Buzz4Good! Nonprofits + Marketing

Hosted by Michael Hemphill, Creator of Buzz

Business Marketing EducationInterviews guests

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Episodes

110

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

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.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 13, 2026Episode 2859 min

Buzzing about GiveLocalNRV nonprofit giving day

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill is buzzing about one of his favorite days of the year, a day that celebrates more than 130 nonprofit organizations in the New River Valley of Virginia: GiveLocalNRV kicking off at noon on June 24 and ends noon on June 25. It’s a 24-hour fundraising marathon coordinated by our good friends at the Community Foundation of the New River Valley, which seeks to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the nonprofits that serve the NRV. To talk about the day and its impact, Michael chats with Community Foundation assistant director Lindsey Gleason-Reed.We also talk with a new nonprofit that helps children who struggle in a traditional academic environment: Why Not Workshop.

June 5, 2026Episode 2759 min

Buzzing about Law Enforcement's SHIELD Chaplaincy

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill talks with the founder of SHIELD Chaplaincy amidst this week's tragic killing of Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy Logan Utt. Just before Utt's May 29 shooting death, the nonprofit SHIELD Chaplaincy reached out seeking some buzz for its work helping law enforcement officers throughout the Roanoke area handle the trauma and stresses of their work so that they can better serve our communities and their families.Listen to our conversation with Darren Potter, founding chaplain of SHIELD Chaplaincy.

May 15, 2026Episode 2659 min

Buzzing about Refugees, Immigrants and Commonwealth Catholic Charities

On today’s show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill is buzzing about Commonwealth Catholic Charities ... specifically its vital role welcoming to our communities some of the most incredible and inspiring people you’ll ever meet, though they're increasingly under attack by our very government: immigrants and refugees. Michael chats with the nonprofit’s Khalefia Dungee, volunteer extraordinaire Beth Ruffing, and Samim Noorzad, whose amazing journey from his native Afghanistan to Roanoke, Virginia, is sure to uplift you. Learn more about an upcoming CCC event for which Michael is providing some ... buzz!

May 8, 2026Episode 2559 min

Buzzing about College Access Nonprofits

On today’s show BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill buzzes about about college … and the unaffordability of it for too many high school graduates who are getting ready to walk the stage this month and receive their diplomas. Thankfully some nonprofits have stepped up to work on this issue, and we speak with two that are headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia: Project Discovery and Friends of the Blue Ridge!

April 24, 2026Episode 241 hr 0 min

Buzzing about The Bridge Institute: Nonprofit Community Mediation and Restorative Justice

Conflict is natural, but can be painful, so on today show's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill chats with Chelsea Cleary, program manager of The Bridge Institute, a nonprofit resource center that provides mediation and restorative justice for individuals, families, neighborhoods, and businesses in Roanoke Virginia. In increasingly unsettling times, The Bridge Institute helps people resolve conflict and create healing. Listen to Chelsea's personal journey of family trauma, and her tips on how to bridge challenging relationships in a world that increasingly seeks to divide us.

April 9, 2026Episode 2339 min

LEAP-ing into Spring with Farmer and Food Nonprofit

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill is buzzing about food ... specifically a Roanoke, Virginia nonprofit dedicated to supporting farmers and fresh, local food for all: the Local Environmental Agriculture Project, aka LEAP. LEAP is celebrating another milestone – a harvest if you will – on April 14 when it cuts the ribbon to a new $250,000 pavilion at its West End Farmers Market. Michael chats about that and all of LEAP’s incredible projects and program with executive director Maureen McNamara Best, a true buzz4good.

March 27, 2026Episode 221 hr 0 min

Buzzing about Sleep in Heavenly Peace founder Luke Mickelson

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill buzzes about ... beds! Specifically a nonprofit founded in Idaho that builds and provides free beds for low-income children: Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Luke Mickelson founded Sleep in Heavenly Peace in 2012 in his garage. Today, it's a $25 million operation with more than 400 chapters throughout the U.S. and world, including here in Roanoke, Virginia.Michael was buzzing to connect with Luke because of his nonprofit’s mission ... and, unbeknownst to Luke, the impact that Sleep in Heavenly Peace had on creating Buzz4Good! Not only does Luke share his founder story, but also offers lessons for other nonprofit founders whose organizations outgrow themselves.

March 16, 2026Episode 211 hr 0 min

Buzzing about Defending Democracy and being On Our Own

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill buzzes about Defending Democracy, founded in Blacksburg, Virginia, in response to what organizers say is the increasing authoritarianism of the second Trump administration. Michael chats with Virginia Tech professor emeritus Jim Bohland, and asks how Virginia Democrats' redistricting effort squares with Defending Democracy's mission. Regardless of your political affiliation, you'll want to listen.This week BUZZ also began production on a new episode starring On Our Own of the Roanoke Valley, a drop-in center in Roanoke that is open 365 days a year for people struggling with addiction and mental health issues. Michael shares his conversation with executive director Robin Hubert about the nonprofit's work and her personal journey from addiction to recovery.

March 6, 2026Episode 201 hr 0 min

From addiction to inspiration: Joey Donovant's journey to founding nonprofit SML Gives Inc.

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill is buzzing about SML Gives Inc. SML stands for Smith Mountain Lake and the nonprofit SML Gives Inc. works to fight, poverty, hunger, and homelessness for the impoverished families and individuals living around the otherwise relatively wealthy lakefront property communities. Michael talks with founder, executive director and president Joey Donovant, who has an incredibly inspiring story to share about his own personal journey through addiction and pain that led him to found the nonprofit.We also share our newest BUZZ episode highlighting the incredible work that has been done in Franklin County highlighting the 70 African-American men who bravely fought for the union and freedom in the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops. The Franklin County NAACP recently unveiled a new statue honoring this history, and we featured this ceremony in our newest BUZZ, which is now available on our YouTube channel.

February 19, 2026Episode 191 hr 0 min

Nonprofit Schools for Different Gifts: Buzzing about Noah-Christian Academy & Shepherds College

On today's show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill buzzes about two very different nonprofit educational institutions that are sure to tug at your heart, hopefully your wallets, and that nearby box of tissues to wipe away a tear from your eye. Michael talks with two parents from the tiny Noah-Christian Academy in Salem, Virginia that works with PreK through 2nd grade children who have struggled in traditional schools. And he visits with the nonprofit Masterpiece Alliance, which provides community for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Masterpiece Alliance has formed a new partnership Shepherds College, a first-of-its-kind college in Wisconsin that offers higher education and workforce training for the community that they serve.