By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group In “Promotion Ideas to Benefit Your Nonprofit – Part I” we covered ideas for you to utilize relative to email marketing, leveraging your community and capitalizing on some basic public relations tactics. Part II will advance the promotional discussions and cover more ideas for digital exposure. Online Marketing Marketing online via social media remains an important part of overall promotions for nonprofits and associations so we encourage our clients to include online promotions to achieve maximum exposure. Social media options can be a bit overwhelming, so it’s best to compare the various...
By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group I recently heard a horror story about a nonprofit that was promised a packed room for their annual fundraiser. The development team guaranteed that the tables would be full and the event would be a huge success. I don’t know all the intricacies, but in the end, their promotions clearly failed as there were not even three full tables and it was a huge flop. This is everyone’s worst nightmare. We are constantly tasked with growing our audiences and engaging new supporters but often don’t know where to begin. This list...
By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group Nonprofits are constantly looking for new ways to grow their revenues and create additional reliable revenue streams. Sponsorship is often overlooked or deemed to be difficult and time-consuming, but it is a great way to secure additional funding. To date, we have helped clients secure more than $6 million in sponsorship, so we know it works when done properly – and we can help you find ways to generate more dollars. We have previously shared tips on how to organically find sponsors, and we want to share five additional ways to generate...
By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group Far too many nonprofits that we talk to have a wash-rinse-repeat model of budgeting that we at Big Buzz do not generally support. For those readers who have been following us for a while, you know that we believe that forward-thinking budgeting leads to the growth of your organization. We fully believe that when it comes to budgeting, it is imperative to do a deeper dive about where you are and where you want to go as an association. You need to annually evaluate which resources are necessary to elevate your...
Three Nonprofit Leaders Share the Benefits of Enlisting Outside Support for Development Assistance By: Melissa Lagowski CEO/Founder/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group For nonprofits with a small development department—or perhaps none at all—outsourcing is a valuable option. In our work at Big Buzz, we provide support with fundraising, events, communications, database management, marketing and more, offering a deeply impactful value to nonprofit organizations. But you don’t have to take our word for it. This month, we talked to three client partners to hear (directly from them) about the value they saw in outsourcing development work. Here are the main benefits...
By: Debbie McCann Partner W4Sight A virtual event is a great opportunity to showcase your nonprofit’s resilience and demonstrate your impact amidst the “new normal.” Just like with any in-person event, good planning is critical to virtual event success. Keep these three tips in mind to ensure that people remember the inspiring speaker, the amazing video, or the thought-provoking panel discussion – not the glitches. Tip #1: Set Expectations. Make sure people know what your event is all about, especially if you are doing a virtual event that specifically takes the place of an in-person event. In your email blasts...
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.
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.
