Recently, NTEN Member Paul Lamb presented to the NTEN Discuss Affinity Group his LinkedIn fundraising experiment: using the social network as a tool to create dollars for Street Tech students through the LinkedIn Answers feature.

A few Affinity Group members felt this was on the borderline of the LinkedIn user agreement and social network etiquette.

• I would not have appreciated your message in an online networking context, as I found the text to be impersonal and canned – like an end of year direct mail appeal.
• Clearly the Answers system is not set up to be used as you have done here and forcing the rules to bend is not usually a very effective way to promote your organization’s brand or cause. What about using the avenue LinkedIn intends for this purpose – a bit hidden but if folks start using it I am pretty sure it will become more prominent - LinkedIn for Good.
• I think this solicitation would subvert the intent of the LinkedIn Answers area, which is to share expertise among a (somewhat) trusted network. My own perspective is that I accept LinkedIn invitations in order to cultivate and keep track of personal and professional connections, not to subscribe to a fundraising mailing list.

But perhaps it's your LinkedIn network and your personal approach that will really determine your fundraising campaign's worth. From Paul Lamb:

In my case the LinkedIn appeal was done strategically, and mainly targeted individuals that already know me or the organization I am fundraising for. So far the results are encouraging...in one case a colleague also using my same appeal with her own LinkedIn group got a response from a professional colleague letting her know that she would be putting a note in all her holiday cards to clients letting them know that she has made a donation to the organization on their behalf. Some nice online to offline leveraging of a trusted network.

It has nothing to do with the tool. It had everything to do with creating and cultivating a community/network that was interested in the cause.

LinkedIn does have the infrastructure, LinkedIn Groups, to promote and raise funds for nonprofits (although the process is not entirely clear).

Last Thursday's NTEN webinar, "The Seven Characteristics to a Great Internet Strategy", offerred some insight on where and how to focus your social networking fundraising. David Hollender recommends not limiting yourself to one network, but to use wired fundraisers to help spread the word through multiple systems. Peter Deitz will further develop this idea during next Thursday's webinar, "Sharing the Message: How to Work Effectively with Your Organization's Wired Fundraisers".

Join the discussion about social network fundraising today in the NTEN Affinity Groups!