7 WAYS THAT NON-PROFITS CAN USE LINKEDIN TO PROPEL THEIR FUND-RAISING EFFORT

Keyword: social media marketing services

Introduction

LinkedIn is a great tool for all kinds of professionals and those who work on an honorary basis. More importantly, it is an economical tool to gather funds and to market your expertise. This goes for both individuals and companies. Non-profits too can tap the vast potential inherent in this social media marketing services site to quicken their fund-raising efforts. Many non-profits are run almost as Fortune 500 companies. They have professional managers at the helm and have volunteers for selected positions. Volunteers also run many non-profits. Volunteers do most of the tasks in such NPOs. Professionals may help the non-profit from the outside say a non-profit may have a part-time executive director.

How money was raised earlier

Earlier, volunteers formed common interest groups to raise funds for non-profits. These endeavors have a set procedure, which is elaborated hereunder:

Feasibility study

A detailed study is conducted on the number of funds needed. Then an assessment is done based on the current revenue and donor base. A special procedure to accept funds for projects is devised. Also created is a compartmentalized donating system. This system is created to expedite the donation process and also get publicity for the company.

Quiet phase

Every volunteer and board member helming the non-profit is required to pledge a certain level of support. Although the whole board may participate in the fund-raising project, donors are convinced of the merit of their donations by giving attractive membership schemes. Here, major gifts are expected from previous donors.

Public phase

When 60% of the funds are raised, the campaign is considered on. Many prospects, mainly members and past donors are courted to donate generously. Donations are solicited from previous donors in return for giving them publicity. A smaller professional fund-raising group conducts a feasibility study and does things in a procedural manner. Larger companies already have the above skills in their ranks.

How can LinkedIn improve the above process

Many wealthy people use LinkedIn. This social media marketing services website has 467 million, out of which 128 million are in the USA. The average CEO on LinkedIn has 930 connections. Moreover, 41% of millionaires use Linkedin. The procedure of how Linkedin carries out the fund-raising procedure is:

Step 1

Tap your fellow board members and ask them if they use Linkedin for their online networking needs. Understand how large their online networks are. Make the case for those who have not joined the social media site. Challenge they're using this site without any upfront payment.

Step 2

Encourage your volunteers to expand their networks of first-level connections and make them invite those connections to join. Identify potential donors and devise a way to get in front of them. Use your own networks and those of your first connections to identify potential donors.

Step 3

The donor pool in your area may be sufficiently large. Many of them would like to see their name in print. This can be fulfilled by including donor’s names in the annual reports. Those donors who do not want publicity can be listed as anonymous. Make a practice of saving the programs after you attend events and galas.

Step 4

Built a potential donor list from the data collected by attending the events. Occasionally, review the data with friends. Ascertain which donors would like to donate to your initiatives. Generally, people who give to museums may give to historical societies. Those who focus on eliminating poverty may not have any interest in donating to a symphony or a ballet.

Step 5

Run the potential donor names on Linkedin. You will most likely find a path to reach the donor listed. He may be on the Linkedin network of a colleague or maybe a friend of a friend. At times, one of your colleagues may also indirectly know him. In this way, you can obtain a sizeable amount of data about potential donors.

Step 6

Devise a plan to get in front of each of the members in your donor list. Try coming face to face with each of them. Instead of asking for an introduction, check whether you already know them online. Tapping your online networks will introduce some of the people in your donor's list.

Step 7

Ask them for their support. Try to use a professional approach, which will show respect. Expect to be traded down in giving levels. Try to follow up wherever required. Ask only those people who are habitual donors to causes similar to your initiative.