Check out these 10 advancement professionals who are taking advantage of LinkedIn for fundraising.

1. 10 Advancement Pros
Rocking It On LinkedIn
And What You Can Learn From Their Profiles

2. LinkedIn, with 300 million users worldwide,
is a buzzing professional space for networking and
building relationships.

3. The business world has already embraced
LinkedIn, with 9 out of 10 business execs
using the network “often” or “very often.”
Statistic via BusinessNewsDaily
By Uberof202 ff via Flickr Creative Commons

4. So why aren’t leaders in university
advancement doing the same?

5. We analyzed the
LinkedIn profiles of
Chief Advancement
Officers at Forbes’
top 30 colleges.*
Key finding:
The average number
of connections of a
CAO is just 256.
*At three of the colleges, there was a vacancy or no identifiable CAO.

6. 82% of corporate employees say they are
“more likely” or “much more likely”
to trust a company whose CEO and top execs
use social media.
Statistic via BRANDfog
It’s likely that your constituents
feel the same way.

7. Calling all development leaders!

8. Calling all development leaders!
It’s time to get connected on LinkedIn.

9. An advancement leader’s strong LinkedIn
presence can contribute significantly to the
goals of an advancement office by:
• Showing the personality behind the
institution’s brand
• Demonstrating the professional
accomplishments of its leaders
• Connecting prospects and other constituents
more strongly with the institution through
engagement
….and much more!

10. Let’s take a look at 10 advancement
leaders with exemplary LinkedIn profiles.*
*Advancement leaders are alphabetized and selected from the top 30 schools in Forbes’ “2014 America’s Top
Colleges” and US News & World Report’s “2014 Best Colleges”

11. Thomas Bonner
VP for External Relations at Carleton College
Impressive Profile Features
• Succinct yet illustrative Summary that highlights his specialties
• Detailed section on volunteer experience and the causes he cares about
• Relevant skills and endorsements (Top endorsed skill: “Annual Giving”)
• Recommendations given to his colleagues

12. Thomas Bonner

13. “I primarily use LinkedIn to have my
profile available for individuals I will
be meeting with for the first time to
be able to research a bit about me if
they are so inclined. I’ve had a
number of individuals comment on
something in my profile.”
–Thomas Bonner

14. Jim Husson
Senior VP for University Advancement at Boston
College
Impressive Profile Features
• Short Summary that connects his experience with his goals
• Relevant skills and endorsements (Top endorsed skill: “Alumni
Relations”)
• Recommendation received from a colleague
• Member of 9 professional groups

15. Jim Husson

16. “LinkedIn allows me to follow
professional careers in real time and
often gives me insight into issues that are
front of mind among leaders in our
community.
My sense is that it is important that
advancement professionals have a solid
LinkedIn profile, if only because it is
increasingly our default calling card
among constituents who want to learn
something about us.”
–Jim Husson

17. Steve Kean
Chief Advancement Officer at Boston University
Impressive Profile Features
• Detailed work experience that includes descriptions of current and past
positions
• Relevant skills and endorsements (Top endorsed skill: “Stewardship”)
• Recommendation both given to and received from a colleague

18. Steve Kean

19. Shaun Keister
Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni
Relations at UC Davis
Impressive Profile Features
• Work experience demonstrates proven success
• Relevant skills and endorsements (Top endorsed skill: “Fundraising”)
• Recommendations given to his colleagues

20. Shaun Keister

21. “I use LinkedIn to promote and
post stories about UC Davis,
philanthropy news at Davis, and job
opportunities in development and
alumni relations. We have had
good success with identifying
prospective employees via
LinkedIn interactions.”
–Shaun Keister

22. Matthew Lambert
VP for University Advancement at College of
William & Mary
Impressive Profile Features
• Comprehensive Summary that speaks to experience, specialties,
accomplishments, and research interests
• Relevant skills and endorsements (Top endorsed skill: “Fundraising”)
• Recommendations given to his colleagues

