs. conversions |
With 756 million professionals and over 30 million companies represented on the platform, LinkedIn provides invaluable opportunities for nonprofits to scale impact. Consistent presence and engaging with the right stakeholders over time helps build productive relationships and demonstrates your expertise. By leveraging all the strategies outlined above, your nonprofit can establish credibility, increase support for your mission, and better serve your community.