Blog – Big Buzz Idea Group

Losing Control? Reclaim Your Time!

By Melissa Lagowski Big Buzz Idea Group Founder/CEO/Queen Bee Losing Control? Reclaim Your Time! According to the data available, “only 20% of people feel their work is under control daily.” As far back as I can remember, every nonprofit staffer I know has felt the stress of being buried by an enormous and never-ending workload. The industry is known for being notoriously understaffed while still needing to meet the deadlines of the association. Along came 2020 (when everything felt strange, uncertain and uncomfortable) and people remained just as busy, but it was a different kind of busy. The comfort of […]

Client Spotlight: Old Town School of Folk Music

Name/Title: Dave Zibell, Director of Marketing for Old Town School of Folk Music, one of the founders of the Square Roots festival and currently serving as Board President for Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce. About Old Town School of Folk Music: My organization is the Old Town School of Folk Music with a mission of providing quality arts education to everyone. Old Town School teaches roughly 4,000 students in Lincoln Square, Lincoln Park and some suburban branches every 8-week session as well as presenting around 350 concert performances per year. How many years do you have in the nonprofit […]

From Awareness to Action: Using Social Media to Reach Your Goals

By Amanda Lovell Marketing Coordinator Big Buzz Idea Group If you are a nonprofit leader, social media can be an invaluable tool with vast reach and accessibility that you can take advantage of. Use it to promote your organization’s mission, amplify your messaging, reach out to volunteers, find partners and sponsors, drive donations and engage with your members. Maybe you are thinking, “So I know that our organization should be on social media, but how exactly do we do that? How do we utilize social media the correct way?” Here are some tips to consider: Define Your Audience And Messaging […]

SPONSORSHIP 101: Growing Nonprofit Revenues

By Melissa Lagowski Founder/CEO/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group Be it donors or dinners or annual bake sales, nonprofit organizations live and die by their budgets and funding streams. Finding a steady revenue stream may seem difficult but it also might just be hidden in plain sight: look around to discover that opportunities exist to develop a sponsorship program that can play mightily into your success. Established nonprofits already have an underlying support system in their board of directors, staff members, social media followers, donors, etc., who believe in the cause. This network brings obvious value to the organization and […]

8 Tips For Leading Productive Meetings

By Melissa Lagowski Founder/CEO/Queen Bee How many hours do you commit to meetings in a week? Out of 40 hours in an average work week, the majority of us are in meetings for at least half of that time. According to some stats in the nonprofit world, this could catapult to 65 or 75 percent. With so much of our lives devoted to collaboration via these collective encounters, let’s look at some ways to make your meetings more effective. Purpose The first step to more productive meetings is that everyone must understand the purpose or reason for the meeting so […]

The Importance of Authenticity in Sales and Networking

By Terri Champelli Sales and Business Development Let’s be real. This term has been thrown about in all walks of life for years, with the intent of requesting your audience to, in essence, cut the crap. In interpersonal skills and relations, it is important to be real. For your friends, family, neighbors, this is a given. In sales, it should be no different. Here, we are using this term to guide authentic connection as a pathway to meeting your clients’ needs and finding new referrals along the way. It is important to not look at this as a strategy but […]

How Big Is Your Fire?

By: Devin Ball Director of Operations Do you spend parts of your week addressing issues that unexpectedly require immediate attention and will create a much bigger issue if left unaddressed? At Big Buzz Idea Group, we refer to this phenomenon as “putting out fires.” If you’re a living, breathing human, chances are you’ve had to “put out a fire” before. Putting out fires usually requires you to push other scheduled tasks further down on your to-do list, which could mean that today’s tasks become tomorrow’s tasks, this week’s tasks become next week’s tasks and so on. As day-to-day duties are […]

The Keys to Presenting Your Nonprofit Online

By: Kayla Walke Nonprofit Account Coordinator Knowing how to present your organization online is key for not only conveying and sharing your message with those who are unaware of your organization but also for maintaining current members. When someone visits your website for the first time, the last thing you want is for them to struggle to find information or dig around for a donate button! Here are a few tips and tricks to remember when working on your organization’s website by focusing on the importance of making a good impression right off the bat. Homepage Perfection When visiting your […]

Best Practices For Nonprofit Management

By: Big Buzz Idea Group Staff This month, we turn to our helpful hive-full of Big Buzz team members for some insider insights and tips that they’ve honed and compiled over years of working with nonprofits. These simple but powerful methodologies have helped numerous clients along the way, so we know they’re tried and true and can work for anyone in the business of running a nonprofit like a business. Prepare For “The Ask” When soliciting new Board Members, Nicole Harris advises to go in prepared for the big meeting: A strong organization will have a solid plan when it […]

Client Spotlight: Hope For The Day

Name/Title: Allison Herman (she/her), Director of Education What is your organization and mission? Hope For The Day is a nonprofit movement empowering the conversation on proactive suicide prevention and mental health education. How many years do you have in the nonprofit industry? 1.5 years / Before working at Hope For The Day, I spent 10+ years working in marketing and advertising. I’ve also been volunteering in nonprofit organizations since childhood. How do you develop and grow your desired culture within your organization? I’m a big fan of leading with empathy and creating psychological safety for the passionate people who work […]