Mastering LinkedIn for Nonprofits: A Comprehensive Guide

You might have just launched your nonprofit organization. Or maybe you want your existing nonprofit to grow and want LinkedIn to promote it. The question is:

Why use LinkedIn for nonprofits?

Most of us think LinkedIn is just like any other professional platform, where you either post jobs as a recruiter or apply to them as a job seeker. After all, it’s the largest professional network on the internet. While it’s true that LinkedIn is an excellent platform for job-hunting and hiring, it’s so much more than that!

On LinkedIn, you can showcase your own professional or academic journey. You can join groups, follow pages, and build your community. It’s also a great platform to build up the presence of a nonprofit organization. What’s more? LinkedIn has over 217,000 nonprofit pages. So, get yourself a LinkedIn scheduler and start using the platform to promote your non-profit organization.

Now, how exactly do you use the platform to properly show your nonprofit? Read on to find out!

Establish Your Nonprofit’s Presence on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is almost like any other social media platform. Emphasis on the “almost”! It’s no place to post pictures of where you went on vacation or of your pets. But it is a platform that uses similar algorithms. You have to establish a strong presence, whether as a brand, as an individual professional, or as a nonprofit.

Craft a Compelling LinkedIn Profile for Nonprofits

Your priority should be your nonprofit’s profile on Linkedin. Let’s start with the basics. An up-to-date and complete profile goes a long way.

You must create a concise and impactful headline that properly communicates your nonprofit’s mission and impact. Use the summary section to provide a compelling narrative about your organization, outlining its goals, achievements, and the positive change it seeks to bring.

You can also highlight key initiatives, partnerships, and success stories of your nonprofit. This increases your credibility and shows dedication to making an impactful difference.

Optimize Your Nonprofit LinkedIn Profile

Now, some extra tips! Once you’re done with the basics of creating your organization’s LinkedIn page, it’s time for those extra little things you can do that can make all the difference.

• Improve Profile Visibility:
  Make your nonprofit’s LinkedIn page public and searchable. Make it memorable using a clear profile photo and an eye-catching banner that accurately reflects your nonprofit’s objective.
• Use Keywords:
  Improve your searchability on the platform by using relevant and high-ranking keywords on your profile.
• Post Consistently:
  Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your nonprofit’s success on LinkedIn. Keep posting about what your nonprofit has been up to.
• Use Hashtags:
  Use hashtags on each of your posts. This will increase your reach.
• Tag Others:
  Tag other creators or organizations on the posts that you’ve collaborated on.
• Recommendations:
  Get recommendations from prominent profiles on LinkedIn. This will show that your nonprofit is a legitimate one.
• Engage With Your Audience:
  To maintain engagement with your network and regularly share updates, news, and success stories. Respond as soon as you can to comments and messages to establish a feeling of community.
• Use Statistics:
  Quantify the impact of your nonprofit’s initiatives by including measurable outcomes and key performance indicators. This adds to your nonprofit’s credibility and showcases its work’s effectiveness.

Choose the Ideal Image Sizes for LinkedIn

Your images’ ideal resolution and aspect ratio ensure optimal display and performance on the platform. Here are the recommended image sizes for various elements on LinkedIn:

• Personal Profile: 
  • LinkedIn profile picture size: 400 x 400
  • LinkedIn banner or background photo size: 1584 x 396
• Company Pages:
  • LinkedIn company logo size: 300 x 300
  • LinkedIn banner/cover photo size: 1128 x 191
• Posts:
  • LinkedIn post single or multi-image: 1080 x 1080 (square) 1920 x 1080 (portrait)
  • LinkedIn article featured image: 1200 x 644
  • LinkedIn article banner image: 600 x 322
  • LinkedIn image sizes for blog post link images: 1200 x 627
  • LinkedIn carousel post: 1080 x 1080 OR 1920 x 1080
  • LinkedIn carousel best format: PDF
  • LinkedIn video size: 256 x 144 (minimum) to 4096 x 2304 (maximum)
  • LinkedIn video file size: 75KB to 200MB
  • Maximum LinkedIn video length: 10 minutes
  • LinkedIn Stories image size: 1080 x 1920
• Events:
  • LinkedIn event logo size: 300 x 300 – square
  • LinkedIn event ‘banner’ size: 16:9 ratio so 1600 x 900 pixels works
• Groups:
  • LinkedIn groups logo size: 300 x 300
  • LinkedIn groups banner size: 1536 x 768

Maximize Your Nonprofit’s LinkedIn Page

Now that your profile is running, you can make the most out of it. Here are a few strategies to make sure you’re maximizing your LinkedIn for Nonprofits page:

• Highlight Achievements: Post about your nonprofit’s achievements and milestones.
  
