Social impact professionals are still networking. Here are 4 ways they’re doing it

Author Brennan Doherty
In-person conferences and mixers offer a sense of community online gatherings seem to lack, but plenty of social impact sector professionals are still networking

Why It Matters

Networking is an essential way for social impact professionals to make new connections, find jobs, share knowledge, and collaborate on projects. Ensuring that networks remain alive during the pandemic is one important way for the sector to remain collaborative and focused at a time of great uncertainty.

Networking is a huge part of Paul Nazareth’s life. 

As the vice president of education and development at the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, he spends a lot of time at conferences, networking nights, and dinners. Nazareth once estimated he attends roughly 250 such events a year. Nearly all of them were put on hold — at least in person — as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Networking in the social impact sector has changed profoundly over the course of the pandemic. LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media platforms have, of course, hosted networking discussions among professionals for years. But in-person conferences and networking nights remained the sector’s preferred forms of making professional connections until public health restrictions made such events irresponsible. 

What’s so different about networking during the pandemic, Nazare

 

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