23. Matthew Lambert

24. Gregory Leet
Vice Chancellor of University Advancement
at UC Irvine
Impressive Profile Features
• The descriptions under Experience link out to the websites of his
organizations
• Board member experience included under Volunteer Experience and
Causes
• Relevant skills and endorsements (Top endorsed skill: “Fundraising”)
• Recommendations given to and received from his colleagues
• Member of over 10 professional groups

25. Gregory Leet

26. Jerry May
VP for Development at Michigan
Impressive Profile Features
• Detailed Summary that calls out his career accomplishments, specific
campaign successes, speaking experience, and education
• Relevant skills and endorsements (Top endorsed skill: “Fundraising”)

27. Jerry May

28. Patricia Jackson
Chief of Staff for the Advancement Division at
Dartmouth College
Impressive Profile Features
• Brief descriptions for each position listed under Experience
• Relevant skills and endorsements (Top endorsed skill: “Fundraising”)
• Recommendations received from colleagues

29. Patricia Jackson

30. “First, I use LinkedIn as a recruitment tool for
staff both in terms of tracking people I may not
know, but more importantly, watching those
rising stars with whom I would love to work at
some point.
Secondly, I use it as a way to reach out directly
to potential supporters by asking them to
connect, and then taking the relationship further
from there. Like any social media tool, I find it
useful to know what people say about
themselves. This gives the opportunity to mirror
such back to them in appropriate ways. I see
LinkedIn as one more arrow in my quiver to
leverage connections—not as a silver bullet in
and of itself.”
–Trish Jackson

31. Bob Sweeney
Senior VP for University Advancement at UVA
Impressive Profile Features
• Thorough Summary that highlights his experience, accomplishments,
interests, and specialties
• Short description of responsibilities for every position held
• Detailed section on volunteer interests and other organizations he’s involved
with
• Relevant skills and endorsements (Top endorsed skill: “Fundraising”)
• Honors and awards listed to establish credibility
• Member of 15 professional groups

32. Bob Sweeney

33. Darrow Zeidenstein
VP for Development and Alumni Relations at
Rice University
Impressive Profile Features
• Section on board membership highlights other organizations he’s
involved with
• Honors and awards listed to establish credibility
• CASE book he co-authored included under Publications
• Recommendation given to a colleague

34. Darrow Zeidenstein

35. The 6 Profile ‘Must-Haves’
1. Profile Photo
2. Summary
3. Work Experience
4. Skills & Endorsements
5. Contact Information
6. Connections

36. LinkedIn for Stewardship & Donor
Engagement
• Use Advanced Search to
focus your prospect research
efforts
• Identify potential volunteers
and board members
• Discover prospects’ interests
so you can respond to them
on a more personal level

37. Ready to optimize your LinkedIn
profile like these pros?
We can help.

38. Download our free eBook for tips:
LinkedIn Checklist for Advancement 2014

39. About EverTrue
EverTrue is the world’s leading social donor management
platform. Since 2010, EverTrue has been on a mission to
build relationships in pursuit of a better world. Today,
more than 250 nonprofit institutions use EverTrue’s
software, services, and support to develop better data,
deeper relationships, and richer insights on their donors.
EverTrue’s social donor management software – the first
of its kind – includes middle-of-the-pyramid donor
identification, prospect prioritization based on capacity
and propensity, industry and affinity insights through social
media integration, and powerful reporting and analytics all
in one platform. EverTrue is headquartered in Boston, MA
and is a Bain Capital-backed company.

40. About EverTrue
EverTrue is the world’s leading social donor management
platform. Since 2010, EverTrue has been on a mission to
build relationships in pursuit of a better world. Today,
more than 250 nonprofit institutions use EverTrue’s
software, services, and support to develop better data,
deeper relationships, and richer insights on their donors.
EverTrue’s social donor management software – the first
of its kind – includes middle-of-the-pyramid donor
identification, prospect prioritization based on capacity
and propensity, industry and affinity insights through social
media integration, and powerful reporting and analytics all
in one platform. EverTrue is headquartered in Boston, MA
and is a Bain Capital-backed company.