Buzz4Good! Nonprofits + Marketing
Nonprofit organizations do so much to enhance the quality of life in our communities, but they often lack the time, talent and budget to properly promote their missions and attract more donors, volunteers and clients to their cause. Here on Buzz4Good! we feature the great work that nonprofits do. And we provide them with marketing tips and tools so they can achieve more buzz!Buzz4Good! is hosted by Michael Hemphill, creator of the award-winning public television show "BUZZ," which features nonprofit organizations receiving pro bono "marketing makeovers" from teams of creative advertising professionals.
Buzzing about Bryan "Harvest Blaque" Hancock
Today we are buzzing about nonprofit champion Bryan "Harvest Blaque" Hancock: spoken word artist phenom; hip hop musician extraordinaire; artist-in-residence at Carilion Clinic; youth development leader at Boys and Girls Clubs; writer/producer/director at the Hip Hop Lab at Jefferson Center; church deacon, DJ, and self-proclaimed supergeek.
Bryan has starred in three episodes of BUZZ. Most famously he co-wrote and performed the song “It’s Here” that highlights Roanoke’s vibrant arts and culture scene and its importance in attracting new business to the region.
On today's episode, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill revisits Bryan's work in...
Nonprofit Builds: Cemeteries, Pickleball, Homeless Shelters
Today we’re buzzing about three wildly different capital campaigns that received a lot of buzz this week: a new Y that is being built inside shopping mall ... a restoration project in a historic African American cemetery ... and a new shelter to better serve the homeless.
What do all three of these projects have in common? There’s all run by nonprofits!
On today’s show BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill talks with the leaders of these three nonprofits: Mark Johnson of the YMCA of Virginia's Blue Ridge; Ellen Forbes Stick of Friends of Old Lick Cemeter...
Buzzing for Cats & Caps: Nonprofits helping strays and high school graduates
Today we’re buzzing about cats and caps:
Cats as in the overpopulation of feral cats. BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill talks to a Salem, Virginia, nonprofit that works to trap and neuter feral cats and then find homes where their rodent control expertise can be put to good use.
And caps as in those worn by high school graduates. Helping them afford the next step in their education journey is a New River Valley nonprofit that provides free community college in exchange for community service. We'll share our conversations with the inspiring folks we're featuring in...
Honoring America’s first Black Ambassador Edward Dudley
Buzz4Good creator Michael Hemphill introduces perhaps the most famous Roanoke, Virginia, citizen you’ve never heard of: Edward Dudley, a pioneering civil rights lawyer who became the first African-American ambassador in United States history. So unknown is Ambassador Dudley’s remarkable life that even Roanoke’s preeminent historian, former mayor Nelson Harris, wasn’t aware of it until he began researching an unrelated book about Roanoke in the 1940s. Here's Michael's conversation with Harris about Edward Dudley’s incredible legacy.
Later on the show, we reminisce about our recent BUZZ concert featuring the phenomenal jazz and bluegrass...
Buzzing for Nashville’s Addie Levy, Cole Ritter & Luca Chiappara of Domino
In addition to BUZZ, creator Michael Hemphill also works for the nonprofit Friends of the Blue Ridge, which recently introduced him to the multi-talented Addie Levy.
Addie headlined Friends of the Blue Ridge’s’ ON THE RISE concerts featuring up-and-coming Bluegrass sensations. After one concert, Addie shared that she’d formed a Nashville-based trio called Domino, and hoped to find a place to perform in Roanoke, Va., on April 14.
Well, Michael couldn’t pass up the opportunity to provide some buzz so he reached out to the Taubman Museum of Art, which graciously agreed t...
The African American communities that urban renewal killed
There’s a lot of debate surrounding the legacy of slavery and segregation. Some may even question whether there’s still active racism.
But if you happen to buzz down to Roanoke’s Taubman Museum of Art or Harrison Museum of African American Culture, you can see how discriminatory real estate practices from the past continue to impact Black Americans today. And that is due to a remarkable exhibit that both nonprofit museums are co-hosting: David Ramey: Gainsboro Road and Beyond.
Buzz4Good creator Michael Hemphill chats with the curators of the exhibit, and the artist...
The Nonprofit TimeBank: Earning interest in connection
We’re often told that time is money. And in our economy, we value some people’s time more than others. Try paying an attorney or pro athlete the same as a teacher or artist.
But in the New River Valley of Virginia, there’s a nonprofit that values everyone’s time equally, regardless of their skills or education or expertise, as a way of building community and fostering human connection. The hour it takes John Smith to chop up a tree can earn him a hour of social media training from Julia Thomas ... or an hour-long bourbon...
Creating ArtSpace in Roanoke, Virginia
For Roanoke, Virginia entrepreneur and philanthropist Ed Walker, economic development is as much about building community as it is building business.
Walker's latest project is his most ambitious ... and the most transformative in Roanoke's recent history: revitalizing an old 100-acre site comprising 20+ buildings totaling a million square feet just 1.5 miles from downtown into Riverdale.
On today's Buzz4Good, creator Michael Hemphill talks to Amy McGinnis, who is part of Walker's team working to redevelop Riverdale. Part of her work involves recruiting the Minneapolis-based nonprofit ArtSpace to transform part of the property into affordable housing and...
Truth is Marching On: A nonprofit’s ongoing fight against the Confederacy
"It's always been like a slap in the face," says Glenna Moore about the Confederate soldier statue in front of the Franklin County, Virginia courthouse.
In honor of Black History Month, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill talks with Moore and Cathie Cummins of the local NAACP, who have fought county officials in vain for years to remove the statue.
Now they've changed battlefield tactics and are applying for funding from a "Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia" grant that Virginia Tech is coordinating with money from the Mellon Foundation. If successful, the NAACP chapter will create new monuments...
It's Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas: Nonprofit holiday performances
We're starting to celebrate the holiday season! Listen as Buzz4Good creator Michael Hemphill chats with two arts nonprofit leaders about the importance of Christmas performances for their annual budget: Ginger Poole of Mill Mountain Theatre, and Kim Davidson of the Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir.
Also, we're buzzing about bringing our TV show BUZZ to Alabama Public Television! In preparation for its premier December 15, 2023, get a "sneak listen" to part of the first episode starring the nonprofit COSPO, or Children of Slain Police Officers, which funds all college expenses for children who had a parent killed wh...
