You might feel like you will never break free from Zoom calls and virtual meetings right now, but we will reach the other side of this “shelter in place” soon. However, the world as we knew it will never be the same. Have you started thinking about what this means for you and your nonprofit?
Many organizations have been extremely busy as a result of COVID-19, trying to keep up with an increased demand from core constituencies and working to pivot their in-person services to virtual programming. Nonprofit leaders have been struggling to stay abreast of financial assistance programs, additional giving campaigns and managing remote workforces. We get that you are busier than ever right now, but times like this are for preparation and innovation. If you actively invest the time now to plan out what you want to achieve on the other side of COVID-19, you are far more likely to succeed. You must make the time to begin planning for a future that has already been altered.
One way to engage your organization’s current or prospective customers, members or donors, is through a newsletter. It doesn’t have to be big and splashy, but it should look professional and be easy to read. Here are some tips to help make your newsletter more readable.
Sarah Pollock Nonprofit Account Manager Big Buzz Idea Group Team culture is more than a cake shared in the breakroom for each birthday. While a beloved tradition, the purpose of the birthday cake is to foster positive, company-oriented events that bring the group together beyond the work itself. Team culture, on the other hand, is individually defined within a company; it represents the identity of the team, the dynamics between members, and establishes the interactions and social engagements that define the company. It usually doesn’t even have a designated leader, but organically develops as your team’s dynamics evince the...
By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group Today’s the day to make things happen. It’s time to move forward (while the whole world seems to have stopped, and we watch and wait and wonder and worry). Put aside the feeling of helplessness, that the more we learn, the less we understand what it all means for each of us. That’s the problem with paralysis by analysis: while we’re stuck in the mud and waiting for something, time keeps slippin’ and the world keeps spinnin’… A boulder has been placed in your path. While deciding what to do...
By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group COVID-19 entered the news in early January, but it entered our American lives hard in mid-March. For the last three weeks we have gone from “normal” living to modified living to shelter in place. And now we all wait and wonder when these restrictions will lift and when we will be safe to return to “normal” again. Unfortunately, normal will never be the same for any of us. So, what now? Immediate Needs As we all adjust to this new “normal,” it is important to identify your most immediate needs....
Many of our partners have been working tirelessly to provide relevant and valuable information to help various nonprofit organizations navigate the ever-changing waters regarding COVID-19. Forefront COVID-19 Resource Page COVID-19 Response Funds Network for Good COVID-19 Resources National Council of Nonprofits COVID-19 Resource Page Bloomerang COVID-19 Resource Page Council of Nonprofits Resources Financial and Strategic Preparedness for COVID-19 Webinar Center for Disaster Philanthropy COVID-19 Arts Community Resources Northstar Meetings Group - How to Monetize Virtual Events We will continue to update this page as more and more resources become available. Thank you to everyone for their hard work in...
By: Brad Ball Vice President Big Buzz Idea Group According to a 2017 Gallup study, nearly one half of the American workforce spends at least some time working from home (WFH). While the study doesn't specifically identify nonprofit professionals as part of the inquiry, experience tells us that WFH is becoming more commonplace all the way around. One of the more important ways to connect when team members or volunteers are working from home is via the conference call. Available as both dial-in audio-only and increasingly common video conference, here’s a list of how to conference like a pro. Know...
By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group We watched the world change, hour by hour, for several days until landing in our current “Shelter in Place” status. Initially, as the country began to respond to the coronavirus, we started to feel the impact on our nonprofit events, but they didn’t appear to be in the direct line of fire. But then on March 15th, the CDC issued new guidelines that stated that all gatherings with more than 50 people should be cancelled until at least May 12, 2020. The initial potential impact was now an impending multi-car...
By: Amanda Wilson Nonprofit Account Manager Big Buzz Idea Group Imagine we’re in the year 2000 and a respiratory virus is spreading throughout the world, causing all events and social gatherings to be canceled and forcing businesses to close. The internet, while gaining traction, is still rudimentary. Google was invented only two years prior and popular websites like Wikipedia, MySpace or Facebook are still years away. With mandates to socially isolate to help stop the spread of this disease, meetings would cease and businesses would have been unable to maintain daily operations. Additional programming like professional development seminars would...
By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group When clients come to us wanting to start a sponsorship program, they often start rattling off the national and/or international companies that they want to target for sponsorships. Of course, it is natural for people to immediately think of the companies that have multi-billion dollar budgets and presume that all of these large benefactors will want to support the cause. But the reality is that thousands and thousands of other nonprofits are also thinking the same thing, so the sheer volume of asks going into that particular company each day...
