Fundraising Tip: Building Nonprofit Relationships on LinkedIn

This platform continually gets me in front of potential donors and partners.

My social media presence has undergone significant changes over the past few years, and I have seen how this affects fundraising for organizations I work with. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are out. Medium and Substack are in. LinkedIn is the one platform that remains throughout the changes and thrives.

No matter what type of nonprofit (or business) you are in, LinkedIn can help.

I am a nonprofit fundraising and recruiting consultant and have used LinkedIn since day one to first introduce my business, then to grow it and share the value my business brings to potential clients. I also use it as a fundraiser to build relationships for the nonprofits I work with, including with individuals and partnerships with businesses.

Before you sign up or try to remember your LinkedIn password, keep in mind that my success on LinkedIn (and your future success there) doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It takes time, energy, and consistency.

Consistency is key.

Here are a few things I do to keep growing on LinkedIn and to stay in front of potential clients and people who may refer me to a potential client.

My goal is to post every day during the week. If that’s not possible for you at first, try two or three times a week. I typically do not post on weekends. My post usually includes a photo, although not everyone does this.

I invite a handful of people to connect with me each day. Usually three or four. This can be people who end up on my feed, or people whom I have searched for, like people who may work at a nonprofit that I would like to work with. On LinkedIn, you can also search by job title, which can be helpful.

I engage with other people’s posts. This means I “like” their post and leave a comment. I don’t just comment to comment. I comment to be helpful or to add to what they posted. I don’t post things like “great post!”.

When thinking about a post, I always consider the reader. I don’t want to waste their time. I want to add to their day. Can I bring someone who cares about our mission or who wants to make the world a better place, something valuable, a helpful idea? How can I be of service to my colleagues I’m connected with?

Like I said earlier, consistency is key. The more you put into LinkedIn, the bigger chance you have of affecting your nonprofit.

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Take a risk. Be of service. Support your friends and colleagues. Be kind.

AND!!! New on Gumroad! I have begun adding digital media products. You can find my list of ten daily actions for fundraisers here: https://danhanley.gumroad.com/l/hpivne. It’s a free resource to you, unless you’re inclined to contribute to Altrui and support our work in strengthening fundraising and relationship building for nonprofits.

Also on Gumroad, I have a product that is one year of monthly, 15-minute calls! Perfect for the busy nonprofit fundraising professional who just needs to talk a couple of things through: https://danhanley.gumroad.com/l/15minutes?

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