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Goal-Setting For Successful Events

Does your organization host an annual event? What is the purpose of the event and why is it relevant? Do your members know and understand this? Are your guests fully aware of the purpose of the event? Far too often when we meet with NPOs, they are not at all clear why they host an event. And at least half of the stories begin with “a key member of the leadership team wanted an event so they created one.” It takes a great deal of time and money to plan and produce an event, so it is imperative that you […]

By Devin Ball

Cyber Security: How To Protect Yourself In Today’s “Connected” World

By Guest Blogger: Tony Ulman Security Specialist, Sanders IT Consulting Cybercrime has taken over the conversation of computer security for the past few years, but why? Companies such as Apple, Target, Home Depot, Michael’s, Walmart, Sally’s Beauty Supply, BlueCross BlueShield, Chase Bank, Staples, Neiman Marcus, Jimmy John’s, and countless others have become victims of cybercrime. But what is being taken? Information. Yes, information. Data such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, and so on. Health information such as patient data records, diagnosis records and medications used. Why is this important to the cybercriminal or hacker, and […]

By Devin Ball

Seven Tips to a More Productive Year for Your Organization

Have you ever had a difficult time getting your committees to focus on the task at hand because they get easily distracted? Does it sometimes feel like every member of your Board is rowing in a different direction? It happens unexpectedly and just when everything seems to be going well. Your organization stands to have an amazing year because the strategic planning has been completed, the team has become clear on the mission and maybe even rebranded the new vision of the organization. The energy is high and everyone is excited about the things to come. Then fast forward six […]

By Devin Ball

Fundraising: Creating a Straighter Path to Revenue Growth

By Guest Blogger: Sherry Quam Taylor Consultant, QuamTaylor LLC Nonprofit organizations are often staffed with sacrificial leaders striving hard toward achieving admirable missions, full of passion and great ideas to make an even greater impact in the world. At the same time, many are struggling to grow beyond their initial successes. Research indicates that 74% of the 1.4 million charitable organizations registered in the U.S. never reach the $500,000 mark in revenue, and most of these never hire more than five employees (Source: Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy). This begs the question: Why is the $500,000 mark such […]

By Devin Ball

Defining Your Value: Reclaiming Relevance to the Community You Serve

By Guest Blogger: Joe McClennan Managing Partner, McClennan Partners Happy New Year! How often did you receive or express that greeting toward the end of December and the beginning of January? In 2017, for a number of my nonprofit clients, the emphasis is on the “New.” Continuing to do what they have always done is no longer possible because of funding cutbacks, change in management philosophy, loss or expected loss of key staff, and/or a call for a deep re-evaluation of what the value proposition now needs to be for the community they serve. In planning and facilitating January Board […]

By Devin Ball

Organizational Operations Versus Organizational Strategy

It is an all-too-familiar scenario when a nonprofit comes to the harsh realization that it has limited resources and manpower to effectively administer its daily operations while trying to carry out the mission and vision in an impactful way. Some organizations are blessed to have a strategic plan and staff, but there is almost always more work to be done than the staff can execute. Other organizations have a limited staff, so the Executive Director often gets distracted by the operational fires that arise, which prevents leadership from focusing on the higher impact items such as fundraising and programming. And […]

By Devin Ball

Does Your Mission Have a Compelling Voice?

By Guest Blogger: Pon Angara Principal, Barkada Creative “I was born in prison. My mother had just been sentenced to 7 years. And by the time I was a freshman in high school, I was already addicted to crystal meth. People would look at me with disgust, my family in particular.” “Life was hard for me growing up. I had no dad to look up to. I had no role model. My older brother was in and out of prison. I didn’t know what to do, so I started gang banging.” What images come to mind about the characters making […]

By Devin Ball

Making a Case for Strategic Planning

By Guest Blogger: Kimberly Bares President, PLACE Consulting “I’ve always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.” — Lily Tomlin It’s that time of the year when organizations reflect on the past year’s successes and misses and begin the process of preparing for 2017. Based on my experience in leading strategic planning with dozens of nonprofits, the best of them use their strategic plan to guide that evaluation. What do you do, though, when your organization doesn’t see the value in the process or thinks it’s a waste of time or money? I’ve […]

By Devin Ball

Transparency and Nonprofit Organizations

It was 2004 when a local nonprofit org (NPO) came to me and asked, “Can you review our project for us?” They had been working with a professional event planner, expecting that the agency would make their annual event more successful than ever before – but in reality, the gross profit had tripled while the net profit had been somehow cut in half. Big Buzz Idea Group was borne out of that project review. I found it difficult to believe that the NPO wasn’t getting all that it was expecting, and it seemed clear that they had been taken advantage […]

By Melissa Lagowski

The Birth of a New Vision

In the summer of 2015, I was having lunch with a friend at Navy Pier, talking about how hard Big Buzz works to make an impact in the nonprofit arena. That conversation stuck with me for weeks. All I could think about was how we could make a bigger impact in the nonprofit sector than we were currently making. A few weeks later while driving down Lake Shore Drive, it hit me: Big Buzz Idea Group needed to offer more than just event planning services! After a quick assessment of my years of nonprofit service, I realized that I had […]

By Melissa Lagowski

Blog - Small Layout

Goal-Setting For Successful Events

Cyber Security: How To Protect Yourself In Today’s “Connected” World

Seven Tips to a More Productive Year for Your Organization

Fundraising: Creating a Straighter Path to Revenue Growth

Defining Your Value: Reclaiming Relevance to the Community You Serve

Organizational Operations Versus Organizational Strategy

Does Your Mission Have a Compelling Voice?

Making a Case for Strategic Planning

Transparency and Nonprofit Organizations

The Birth of a New Vision

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