Nonprofit Brains and Brawn, LLC, fills a gap that I've long noticed -- tiny nonprofit boards (and groups that aren't even established nonprofits yet) love to come together to brainstorm and daydream about the impact their organization will make...but as individuals they are all too busy to do the grunt work between board meetings. Nor can they afford paid staff. And sometimes local talent is hard to find.
That's where we come in. Since technology allows for so many tasks to be done via the internet, we can perform tasks for you long-distance. Take a look at our a la carte menu and pay us to do as little or as much for you as you want...and just pay us by the hour.
And since we have over 30 years of experience in the nonprofit world, we bring our own brains to game. You'll be getting nonprofit CEO brains doing the work therefore there will be little to no training involved. Unlike administrative assistant virtual services, we are a leader, not a follower. You'll be getting a nonprofit CEO...for as little as an hour a month.
Want to brainstorm about the big picture of your organization? Great! We can do that via phone or ... if it's in your budget, we can come to you for a short, intense visit that gets everyone in one room pointed in one direction. Then we come home and get to work!
Our team
Julianne Buck, CAP®
Julianne Buck has spent her adult career in the nonprofit and government arenas. She has often been a lone staffer, therefore she has done all tasks at nonprofits - often all in the same day!
For the past 21 years, she has been the first and only Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Grundy County. She has taken the Foundation’s assets from $0 to $18 million and has ingrained the Foundation as a partner throughout the region.
The Community Foundation of Grundy County improves the quality of life in Grundy County through leadership and philanthropy. Julianne works with donors to achieve their charitable goals plus leads the charge to convene a number of networks to assure others are collaborating around issues of concern, such as early childhood care & education, workforce development, land use & protection, people in need, seniors, behavioral health, business & education, and growth & its impact on our systems.
In 2020, Julianne earned her Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® from the American College of Financial Services. She especially likes to train small and/or rural nonprofits how to add planned giving to their fundraising strategies. In 2021, she was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Council on Planned Giving, where she has co-chaired the past two annual Symposiums for 200 learners. In 2024, she joined the session review committee for the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners' annual conference.
Mrs. Buck also teaches a Certificate of Nonprofit Administration at Joliet Junior College - both on campus and as part of an outreach team training nonprofits in various municipalities and counties. In 2024, she joined the team of consultants at the Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence at Northern Illinois University.
Prior to the Foundation, Ms. Buck was deeply involved in the disability rights community, especially as an enforcer of the Illinois Accessibility Code while working in the Office of Illinois Attorney General and as a board member of the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois.
Julianne’s greatest strength is “Servant Leadership” – helping other nonprofits realize their full capacity. Outside of work, she puts these skills to work by being a Scout leader, band booster mom, musician, author, and amateur thespian. As part of her "serial entrepreneur" activities, she and a business partner have created Cobbler Cones - a dessert food truck serving the northern and central regions of Illinois.
Julianne is married to Ken Buck, Superintendent of the Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission. Their sons are Ken and Landon, both of whom were involved in Scouting and band. Ken is now an elementary school teacher and Landon is a mechanical engineer.
