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5 Tips for Fundraising on LinkedIn

LinkedIn for Nonprofits Team

LinkedIn for Nonprofits Team

Nonprofit organizations do important work to make our world a better place. In the U.S. alone, there are 1.97 million nonprofits and 12.8 million nonprofit professionals that provide life-saving healthcare, alleviate hunger, educate youth, and improve our lives in countless other ways.

To make this work possible, nonprofits rely on the expertise of fundraising professionals to secure support from a wide portfolio of major gift donors, corporate sponsors, and more. In fact, effective fundraising is so critical to nonprofit success that the roles of Director of Development and Grants Consultant made LinkedIn’s 2025 Jobs on the Rise list, which highlights the fastest-growing jobs and trends defining the future of work, according to our data.

One of the best ways your organization's fundraising team can expand your donor portfolio and find and connect with new prospects is by leveraging LinkedIn and our network of over 1 billion members (who are more likely to donate to nonprofit organizations than the average internet user!). In fact, 63% of surveyed nonprofit professionals say they have successfully used LinkedIn to connect with a potential donor. To help nonprofits get the most out of LinkedIn for fundraising, we’re giving away free 6 month Sales Navigator Core subscriptions to the first 2,000 eligible global nonprofit professionals. Click here to apply and learn more!

There are plenty of ways you can leverage LinkedIn – from Sales Navigator to free LinkedIn Pages – to raise awareness of your cause, share the impact of the work you’re doing, and reach potential donors and supporters. Read on for five tips (plus additional free resources!) on how you can make the most of LinkedIn for fundraising to maximize your organization’s fundraising portfolio.

Tip #1: Update Your Nonprofit’s LinkedIn Page

Your nonprofit’s LinkedIn Page is the first place many current and potential donors go to learn about your organization. If you haven’t already, create a Page for your nonprofit, and if your organization has an existing page, ensure that it is up-to-date and accurate. You can leverage your nonprofit’s Page to post organization updates, highlight the impact of the work you’re doing, share fundraising content, and much more.

For more tips on how make the most out of your organization’s Page check out these resources:

Tip #2: Post Engaging Content to Reach Your Donor Base

Posting engaging content on your organization’s Page is an excellent way to reach new and potential supporters on LinkedIn. By sharing content that resonates with your donor base, you can inspire new donors and make existing ones feel appreciated. Focus on creating posts that highlight your organization's impact, and experiment with different types of content – including fundraising videos – to see what works best for your audience. 

Learn more about how to create and share content on LinkedIn that will make an impact:

Tip #3: Leverage Search to Find New Major Donors and Corporate Sponsors

One way both legacy and brand new nonprofit organizations find supporters on LinkedIn is to search for people who match their organization's major donor and corporate partner Ideal Donor Profiles (IDPs). Start by building a list of keywords that match your IDPs, and then run targeted searches to identify people who match desired criteria. If you are using LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you can access additional features, like advanced search filters, Relationship Explorer, and lead recommendations to make your search easier and help with related tasks, like building donor lists and spotting mutual connections for warm introductions.

Discover more tips on how you can leverage LinkedIn’s free and paid tools to identify new donors:

Tip #4: Reach Out to New Prospects With a Personalized Approach

Once you’ve found promising new donors, connecting with new prospects on LinkedIn requires a strategic approach. Before reaching out, ensure your LinkedIn profile is complete and up to date and ask for a warm introduction from a mutual connection, if possible. When sending an initial connection request, make sure to highlight the prospect's interest in your cause and avoid including asks in your initial messages. Try to keep messages brief and personalized, following up promptly to maximize your chances of a response. Sales Navigator users can also leverage InMail messages to directly message promising new donors, even if they aren’t connected on LinkedIn.

Explore more resources to help your nonprofits reach out to promising new donors and supporters on LinkedIn:

Tip #5: Lean Into the Features of Sales Navigator

Successful fundraisers are experts at building, growing, and nurturing meaningful relationships, which is exactly what LinkedIn Sales Navigator is designed to facilitate. With the help of features like Advanced Search Filters, Relationship Explorer, and more, you can find your organization’s ideal donors, get a deeper understanding of their needs and interests, and make a compelling case for why partnering with your organization will help them achieve their philanthropic goals.

For more advice on how to take advantage of all that Sales Navigator has to offer nonprofit fundraisers, check out these resources and don’t forget to apply for 6 months free of a Sales Navigator Core:

Remember, building relationships with new major donors and corporate partners is a journey, and LinkedIn and its network of global professionals is here to help.