• Employee Engagement: Use your team’s profiles to promote the nonprofit. Encourage them to link their profiles to the organization, share content about it, and actively engage with the nonprofit’s official page.
• Optimize the Call-to-Action (CTA): Include relevant CTAs in your posts to drive engagement or direct followers from specific actions. Having a LinkedIn page that invites further action will make your audience take the next steps that can help your nonprofit.
• LinkedIn Analytics: LinkedIn Analytics is a wonderful tool that can help you know more about your target audience and demographic. Use those metrics to your advantage!
• LinkedIn Events: Use LinkedIn’s Events feature to promote and manage nonprofit events.
• LinkedIn Groups: Join relevant LinkedIn Groups with a similar cause to your nonprofit’s. In those groups, you can discuss, share insights, and connect with other organizations.

Analyze Top-Performing Nonprofit LinkedIn Pages

The tips are all well and good, but do they work? Let’s look at some great LinkedIn for Nonprofits pages examples and see for ourselves.

1. Environmental Defense Fund
   
   The Environment Defense Fund, a nonprofit based in New York, has garnered many followers on LinkedIn. You can see that they have a complete profile; they constantly update their followers and detail their events and achievements.Moreover, they use high-quality visuals and captions that include all the relevant keywords.

   

    

2. Junior Achievement USAHow did this nonprofit raise a million dollars? A strong presence on LinkedIn helped! By posting consistently and presenting facts and figures, Junior Achievement USA has helped many young minds in the US.
3. AneraAnother nonprofit, Anera, has gained the trust of thousands by giving almost daily updates and by posting their achievements. Their most recent achievement is getting Platinum Transparency status, recognized by Candid.
4. JhpeigoJhpeigo has raised over a million dollars towards transformative healthcare solutions for the developing world. How have they achieved this? A large part of the credit can be attributed to their LinkedIn page, which updates their followers regularly with all their new findings and research.They make use of LinkedIn articles, hashtags, as well as employee posts to promote their page.
5. PATHThis global nonprofit utilizes its complete profile to show the viewers about their recent achievements. They also post LinkedIn events, and they have a whole dedicated section to “Life at PATH”, encouraging new people to join the organization, as well as assuring donors that their funds are going to the right place.

   

   All these nonprofits have one thing in common: they’ve gained the trust of their followers. And rightfully so!  These organizations are transparent with their audience and consistently update them on their upcoming ventures. As a result, their audience is more likely to trust them and donate to the cause.

Enhance Your Nonprofit’s Page for Impact

Enhancing your nonprofit’s presence on LinkedIn goes beyond a mere online presence—it’s about creating a powerful narrative that resonates with your audience and drives impactful change.

You get the opportunity to tell a compelling story that highlights your mission, showcases your achievements, and engages your community.

That’s all well and good, but how do you enhance your LinkedIn for nonprofits strategy?

We’ve got a few tips. After you’ve set up your profile, here are a few things you can do to inspire meaningful engagement and support for your cause, driving positive change in the community you serve.

Related Article: LinkedIn Algorithm Explained & How Does it Work in 2024

Select Engaging Visual Content

Selecting engaging visual content for your LinkedIn for Nonprofits page is key to capturing your audience’s attention and conveying your message effectively. When using visuals for your content, you can tell your nonprofit’s story through impactful images, infographics, and videos.

Great visuals enhance the aesthetic appeal of your content and convey a lot of information in an easily digestible format.

Switch it up a bit! Use a mixture of visuals: pictures, videos, infographics. You won’t only get your point across, but you’ll also get more engagement than non-visual content.

Staff Profiles: Best Practices for Maximum Appeal

Your team can help you achieve your LinkedIn for Nonprofits goals at the heart of your organization. Share those profiles and amplify their voices through your organization. Sharing personal anecdotes or passions that go beyond professional accomplishments will make your team more approachable.

You not only enhance the appeal of your staff’s profiles, but you also contribute to a transparent, welcoming, and interconnected organizational culture that resonates with your audience.

Team Engagement Strategies on LinkedIn

Just as you’re featuring your team’s profiles on your nonprofit’s page, ask your team to return the favor and talk about the organization through their accounts. Make sure your team members support and amplify each other’s content by liking, commenting, and sharing.

This way, you can harness the platform’s collaborative potential to showcase your organization’s collective expertise. It’s also an excellent way to build teamwork for your LinkedIn for nonprofit organizations.

Effective Content Strategies for Nonprofits on LinkedIn

What should a nonprofit post on LinkedIn? To get your message out as a nonprofit and to bring change, you need to make sure your content reaches many people. The right kind of content going out to the right kind of people: that is where the success of your LinkedIn for nonprofits lies.

Creating Compelling Content for Nonprofit Visibility

You can employ all the strategies in the world, but if you’ve got content that’s below par, all your work will go to waste. Prioritize making compelling content for your followers. Yes, quantity is important, but without quality to back it up, your content falls flat.

