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Powering Nonprofits to Fuel Positive Change

773.804.8589
info@bigbuzzideagroup.com
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The Importance of Authenticity in Sales and Networking

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?

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...

Best Practices For Nonprofit Management

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...

Chart a Path for Nonprofit Success

Chart a Path for Nonprofit Success

By Melissa Lagowski Big Buzz Idea Group Founder/CEO/Queen Bee With all the tasks that are on your to-do list, how often are you able to take a step back and think strategically about where the association is headed and what you hope to accomplish? Too often, nonprofit leaders are rushed for time, so to meet all the demands on their time, they wash, rinse and repeat yearend planning documents without much consideration. But if you keep doing what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten. According to the National Center on Charitable Statistics, more than...

Word of the Year: Manifestation

Word of the Year: Manifestation

By Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group What does it mean to manifest something? The spiritual definition of manifestation is “the public display of emotion or feeling, or something theoretical made real.” This concept is part of the Laws of Attraction where positive thoughts beget positive outcomes. So, are you a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty type of person? Throughout the pandemic, we and many of our clients have continued trying to be optimistic, to roll with the punches, to make lemonade out of lemons. But have you seen this recent meme: Enough is enough already! We at Big...

Check Out These Recent Posts

  • Leveraging AI For Time Management
  • Navigating Uncertainty: How Nonprofits Can Protect Funding and Advocate for Change
  • Tips for Nonprofit Success
  • DEI, DEIB, Equity & Inclusion for All: Ways to Advance the Work in 2025
  • Gen Z is the Next Wave of Donors—How Can Nonprofits Engage Them?
  • Communicating With Your Nonprofit’s Supporters During Times of Unease
  • Big Buzz Idea Group Named One of America’s Top 100 Small Businesses

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501c3 Appreciation Association Association Management Big Buzz Idea Group Board Members Board of Directors Communication Communications Core Values Culture Development Digital Marketing Donations Donors Event Planner Event Planning Events Executive Director Funding Fundraising Goal-Setting Gratitude Leadership management Marketing mission Networking Nonprofit Nonprofit Board Members Nonprofit Leadership Nonprofit Management Nonprofit Organization NPO Organization Organization's Culture Outsourcing pandemic Productivity Social Media Sponsors Sponsorship Staff Strategic Planning Virtual

