By Shailushi Ritchie Founder & CEO of Sevah Consulting Recently, a colleague of mine shared with me that the CEO of her agency was leaving, and the Board had decided to appoint an internal staff person as the interim CEO. “Please tell me the Board decided to hire an interim CEO,” I began. “Nope,” she responded, “they are going to assign those responsibilities to a staff person until the hire is complete.” Nonprofit boards make decisions like this all the time because of the pervasive belief that an interim leader is basically a temp, a seat warmer who signs checks...
Name/Title: Carmel DeStefano, Board President Organization: Illinois Theatre Association Mission: The Illinois Theatre Association is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to advocate for the important values that theatre at all levels in the state of Illinois bring to individuals as we work to expand hearts and minds through work both on the stage and off. Our work includes the important mission to inspire, engage, challenge, nurture, educate and empower artists and audiences to enhance the cultural landscape of Illinois, making our state a more conscious and compassionate community. Ultimately, we look to celebrate the essential power of the theatre...
By Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group Have you ever had one of those situations? You know the one. You are communicating with a colleague, and you thought that you had given such incredibly clear directions that you couldn’t believe it when they didn’t do what you had instructed? It happens unintentionally. Most of the time people think that they are being very specific in their conversations. We believe that we have transferred all the relevant information for the recipient to properly execute a task, but in reality we have a lot of information in our mind that...
By Melissa Lagowski CEO / Queen Bee / Founder Big Buzz Idea Group In thinking back to my first day as an Executive Director (E.D.), I realize now that the tone was set right there on day one. I met the Board President at my new office. He unlocked the door, handed me the key and said, “Have a nice day” as he left. There was no training, nobody to answer my questions. I don’t even know if I saw any of the board members between meetings (except, on occasion, for the Board member who owned the building where my...
By Brad Ball Vice President Big Buzz Idea Group “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” – Douglas Adams Simply too many organizations think about bringing new people onto the board of directors as a last-minute activity. They wait until just before the Annual Meeting, have a few quick, quiet conversations about who has time and is willing to join the board for the next term. Those people say ‘yes,’ the names are hastily approved, and thus, the next year’s board of directors is born. And this story repeats itself, often with just...
By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved.” ~Helen Keller When you think of a “leader,” who comes to mind? We typically list examples of great leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and other famous people, but we overlook the value that each of us possess as leaders. Does your organization have strong leadership? How enthusiastic and impassioned are the leaders that sit on your board of directors?...
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...
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 Founder, CEO and Queen Bee, Big Buzz Idea Group “Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~Albert Einstein Do you feel like your organization is in a rut? Does it seem like no matter what you do, your budget hasn’t seen growth and programs don’t expand as you had anticipated? Are you still struggling with staffing shortages or failing to fill those seats on the Board with engaged leaders? It is not uncommon for nonprofit organizations to rollover their same plan from year to year, but the reality is that if you...
By: Denise Dahl, MPA Founder & Principal, Epiphany Planning & Development Nonprofit Leadership & Strategy One of the most common questions I receive is “How do I get my board to do more?” The answer is easy, but the implementation can be a bit more challenging as board members each come with their own motivation regarding serving. Maybe they are serving as the cause is dear to them. Maybe they are serving because they feel a type of ownership (founder’s syndrome). Maybe they are serving to build their resume. Reasons to serve on a board are as varied as...
