By: Melissa Lagowski Founder, CEO and Queen Bee, Big Buzz Idea Group Let’s start with this: We absolutely recognize the incredible value of volunteers. Without the work of volunteers, many organizations simply couldn’t do what they do so we applaud these generous people for their ongoing support and help. That being said, in our work with nonprofits, we’ve also seen how beneficial it can be for an organization to outsource certain responsibilities to an agency. If you’ve had challenges with relying on volunteers for help, read on for five reasons outsourcing may be your best bet: 1. Continuity and...
By: Andy Crestodina Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Orbit Media Where there’s traffic there’s hope. A visitor is an opportunity for conversion, which could mean a lead, a customer or a subscriber. But no traffic means no conversions. This is why content marketers work so hard at content promotion. And we do it by being active in three areas: search engine optimization, social media marketing and email marketing. Certain content has advantages in certain channels, but every piece of content can be promoted in all three. Let’s look at how this all works with content. Then we’ll explore 50 specific...
By: Melissa Lagowski Founder, CEO, and Queen Bee, Big Buzz Idea Group Every time we interact with another person, we make an impression. Each interaction—especially our very first one with someone—is an opportunity to establish a genuine connection and build a positive relationship. A business may call it a “brand image” or “company image” but this concept applies to a nonprofit too. Your organization creates its own “brand image” through each touchpoint it makes with donors, volunteers, people you serve, and others in the community. Have you paused to think about all those touchpoints and what type of impression...
By: Melissa Lagowski Founder, CEO and Queen Bee, Big Buzz Idea Group This month we are celebrating YOU! We want to turn our focus to the people who power the nonprofit world. In our opinion, you are a superhero of a special kind – generally working long hours, juggling tasks while simultaneously balancing boards, budget and strategy, all the while working to advance the mission of your organization. Many of you must wear multiple hats, stretching yourself to do things that aren’t your forte for the sake of the nonprofit that you manage. You are constantly focused on helping others,...
By: Melissa Lagowski Founder, CEO and Queen Bee, Big Buzz Idea Group You’ve got contacts. Maybe you have a collection of business cards, random notes and emails, or perhaps you’ve started to enter them in a spreadsheet or system. While taking the first step of obtaining contact information is great, it’s what you do next that can make a significant impact on your nonprofit’s growth and the success of its mission. Here’s how to make your contacts count: Organize Contacts Into a System All of that general networking has left you with a bunch of business cards, so now what?...
By: Gail Perry President, Gail Perry Associates Philanthropy Consultants It’s the New Year – and it’s a great time to make smart resolutions for the future! This post is a perennial favorite with my readers – I’ve updated it for this year. Here are some ideas for nonprofit board members – to help everyone get started on the right foot for the year and keep on track as we launch into the new year. You might find that these ideas will open up some interesting discussions – about expectations, attitudes and actions needed from ALL board members. How...
By: Melissa Lagowski CEO, Founder and Queen Bee, Big Buzz Idea Group The Two Most Powerful Parts of Crafting Your Organization’s Story Within the nonprofit world, so many organizations are looking to connect with donors, supporters and volunteers. How does one NPO stand out from another? The answer: its story. Sharing through storytelling is powerful: it humanizes and personalizes your work and the community it serves. Storytelling conveys WHY you do what you do. It brings your mission to life. When you’re in the business of marketing communications, you see a lot of examples of successful stories and some attempts...
By: Chris Baylis President & CEO, The Sponsorship Collective Events can be great. They can engage your donors, show off your cause, increase revenue and, most important of all (in my highly biased opinion) drive sponsorship dollars. Sponsorship sales can be a major revenue source from events. With a little effort, you can make your next event a sponsor’s dream! MAKE SURE YOUR ATTENDEES LOVE YOUR EVENT What do your attendees have to do with fundraising event sponsorship? Everything. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that the people at your gala are excited about another 30 second speech from a donor or sponsor....
4 Ways Core Values Contribute to a Nonprofit’s Culture and Success By: Melissa Lagowski CEO, Founder and Queen Bee, Big Buzz Idea Group As individuals, we each live by our own set of core values. These are the beliefs and ideas we use to shape our goals, guide our actions and ensure we stay on track. For nonprofits and businesses, creating a concrete set of core values is equally important. Much like our individual values, a nonprofit’s core values provide direction and guidelines for the organization itself as well as every person or entity it comes in contact with. Why...
By: Valeria Basso Symphonic Communications Consulting Here is a fact you most likely don’t want to hear but need to: 98% of your marketing is a waste of money. It’s just noise and your audience is hardly noticing it. The truth is that most non-profits miss the mark with their marketing because their message fails to answer a simple question: What’s in it for the donors? You can tell uplifting stories about how your organization is changing lives but if you don’t show your donors how your work impacts and matters to them, those stories are going to be largely...
