Take-away: Board Members who LinkIn with staff and each other can raise $ without even asking.
“Who do you know?”
Most of us don’t know who we know. Not really. How would you know that your neighbor’s brother works for the Ford Foundation? Or that your tennis partner’s wife handles sponsorship for Wawa? We can’t introduce our nonprofits to connections we don’t know we have.
Actually, you can.
That’s the beauty of LinkedIn. Type in someone’s name or that of a company, and you can see if and how you’re connected. It’s fast, easy, free and available 24/7. Sadly, it doesn’t occur to some board members to LinkIn with each other, much less with senior staff.
Please do it. Please do it now. Because LinkingIn can increase funding in three important ways:
Identify new prospects: I was looking for prospective donors for a small dance company, and finding surprisingly few. So I typed, “dance” into LinkedIn’s Advanced Search keyword field. Several names popped up, including that of a well-heeled lawyer at a nearby firm. As I scrolled through her profile, I saw dance, listed under Causes she cares about. A board member already knew her, but before my LinkedIn search, had no idea she loved dance.
Find connections to identified prospects: Working for a museum, I LinkedIn with their board, senior staff and several docents. The development team had identified a couple who’d never been through our doors. On LinkedIn, I found they were connected to one of our docents. She invited them for a “behind-the-scenes” tour of an exhibit they’d like. They came, were delighted by the exhibit, the museum and her infectious enthusiasm, and plan to come back soon.
Get info to tailor your proposal: We knew the right car dealership to sponsor the zoo, but no one knew the owner. I found I had only one automotive connection on LinkedIn…my mechanic! I called, forlornly hoping he might know someone who knew someone. He laughed and said, “Actually, I dated the owner’s daughter in high school!” He said she headed the marketing department. Guided by him, I revised our proposal and pitched it to his amused ex-girlfriend.
Never a cold call!
There’s no need to make cold calls. I’ve raised $100+ million building relationships to undiscovered friends. Encourage your board to find their own hidden donors by connecting on social media.
Who knows? Someday a friendly mechanic may help you get a big grant!
Connect with me on LinkedIn for Non-Profit Organization job postings and local NPO Events.
You’ll find more fundraising tips and techniques in Nonprofit Hero, Five Easy Steps to Successful Board Fundraising, available for free from your local library and to order directly from the publisher Rowman and Littlefield. To schedule a game-changing board training that’ll turn your supporters into Nonprofit Fundraising Heroes, contact info@vmja.com.