Insights Blog Archive

  • SPONSORSHIP 101: To Package or Not to Package
  • Tips for Nonprofit Success
  • The Keys to Presenting Your Nonprofit Online
  • Tips For Meaningful #GivingTuesday Follow-Up
  • Communicating With Your Nonprofit’s Supporters During Times of Unease
  • 4 Ways Outsourcing Your Development Work Can Provide Value
  • Organic Methods to Cultivate Sponsorship Leads
  • Leveraging E-Newsletters For Nonprofit Growth
  • The Birth of a New Vision
  • Navigating Uncertainty: How Nonprofits Can Protect Funding and Advocate for Change
  • Organizational Operations Versus Organizational Strategy
  • Cancelling or Postponing Your Events in Light of COVID-19
  • How to Develop Your Nonprofit’s Audience Persona
  • 10 Cybersecurity Tips to Protect Your Nonprofit from Cyber Threats
  • Board or Bored Leadership – Enter the Magnificent Seven
  • What’s Your Nonprofit’s Story
  • Fostering Board Engagement in Virtual Times
  • Apply the Spoon Theory to Run Your Nonprofit
  • Big Buzz Has COVID-19 Resources For You!
  • Four Pillars to Attracting and Retaining Ideal Employees
  • Silver Linings Discovered Amidst a Pandemic
  • Fundraising: Creating a Straighter Path to Revenue Growth
  • SPONSORSHIP 101: Growing Nonprofit Revenues
  • Six Things Your Nonprofit Needs to Know About Sales Tax
  • Crisis Management: Are You Ready?
  • Cyber Security: How To Protect Yourself In Today’s “Connected” World
  • Should Sponsorships Include Membership Dues?
  • 5 Ways to Generate Sponsor Leads
  • 11 Tips to Make Your Newsletter More Readable
  • How to Keep Your Visuals On-Brand
  • Does Your Mission Have a Compelling Voice?
  • Optimize Your Contact List for Nonprofit Growth
  • The Benefits of Outsourcing
  • The Importance of Authenticity in Sales and Networking
  • Should You Ever Cover Board Member Expenses?
  • Becoming a Virtual Event Planner in an Instant
  • How Big Is Your Fire?
  • What’s Your Nonprofit’s First Impression?
  • Nonprofit Event Venues 101
  • A Job Gone Wrong
  • Best Practices For Nonprofit Management
  • Leveraging AI For Time Management
  • Spend Less. Do More. Your Guide to Effective Outsourcing
  • To Be Successful, Nonprofits and Associations Must Be Forward-Thinking
  • If You’re Feeling Hopeless of Late, Remember That Your Work Matters and You Do, Too
  • DEI, DEIB, Equity & Inclusion for All: Ways to Advance the Work in 2025
  • Client Spotlight: Old Town School of Folk Music
  • Making a Case for Strategic Planning
  • Why Nonprofits Need to Evaluate Their Budgets Every Year
  • Keep Your Mission in Mind to Maximize Results
  • How to Rewire Your Brain with Positive Thinking
  • Something Good: Building Your Team’s Connection
  • SPONSORSHIP 101: Growing Nonprofit Revenues
  • Interim Directors Provide Strength in Times of Transition
  • Networking for Personal and Professional Growth
  • Strategies for Membership Based Associations to Flourish in Face-to-Face Interactions
  • Big Buzz Idea Group Launches Additional Services
  • An Interim Leader Isn’t a “Temp:” Interim Leadership in NPOs as a Management Profession
  • 8 Tips For Leading Productive Meetings
  • Innovative Approach to Volunteer Recruitment
  • The 3 Mistakes I Made Managing a Nonprofit
  • Implementing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Your Nonprofit
  • 7 Tips for Managing Hybrid Events
  • 10 Tips to Cultivate Sponsor Relationships
  • 3 Tips For Maintaining Your NPO’s Digital Assets
  • Mastering Client Expectations: 6 Essential Tips for Success
  • Client Spotlight: Hope For The Day
  • Real Progress Requires Intention: What Do You Want to Achieve in 2020 for Your Nonprofit?
  • Talk to Me! Prioritizing Internal Communications During Times of Transition
  • The Compelling Case to Renew
  • The Board’s Hot (Summer) Topics
  • Employee Retention Tax Credit Yields Powerful Opportunity
  • Why Your Nonprofit Needs Brand Guidelines
  • Transparency and Nonprofit Organizations
  • Engage Your Board – Start with Recruiting and End with A High-Performance Culture
  • How to Manage Your Organization During an Election Year Without Violating Your Nonprofit Status
  • Leadership Starts with You
  • Why You Need to Establish Gratitude as a Pillar at Your Nonprofit
  • Is Your Marketing Missing the Mark?
  • Client Spotlight: Illinois Theatre Association
  • The Taxman Cometh (Yes, Even For Your Exempt Organization)
