Why I like LinkedIn as a search tool
As I mentioned, there are many places out there to promote your volunteer opportunities, but with LinkedIn, you’re scouting out talent you need and finding people who might be a good fit.
Instead of promoting volunteer opportunities and hoping the right person signs up, you can seek out the “right person” in advance.
(Though, fyi, you can also post volunteer needs on LinkedIn.)
Making sure a volunteer is a good fit for your mission AND the necessary task is a critical component of mutual volunteer and organization satisfaction.
Plus, since people are more likely to volunteer or give when someone they are familiar with asks them, you can use LinkedIn’s “degree of connection” feature to try to find people who are already 1st or 2nd degree connections in your circles. I’m thinking that’s going to give you an advantage in your outreach.
Searching for skilled volunteers using LinkedIn
Here's how to do it:
Log in to your LinkedIn account (if you don’t have one, it’s free to set up).
In the search bar in the top left, type in a word or two describing the particular skill set you’re looking for in a volunteer. For example, “marketing”, “fundraiser”, or “accountant”.
Make sure you select “people” in your results filter, so you’ll only see individual humans in your results feed (versus events, companies, etc.).
Click “All Filters” (or the filter icon, if you’re on your phone).
Scroll down to find the section in the filters titled “Open to”.
Check the box that says “Open to: Pro bono consulting and volunteering”, and click the blue “show results” button at the bottom.
Boom!
You should now see a list of people in your network with the skill set you typed into the search bar who have marked themselves as “open to volunteering.” These are your potential future volunteers.
Tips for reaching out
If you’re on LinkedIn already, you know how annoying it is to get bombarded with sales promotions from strangers all the time.
That’s why I recommend taking a super casual, non-salesy, authentic approach if you’re going to try volunteer outreach on LinkedIn.
✅ DO:
Check out a potential volunteer’s profile to see if you can understand their past volunteering activities and the issue areas that may interest them.
Not everyone has this published on their LinkedIn profiles, but many people do – it’s a good way to narrow down whether someone has a history of supporting, say, animal rescue work or nonprofits that combat poverty (for example).
✅ DO:
Share transparently that you found them because you’re seeking people with certain skill sets to support a volunteer need with your nonprofit.
✅ DO:
Share your mission, and ask a question, such as what causes they are passionate about. By asking a question, you’re demonstrating you care about their interests too (and are trying to build a real relationship, vs a transactional one).
❌ DON’T:
Send a link to sign up to volunteer in your very first message to them. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t believe you’re going to see a lot of success trying to go from stranger (or acquaintance) to volunteer in the very first message.
✅ DO:
Share details after they respond and seem curious about your work. When explaining the need, try to focus on a specific outcome of a volunteer activity versus the task itself.
For example, instead of saying, “We need a marketing professional to help us with marketing,” try, “We’re looking for someone who has the right skills to advise us for a few hours on creating our 2025 marketing plan.”
By framing your messaging around a very clear, specific need (and timeframe), you’re reducing the potential volunteer’s anxiety surrounding A) overcommitting and B) being unsure if they are a good fit.
Have you found a great volunteer or board member on LinkedIn?
Hit reply and tell me about it.
Happy volunteer recruiting!
