When I first began networking online in the nonprofit industry, one of the most helpful things I discovered were LinkedIn Groups.

Every day, thousands of nonprofit professionals freely share their challenges, resources, career advice, and job opportunities in LinkedIn Groups. It’s easy to start a discussion with anyone and even add them to your personal network.

Here are five great ways I’ve used LinkedIn Groups to network with others:

Ask questions and talk about your challenges. Group members are ready and willing to share their advice and experiences to help you succeed. Post resources and articles that you’ve found helpful. Chances are others will find them helpful too. Leave smart, insightful comments on posts. Every comment is an opportunity to impress your peers and connect with others. As Social Media Examiner suggests, commenting on “popular” discussions will give you the most visibility. Find peers interested in the same topics as you and connect with them. Tag group members in your posts by typing their names into your comments.

While there are hundreds of nonprofit LinkedIn Groups, I’ve segmented the top ones into the following categories and written a few lines about each to help you decide which ones to join:

Note: You can only request access to join a maximum of 10 groups at a time. You will have to wait for approval from those groups before you can request to join more.

9 Generic Nonprofit Groups

If you’re looking for general discussion on nonprofit topics, here are nine great groups for you.

1) GuideStar -- The Nonprofit Conversation

13,000 members

A group for discussion about nonprofit topics as well as topics about GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit information.

2) LinkedIn Nonprofit Solutions

5,000 members

A group dedicated to sharing tips on how nonprofits can use LinkedIn to succeed.

3) Non Profit Network

243,000 members

A group to discuss generic nonprofit topics.

4) Non-Profit and Charity Network

18,000 members



A group for those involved in charity work.

5) Nonprofit Board Forum

11,000 members

A group for nonprofit board members, executive directors, consultants and other nonprofit professionals to discuss the challenges facing boards of directors.

6) Nonprofit Professionals Forum

23,000 members

A group to discuss generic nonprofit topics.

7) The Chronicle of Philanthropy

119,000 members

A group to learn about the latest nonprofit events and job openings.

8) The NonProfit Times

17,000 members

A group focusing on nonprofit news and current issues.

9) Young Nonprofit Professionals Network

12,000 members

Run by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, this group is dedicated to sharing resources, networking, and professional development discussions.

8 Nonprofit Fundraising Groups

If you’re looking to discuss fundraising best practices and ideas, here are eight LinkedIn Groups perfect for you.

1) Development and Fundraising Professionals

33,000 members

A group to network, discuss ideas, and receive the latest news about nonprofit fundraising.

2) Finding Grants, Fundraising, and Writing Grant Proposals

9,000 members

A group dedicated to discussions around proposal writing, development programs, and fundraising.

3) Fundraising and Grantmaking

22,000 members

A generic group for nonprofit fundraising and grant professionals.

4) Institute of Fundraising

23,000 members

A group for fundraising professionals primarily in the UK to receive fundraising advice, share expertise and discuss industry related news.

5) Non-Profit Accounting & Grant Management

21,000 members

A generic group for nonprofit accounting and grant professionals.

6) Online Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations

9,000 members

A group focusing on online fundraising tools such as "Donate Now" buttons, e-newsletters, websites, peer-to-peer fundraising, widgets, apps, and social media.

7) Professional Nonprofit Fundraising

2,000 members

A group for nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and communications professionals.

8) Professional Speakers on Fundraising & Philanthropy

5,000 members

A group for professional philanthropy, fundraising, and conference planning speakers and those seeking speakers on these topics for their events.

6 Nonprofit Event Management Groups

While many of these groups focus on generic event management, they are still useful for any nonprofit professional seeking advice for their next event or conference.

1) Career Advice for Event Planning & Management

24,000 members

A group dedicated to career advice for event planners and managers.

2) Event Managers

138,000 members

A group for those who are involved in the event management field, including exhibits & conferences, meetings and special events.

3) Event Planning & Event Management

357,000 members

A generic group dedicated to event professionals to discuss event management.

4) Event Planning & Management Association

64,000 members

A group started by the Event Planning and Management Association, which distributes the Certified Event Management Expert certification. This group is dedicated to the discussion of event management best practices.

5) Event Planning Professionals

71,000 members

A generic group dedicated to event planning professionals.

