Today's guest post is written by Chelsea Murphy, communications coordinator for Points of Light.

Linkedin is a great resource for nonprofits.  It is a place to recruit staff and supporters and search for specific individual professional skill sets. Nonprofits who use this online community space well use Linkedin to increase social influence, build relationships, and connect with donors and volunteers.

Now with the recently added “Volunteer Experience & Causes” section Linkedin offers individuals the chance to add more personality to their pages and customize their profiles to showcase causes they are passionate about or involved with.

How do you add these sections to your profile? Below your main profile box with your picture and basic information and above your list of work experiences is a new link that you can click to add your volunteer experiences, skills, and causes you care about (see below):

Once clicking the link you have multiple options on the left you can scroll through to find "Volunteer Experiences & Causes." Click on the blue button on the bottom right to add to your profile:

Here are ways the Volunteer and Cause fields can be used for non-profit and individual benefit:

Nonprofits can Mobilize Ambassadors, Staff and Board Members

Nonprofits should get their staff and board members engaged on Linkedin to not only network, but to be visible to the public.  Not only can this directly affect the outreach of your nonprofit to have all staff and board members sharing the causes they care about, your board members can let all their connections know that they care about your nonprofit and this will help promote the organization’s values publicly.

Nonprofits Can Recruit Supporters

Nonprofits can use the search feature to locate supporters, volunteers, and other board members. The “Volunteer Experience & Causes” field makes LinkedIn a useful tool for volunteer managers. Volunteer managers can use the search field to narrow down volunteer skill sets and find people who are passionate about their project needs and passionate about their organizations values.  Finding the right volunteer can be so much easier on Linkedin because you can find more background into the work they are currently involved in and what they are passionate about to make sure their passion aligns with your organization.

Individuals Can Showcase More Skills and Personality on Profiles

Individuals who are looking for volunteers or jobs can get the one-up on competition and use this new Volunteer field to their advantage.  Employers are looking for people who have a diverse set of skills and interests and this new volunteer field is used for just that and can be very helpful to set you apart from the rest of the applicant field.

By adding your volunteer experience and causes you care about it shows your initiative and current strengths, and can connect you with people with similar backgrounds. Adding these fields to your profile help increase your network of LinkedIn connections by making connections with people who are involved in the same causes that you are.

You can build your network in that regard and find other professionals who have similar volunteering interests and you may have similar career interests. Find out where people with your backgrounds are working and volunteering. Find companies that employ people like you by doing an advanced search for people in your area who have your skills.

These fields will only benefit users in order to help you showcase yourself better- Individuals and employers can get a sense regarding potential organization employers or contacts.  Do the employees volunteer? Do you have similar interests?

Once you implement these new fields imagine the number of people who will see your name connected to someone they know or a coworker, or someone their friends know. Word of mouth will grow and networks will grow. Get connected to more volunteer opportunities today!