While the frequency of posting may contribute to visibility, it is the substance, relevance, and impact of the content that truly captivates and resonates with the audience of your LinkedIn for Nonprofits page. 

Harness LinkedIn Ads for Nonprofits

LinkedIn ads can be a transformative strategy for nonprofits aiming to increase their visibility. The platform offers unique advertising programs tailored to a professional audience, allowing nonprofits to reach the exact target demographic. You can advertise sponsored content, sponsored InMail, or display ads on the platform.

LinkedIn ads can be the answer for your LinkedIn not-for-profit organization to reach individuals with the exact skills, interests, and abilities that can help your cause.

Related Article: LinkedIn Ads: A Complete Cheat Sheet to Run First Campaign

Utilize LinkedIn Analytics for Insights

You can regularly analyze the performance of your LinkedIn for Nonprofits posts using LinkedIn Analytics. Monitor click-through rates, impressions, and engagement metrics to refine your strategy.

Through these analytics, you can make better decisions, for example, the best time to post or which trends to follow. It can even help you determine which posts to sponsor. Other important metrics are engagement rates, click-through rates, and follower demographics.

Convert Website Visitors Into Nonprofit Supporters

LinkedIn for nonprofits is all about the support and donations it gets. So, now that you’ve captured the attention of LinkedIn users, how can you make them into supporters?

You have to show proof that your supporters’ money is going to a good cause. Consistently post about what your nonprofit has achieved, what its current activities are, and an honest, authentic list of statistics that people can check. This increases the credibility of your nonprofit.

Another way you can gain support is by making the donation process as simple as you can. Provide other ways people can help, too, like signing a petition or sharing your posts.

Achieve Nonprofit Objectives With LinkedIn

LinkedIn serves as a dynamic tool for nonprofits to achieve their objectives through strategic networking, awareness-building, and collaboration. Through the platform, your LinkedIn for nonprofits can attract support in terms of both funding and volunteer engagement.

LinkedIn’s Potential for Nonprofit Goals

Don’t underestimate the largest professional networking platform. LinkedIn can do wonders for your nonprofits. So, use these tips and tricks to fully tap into LinkedIn’s potential for your nonprofit’s goals.

1. Expanding Outreach: LinkedIn Strategies for Nonprofits

   Why is outreach important? Outreach forms the foundation for building connections, engagement, and expanding the impact of individuals, organizations, or causes.

   If you want your LinkedIn for nonprofits to be impactful, you need to expand your outreach. You can do this by employing key content strategies, joining LinkedIn groups, or messaging people you think would be interested in your nonprofit and its mission.

2. Keeping Your Followers Informed: LinkedIn Best Practices

   We keep emphasizing the importance of a nonprofit being transparent. And it’s true! Your followers need to be kept informed of where their support is going. By keeping them updated, you gain the trust of your followers and encourage them to donate to your organization or help fundraise in other ways.

3. Building Authority Through Thought Leadership on LinkedIn

   Are you an expert in your field? Do you have valuable ideas and insights about your industry? Well, don’t gatekeep them!

   By sharing your expertise on the platform, you showcase expertise and establish credibility among your professional network. Regularly publishing articles, engaging in meaningful discussions, and offering unique perspectives help you stand out as a thought leader in your field.

4. Engaging Your Team Effectively on LinkedIn

   Engage your team by first encouraging them to optimize their profiles. Establish a content-sharing culture where team members actively share relevant updates about your nonprofit organization.

   Use LinkedIn’s features, such as the ‘Volunteer Experience’ section and endorsements, to highlight your team’s diverse skills and contributions.

5. Strategic Investments for Nonprofit Growth on LinkedIn

   Allocate your resources wisely to maximize the impact of your organization’s presence on the platform. “Investing” doesn’t always mean money. You should invest money, time, and effort into your nonprofit and its LinkedIn page.

   Invest time in making a great LinkedIn profile for your nonprofit, clearly articulating its mission, values, and impact. Invest money into targeted advertising campaigns and sponsored content to reach more people. And lastly, invest effort into enhancing your and your team’s skills and professional qualifications.

6. Cultivating New Relationships on LinkedIn

   LinkedIn Groups are an amazing avenue to make new connections on LinkedIn. You can find people who have the same interests and have the same goals. Post and share on these groups and find new people along the way.

   You can also send personalized connection requests to profiles you feel would be a valuable connection to add to your network.

7. Boosting Fundraising Efforts on LinkedIn

   Encourage people to donate to your cause by hosting fundraising events and advertising your campaigns. Connect with potential donors, supporters, and partners to boost fundraising efforts.

   You can start this by optimizing your nonprofit’s LinkedIn page with a compelling and concise description of your mission, impact, and fundraising initiatives.

Pro tip: Add a ‘Donate’ button on your page to provide a direct and convenient way for followers to contribute.