6) Social Media and Event Technology for Event Planners and Meeting Planners

23,000 members

A group dedicated to discussing social media and event technology tools, methods, and applications for event planners.

5 Nonprofit Social Media & Marketing Groups

While many of these groups are for generic social media strategies, they are still great for any nonprofit professional seeking advice for their campaign.

1) Digital Marketing: Social Media, Search, Mobile & more

343,000 members

This group is helpful for those developing any sort of digital marketing or social media strategy.

2) Non-Profit Marketing

84,000 members

A group about anything and everything related to nonprofit marketing.

3) Nonprofit Social Media & Multimedia Marketing

5,000 members

This group discusses every type of nonprofit marketing including social media, newspaper, television, and direct sales.

4) Social Media for Nonprofit Organizations

89,000 members

This group is for anyone interested in how nonprofit organizations are utilizing social media.

5) Social Media Marketing

1,620,000 members

This is the largest, most active group on LinkedIn dedicated to everything social media. It is not nonprofit specific, but still very helpful for anyone in the industry.

5 Nonprofit Volunteer Management Groups

If you’re looking for tips on how to find, manage, and engage volunteers, here are five groups perfect for you.

1) Corporate Volunteering Network (CVN)

<1,000 members

This group is for individuals working at charities responsible for managing/organizing employee volunteering opportunities with their corporate partners.

2) Volunteer Coordinators

20,000 members

A network of volunteer coordinators and managers to exchange ideas as well as best practices.

3) Volunteering & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

1,000 members

A group dedicated to the collaboration, professional development, and networking around volunteering and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

4) Volunteer Management Best Practices network

12,000 members

A network of administrators in the field of volunteer management to share resources, discuss best practices, ask questions and post interesting articles.

5) VolunteerMatch

23,000 members

This is the national LinkedIn community for VolunteerMatch, the largest volunteer engagement network. The group discusses everything to do with volunteers.

7 Nonprofit Leadership & Board Governance Groups

If you’re looking for a boost in your nonprofit career, joining one of these seven groups and making connections can really benefit you.

1) Alliance for Nonprofit Management

15,000 members

A group for nonprofit leaders dedicated to increasing the capacity, effectiveness and impact of social change.

2) Bridgespan Nonprofit CEO/Executive Director Network

10,000 members

You must be a nonprofit executive director (or similar role such as CEO or President) to join this group. Please be sure your profile indicates your level and nonprofit organization.

A group created by The Bridgespan Group for nonprofit executive directors, CEO's, and presidents for the purposes of networking, idea sharing, and connecting with colleagues.

3) Non-profit Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Network

10,000 members

A group for nonprofit CEO's and other executives to expand their network of people and ideas.

4) Non-Profit Executive Directors

17,000 members

A group of nonprofit professionals to provide mentoring and networking services to their peers.

5) Non-Profit Management Professionals

25,000 members

A group of nonprofit professional, NGO executives, founders, sponsors, fundraisers and managers.

6) Nonprofit Governance

34,000 members

This group is hosted by BoardSource, a national organization working to strengthen nonprofit board leadership. The group is used as a discussion forum for nonprofit leaders to seek advice from their peers.

7) Not for Profit Sustainable Leadership

29,000 members

A group for nonprofit leaders, program managers, socially responsible enterprises, grassroots organizers, and other public sector and nonprofit professionals.

5 Nonprofit Groups That Post Job Opportunities

Here are five groups that can help you find new opportunities in the nonprofit industry.

1) Nonprofit & Philanthropy Jobs, Powered by ImpactFlow

90,000 members

This group offers a community for nonprofit and philanthropic job seekers and recruiters to connect, network, and share ideas and employment opportunities.

2) Nonprofit Controller's Network

9,000 members

This group is for nonprofit controllers, and financial and accounting leaders to network, discuss corporate issues, and find accounting and controller jobs.

3) Nonprofit Jobs & Career Advice Network

<1,000 members

This group is used as a forum for individuals seeking work in the nonprofit sector to ask questions, and for employers to post new positions.

4) Nonprofit Jobs, Non Profit Management Jobs

1,000 members

This group offers monitoring and reporting of nonprofit jobs through its active and growing research into all employers throughout the world.

5) Volunteer Jobs, Volunteer Coordinator & Director Jobs

3,000 members

This group is dedicated to monitoring and reporting volunteer jobs.

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