  • Life After COVID-19: Next Steps for Your Nonprofit
  • 9 Lessons Learned from Our First Virtual Conference
  • Four Tactics to Resolve Nonprofit Staffing Shortages
  • Losing Control? Reclaim Your Time!
  • Client Spotlight: Center for Changing Lives
  • 5 Reasons to Outsource Instead of Rely on Volunteers
  • DIY Event Photos
  • Board Nominating: A Better Way
  • Holding On When You Feel Like Throwing In the Towel
  • Virtual Fundraising: 18 Ideas for Nonprofit Revenue
  • Are You Leaving Money On The Table?
  • Want To Retain Your Employees? Wellness in the Workplace Matters!
  • These Red Flags Scream That You Need a New Bookkeeper
  • Our Top Five Free Online Tools for Nonprofit Management Teams
  • Nonprofit Form 990: Friend or Foe?
  • Tips for Virtual Event Success
  • Tips to Ensure Event Safety
  • Why Is My Organization Not Growing?
  • 6 Tips for Recruiting Ideal Board Members
  • Promotion Ideas to Benefit Your Nonprofit – Part II
  • Chart a Path for Nonprofit Success
  • Defining Your Value: Reclaiming Relevance to the Community You Serve
  • Conference Call Hero – 6 Tips to Master the Art of Video and Audio Conferencing
  • Streamlining Success: Using a Consent Agenda for Nonprofit Board Meetings
  • Take Time to Evaluate Your Events
  • New Year’s Resolutions for Board Members
  • Promotion Ideas to Benefit Your Nonprofit – Part I
  • Goal-Setting For Successful Events
  • From Awareness to Action: Using Social Media to Reach Your Goals
  • Time to Assess Your Year-End Campaigns
  • 3 Questions to Ask If You Hope to Grow Your Membership
  • Seven Tips to a More Productive Year for Your Organization
  • Communication Tips to Advance Your Organization
  • Team Culture Exists Beyond the Office Walls
  • Making the Most Out of Event Centerpieces
  • Four Step Process to Building Better Buy-In
  • Melissa Lagowski Named Faculty Member at Institute for Organization Management
  • Never Overlook the Value of Gratitude
  • 2020: A Lesson in Gratitude
  • Re-Imagine the Possibilities to Better Serve Your Mission
  • Big Buzz Idea Group Named One of America’s Top 100 Small Businesses
  • Celebrate You and Avoid Nonprofit Burnout
  • Post-Pandemic Event Lessons
  • Clearer Communication Is the Secret to Better Outcomes
  • Cross-Train Your Team for Better Outcomes
  • Securing Help from Your Board: Are You Ready?
  • Client Spotlight: Cyberjutsu
  • 6 Tips for Cultivating Gratitude in the Workplace
  • Grateful for Nonprofit Leaders
  • Are You Leading With Impact?
  • 5 Tips for Prioritizing Your Mental Health in the Workplace
  • How To Secure More Donor Dollars
  • 50 Content Promotion Tactics: How to Drive Traffic to Your Next Article
  • 3 Reasons Why Your Organization Should Use Canva
  • 6 Tips for Healthy Collaboration with Your Board Chair
  • Nonprofit Hiring: Best Practices for Building Your Team in 2024
  • The Hidden Costs Behind Your Fundraiser
  • Word of the Year: Manifestation
  • Outsourcing: The Only Solution To Staffing Shortages
  • Make Your Nonprofit Stand Out: Creating Impressions for Impact
  • 5 Secrets to Streamlining Your Administrative Tasks
  • Gen Z is the Next Wave of Donors—How Can Nonprofits Engage Them?
  • Boost Your Daily Productivity
  • Financial Planning for Uncertain Times
  • How to Hire a Consultant
  • The Need to Go Beyond Surveys
  • Client Spotlight: Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce
  • Why Identifying and Communicating Your Core Values Is Important
  • 4 Productivity Tips to Elevate Your Nonprofit
  • Self-Care: A Necessity for Successful Leadership
  • Put Some Zing in Your Zoom (Or Any Other Virtual Meeting)
  • Navigating Nonprofit Finances: How to Effectively Manage Your Bookkeeper
  • Lessons Learned in Nonprofit Management
  • How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media to Meet Goals
  • Meet Big Buzz, the Creators of Ribfest Chicago
  • Advantages of Donor Database Software for Charitable Organizations
  • Fresh Funding Ideas Are Blooming
  • Budgeting for Your Nonprofit in Uncertain Times
  • Please Send a Hi-res Copy of Your Logo
  • How to Secure Mega Sponsorships For Your Fundraising Event!

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  • 4055 W. Peterson Ave., #105 Chicago, IL 60646
  • 773.804.8589
  • 773.804.8986
  • info@bigbuzzideagroup.com

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