By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group During an election year, people within your nonprofit may want to support political causes and candidates. What does this mean for your 501(c)(3) organization? To maintain tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code, your organization cannot directly or indirectly participate in a political campaign to support or oppose a candidate for elected office. This means your nonprofit cannot show political bias. You may not, in any way, indicate that the organization favors or opposes a candidate. Your organization cannot make political statements or endorsements in favor of one candidate or make...
By: Brad Ball Vice President Big Buzz Idea Group Whether you are well-seasoned in your nonprofit management career, just starting out at an entry-level nonprofit job or somewhere in the middle, you most likely spend a good deal of time in the digital workspace. In this post, we’re going to tell you about our top five favorite online tools to make your life easier and keep your nonprofit organization running smoothly without spending a penny. DESIGN: Canva We've written about this one before and it's worth mentioning again because it's such a powerful tool for your nonprofit marketing team. Keep...
Big Buzz Idea Group has enjoyed consulting nonprofits for the past 15 years, and over that time, whenever we met a new potential client, we heard a very common theme: “I had no idea a company like yours even existed!” The need for assistance has never been more obvious, which is why we are presenting a new suite of budget-friendly services to a larger audience of nonprofits.
Your mission is our mission, and now in addition to “powering nonprofit organizations to fuel positive change in the world,” we want to also “power nonprofit professionals” to accelerate your organization to fuel positive change in the world.
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 Many nonprofits work diligently on annual giving, private donations and grants to fund their organizations, but we find many nonprofits are not tapping into corporate sponsorships as a way to enhance their bottom line. Many corporations sponsor events and organizations as a part of their annual marketing budget and/or as part of their corporate-social responsibility initiatives. Companies generally sponsor for one of two reasons: marketing exposure or brand alignment. If you are working to grow funding for your nonprofit, consider these best practices to help foster financial partners for your cause....
By: Katelyn Foehner Communications Manager Big Buzz Idea Group As many nonprofit executive leaders know, your title encompasses much more than what it states. Many executive directors serve as not only the ED but the bookkeeper, event planner, communications guru and everything in between. Finding easier ways to get the job done is essential to fulfilling all your tasks. Insert Canva into the equation to save stress, time and money. Canva is a free-to-use online design platform. While many people use it to create images for social media, Canva can be used to create t-shirt designs, invitations, blog banners, business...
By: Melissa Lagwoski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group Do you feel overwhelmed by the demands of your organization? Struggling to balance all of the responsibilities in your work week? Are the pressures of your nonprofit spilling over into your personal time? These common challenges can happen throughout the year but there are simple actions that will remove those issues for more productivity. And January is a great time to make a few small changes to reclaim your time and elevate your organization to new heights! Identify Your Priorities Take some time to get clear about what you must do...
By: Brad Ball Vice President Big Buzz Idea Group Most nonprofit organizations simply love to host events. Whether to fundraise, friendraise, educate or otherwise, the regular gathering of like-minded people is a standard tool in the nonprofit toolkit. One of the key traits of a successful event is choosing the right venue. To help make your organization’s next gathering a success, here are five things to remember when finding your next nonprofit event location: Is your event date available? While this may seem like an obvious place to start, the purposes of asking the question leads to this point: How...
By: Lidia Varesco Racoma Owner, Lidia Varesco Design You did it—you made it through #GivingTuesday! But your work is not done yet. Take advantage of the momentum of your campaign: Follow up with your donors and supporters, create meaningful connections that will last throughout the year, and use the insights gathered this year to inspire next year’s campaign. Say thank you—and share results Thank your supporters on social media and share the results of your campaign as well as the impact it has on the people your serve. Sharing a video thank you from the organization’s founder or leaders can...
By: Melissa Lagowski Founder, CEO and Queen Bee, Big Buzz Idea Group With Thanksgiving upon us, it seems like everyone is talking about gratitude. (To be fair, it's always top of mind around here-gratitude is one of our core values at Big Buzz!) Is there anything better than feeling appreciated? For nonprofits, acknowledging the contributions of those people directly tied to your organization is important. A simple, inspirational gesture of appreciation cultivates a sense of community, generosity and support for your mission. WHO to Thank Think about all of the people who are a part of your organization. They keep...