Leverage LinkedIn Grants and Groups for Nonprofits

LinkedIn offers an Ad Grants program. It’s part of their Social Impact initiatives, and through this program, nonprofits that qualify can apply for free advertising on the platform.

Let’s see how you can use these grants for your LinkedIn for nonprofits:

Related Article: Important LinkedIn Analytics and Tools to Measure Your ROI in 2024

Navigating LinkedIn Grants: A Guide for Nonprofits

Before registering for the grants, you have to first specify your objective. LinkedIn has a few categories for the grants.

1. LinkedIn Talent Solutions:
   This will help you to find the right people who can move your mission forward.
2. LinkedIn Learning Solutions:
   With this program, you can help your employees learn new skills that can help your nonprofit.
3. LinkedIn Marketing Solutions:
   This helps to raise awareness about your organization and promotes posts about its impact and achievements.
4. LinkedIn Sales Solutions:
   This helps your LinkedIn for nonprofits enhance their fundraising.

For your nonprofit to qualify as eligible for this program, you need to make sure it fulfills LinkedIn’s criteria. Your nonprofit should:

• Have a recognized, legal charitable status
• Work on a nonprofit basis
• Aim to benefit the community
• Hold a strict non-discrimination policy
• Assign licenses to eligible staff only
• Use the licenses for the nonprofit only, and NOT affiliate organizations
• Agree to all the terms of the contract

Join Impactful Nonprofit LinkedIn Communities

Joining LinkedIn communities can bring a huge boost of followers and engagement for your nonprofit. Here are 21 great groups you can join:

7 General Nonprofit Networks on LinkedIn

If you’re looking for general networks on nonprofits, here are some groups for you:

1. LinkedIn for Nonprofits – Official Group
   LinkedIn for Nonprofits is a group of 20k members that enables nonprofit professionals and organizations to tell their stories.
2. Social Media for Nonprofit Organizations
   This private group has 172k members, and they post exclusively about nonprofits.

   

3. Nonprofit Network – International
   The Nonprofit Network-International group has a whopping community of 340k members.
4. The NonProfit Times
   This group, with 27k members, aims to discuss and overcome issues that affect “every single nonprofit”.
5. Nonprofit Board Forum
   Nonprofit Board Forum has 17k members, including board members, executive directors, consultants, and members of the nonprofit sector to raise and address issues
6. Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN)
   This network of 40k members consists of emerging leaders in the nonprofit sector and allows diverse talent to voice their ideas, experiences, and solutions.
7. Nonprofit Connect: Network. Learn. Grow.
   This group is a membership organization that links the nonprofit community to education, resources, and networking.

5 Fundraising Communities on LinkedIn

Are you looking for fundraising tips? Maybe these groups can help you:

1. Professional Nonprofit Fundraising
   This group of 6k members is for nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and communication between nonprofit professionals.
2. Online Funding for Nonprofit Organizations
   The 39k members of Online Funding for Nonprofit Organizations share tips about online fundraising.
3. Chartered Institute of Fundraising Group
   This network is for practicing fundraisers primarily in UK non-profit and consists of 27k members.
4. Non-Profit Accounting & Grant Management
   Having 24k LinkedIn members, this group aims to share ideas of common interest to the non-profit sector.
5. Finding Grants, Fundraising, and Writing Grant Proposals
   This group consists of 16k users and is a place to discuss grants and fundraising.

4 Social Media and Marketing Groups on LinkedIn

1. Digital Marketing: Social Media, Search, Mobile & more
   With 1.7 million members, this is perhaps the biggest group for nonprofits on LinkedIn. This group is for digital and social media marketing.
2. Nonprofit Social Media & Multimedia Marketing
   This nonprofit network has 4k LinkedIn members who are interested in Social Media, newspaper, and advertising campaigns.
3. Website & Email Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations
   The 2k members of this public group constantly share tips and tricks on how to market your nonprofit organization effectively.
4. Nonprofit Marketing
   This LinkedIn group of 102k members is all about the marketing of nonprofits.

5 Job Opportunity Forums on LinkedIn

1. Jobs in Nonprofits
   This group consists of 33k followers. It’s an excellent resource for both job seekers who are looking to accelerate their career through career coaching
2. Nonprofit & Philanthropy Jobs, Powered by Impact
   FlowThis group of 108k members provides a wonderful community for humanitarian job seekers and recruiters to connect.
3. Careers in the Charity/Nonprofit Sector
   With 3k members, this small community of dedicated individuals will help job seekers in progressing their careers.
4. Medical Transcription-Related Jobs – Nonprofit Group
   This group with 4k members is a great group to find job opportunities related to medical transcription across the globe.
5. Nonprofit Jobs, Non-Profit Management Jobs
   In this group,  you can find 1k members who are dedicated to reporting about jobs all over the world.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)