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4 reasons to use LinkedIn for fundraising

Social media is not just for selfies and pictures of food. While many organizations report little success fundraising on social media, some platforms can help you research prospects and build relationships.

Sally Bouchard, Qaya Thompson and Jeremy Woolf outlined seven reasons to use LinkedIn for fundraising during Fundraising Day in New York, sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals New York City chapter.

1. Your prospects are already using it. LinkedIn users generally skew older, are highly educated and have higher incomes than most other social media platforms. Almost half of LinkedIn users have salaries more than $100,000 per year, and the average salary is $83,000, more than three times the average salary of Facebook users. Your next major donor prospect could already be in your network.

2. It’s free. While there is a Premium option, a free account is fairly robust. You can use your organization’s free account to view in-depth profiles, get contact information, see if the prospect is on any other nonprofit boards, and search by nonprofit or cause interest. A free account allows you to filter search results by location, company, industry, past employment, school or nonprofit interest.

3. You might find your next board member on LinkedIn. At less than $50 per posting, a LinkedIn board listing is a great option for the cash-strapped nonprofit. Make sure to include “Volunteer Board Member” in the title and “LinkedIn for Good Volunteering” in the description. LinkedIn’s Board Member Connect program can get your board up and running through training, peer programs and access to premium tools.

4. Groups can help you expand your network and knowledge base. With more than 2.1 million groups on LinkedIn and 200 conversations taking place every second, there’s a group for every mission and every type of fundraiser.