Network with other organisations on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social networking site for business professionals, enabling people to stay in touch with former colleagues, clients, and partners. In 2010, LinkedIn had 4 million users in the UK.

Encourage the staff and trustees of your charity to join LinkedIn and build their professional network. It's easy to build your network as the website allows you to login to any webmail accounts and lists the people you know who have already joined the site.

By connecting to people through LinkedIn, you will ensure you don't lose touch with people, even if they change jobs or email addresses. This won't just help you with your career, but could help you directly with your job. For example, think how useful it would be if you were still in touch with an ex-colleague who is now working for a major grant-giving foundation or is employed as a Corporate Social Responsibility officer at a big company.

Once you have built a strong network on LinkedIn, you can occasionally use this to help raise awareness of your charity or social enterprise. For example, when Ingrid Marson (Director of Acorn PR) was Communications Manager at international development charity Computer Aid, she was able to find new corporate computer donors for the charity through LinkedIn.

Be careful that you don't become a nuisance though, otherwise people will remove you from their network. Check out these tips on LinkedIn etiquette for a better understanding of what you should and shouldn't do.