By Melissa Lagowski Founder/CEO/Queen Bee Big Buzz Idea Group As the new administration stepped into office, many nonprofits have been in a frenzy trying to confirm if they will or won’t have the funding they count on to provide their programs. Whether this is your charitable organization or not, this is a wake-up call for all of us, and we need to band together to advocate for one another. Our industry needs to work together at this time to be heard and protect the funding that many nonprofits rely on. So, first and foremost, contact your congressional leaders to let...
By Candance Chow CEO NextGroup LLC The winds are shifting when it comes to corporate messaging and strategy around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): what it is, what it is called, etc. As a nonprofit leader or mission-based organization looking forward, you should be less concerned about what you call it and more focused on the value and importance of creating a culture that empowers and nurtures diversity of thought and contribution. Regardless of shifting political winds, let’s not lose sight of the reason we started all this talk in the first place (in addition to the recognition of systemic...
By Melissa Lagowski Founder/CEO/Queen Bee How many hours do you commit to meetings in a week? Out of 40 hours in an average work week, the majority of us are in meetings for at least half of that time. According to some stats in the nonprofit world, this could catapult to 65 or 75 percent. With so much of our lives devoted to collaboration via these collective encounters, let’s look at some ways to make your meetings more effective. Purpose The first step to more productive meetings is that everyone must understand the purpose or reason for the meeting so...
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...
By: Tiana and Thomas Kubik Owners, TK Photography As photographers, we know that great images can make or break a memory or experience. Professional photography is a great investment, but it is one that becomes a do-it-yourself (DIY) project when budgets get tight. Especially in the day of fast paced social media, even when a photographer is present, cell phone photos are often the first images to hit the web as a representation of your event. With that, here are some tips on how to make these first images as strong as possible: Guidelines for interesting photo composition Avoid empty...
