Grassroots.org

Our July Member of the Month recently launched their new site to better reflect their mission, with help from Grassroots.org Volunteer, Laura Moore of Smallest Decisions. As “a grassroots all-female nonprofit theater company”, Shakespeare’s Sister addresses global issues through productions and embraces social change serving the low-income populations within communities. Their commitment to unite actresses and female directors to produce great new plays and established theatrical works is displayed in their newly created site layout.

Previously a participant of our Faces of Change video series, Artistic Director Kris Lundberg worked with Laura to design something that spotlights their events and engages the community. In addition to professional productions, they have launched an arts advocacy campaign in taking the arts to the shelters. The organization’s Women's Theater Workshop has already had a high success rate in women's shelters. It's focus is to take the skills these women already have and innately possess, strengthen their voices and prepare them for their permanent housing interviews and re-entry into the workforce. Also, their Children's Puppetry Workshop teaches underserved children the elements of story structure through characters they create in the stories they write. Check out more on their brand-new website!

Grassroots.org is excited to introduce the new Data Management tool from Surgical Grade Software offered for free to members! It is in the Grassroots.org Toolbox and ready for use.

What is the Data Management Tool?

The Data Mangement tool allows your organization to share company data with your team and access it online from any PC. Search, sort, filter, print, or export your data as needed into a wide range of formats.

Downloadable with a one-click install, you can customize the application and configure it for your needs. Import your existing data from text or Excel files and make your client contact info, spreadsheets and more accessible online. The software runs under Microsoft Windows™ and stores data in a SQL Server database. You can set up a database through your Grassroots.org hosting account.

Getting Started

If you are a Grassroots.org member then you can simply login to your Toolbox and click on the Data Management icon.

If you are not yet a Grassroots.org member please here.

For more detailed information on the service, visit this page.

Want to help Grassroots.org keep our services free? Donate Now!

Don’t miss the technology and nonprofit news that everyone’s buzzing about. From the super-useful to the sort of weird, we round up the week’s most-re-tweeted stories every Friday.

Want these updates in real time? Follow us on Twitter.

Nonprofit Tech 2.0 recommends 10 great content ideas for your nonprofit's blog!

When nonprofits examine their Facebook activities, it's important to be clear about goals and expectations. Check out more crucial steps from Pamela Grow's grantwriting blog.

Apply for a semester of free consulting with MBA students from the University of Maryland through Grassroots' Social Venture Consulting program. Applications accepted until July 31.

Wild Woman Fundraisingreports on how to gain influence with donors (it's by telling them "I like you!").

Volunteering can help you to gain new skills and meet new people. Find out more about how being a volunteer can help you score your dream job from Idealist.org.

If you've ever felt the need for a social media tool specific to nonprofits, this week's review on Thrive offers a solution and reveals why nonprofits have different social media goals and needs.

As always, our list of web development best practices grows with each new tool we discover! Check the archives for our previous reviews.

What kind of tool is Thrive?
As a “one-stop shop that simplifies, organizes and measures your social media efforts," Thrive manages your social networks while attracting supporters and donors to your cause.

Created by Small Act, a company dedicated to helping nonprofits "make a big impact in social media," Thrive’s user-friendly hub streamlines your efforts. Similar to other tools, you control when you Tweet or update your status on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube (other networks coming soon), target and engage those who care about your work and receive stats on all accounts.

Small Act understands that social media should be about engaging your followers, fans and friends, and that cultivating these authentic relationships helps recruit donors and advocates. That's why Thrive boasts features that sets it apart from other social media tools. With it, you can engage and understand your fan base by viewing entire conversation histories while checking for complete contact and demographic information.

How has Grassroots.org used Thrive?
You may have noticed our latest Tweets or Facebook updates being “sent from Thrive”. We’ve been using it to update our own social media networks and checking how many of you actually click our links! Don’t worry, we only check these stats and browse for relevant nonprofit news to understand how to best deliver useful content to you.

All this is possible through Thrive, but we especially love the ability to tag and write notes about our contacts based on our interactions with them. Doing this recently helped us locate new nonprofits and technology experts!

How should my nonprofit use Thrive?
Geared towards nonprofits, Thrive features granular scheduling, keyword search capability, contact management with tagging and in-depth reporting. What does all this mean?

Use Thrive to help you schedule posts and check all incoming messages, replies, mentions simultaneously. Keep an eye on who is posting what and read the latest #nptech or “education” Tweets. Pinpoint your superfans or donors by organizing your contacts list and tagging them. And with Thrive, there’s no excuse to not know how many people your posts reach every week.

How can my nonprofit sign up for Thrive?
Tell SmallAct about your current social media situation for a free trial of Thrive. Complete this form to start making your big impact in social media. While you're there, sign up for a free demo of the tool in action!

Don’t miss the technology and nonprofit news that everyone’s buzzing about. From the super-useful to the sort of weird, we round up the week’s most-re-tweeted stories every Friday.

Want these updates in real time? Follow us on Twitter.

Read about five phone apps that prove nonprofit organizations are going mobile (via Mashable).

Sign-up for the free webinar, "Raising your Network's Technology IQ" from Idealware.

Apply for a semester of free consulting with MBA students from the University of Maryland through Grassroots' Social Venture Consulting program. Applications accepted until July 31.

Are you using Foursquare? Check out this list of best practices from DIOSA Communications.

Learn how to effectively implement tech at your nonprofit! Apply for NTEN's Technology Leadership Academy.

Launched by Grassroots.org, Faces of Change is a series of videos that highlight how individuals are contributing to change in their communities. Our latest video is from:

Kathy Stevens, Founder and Director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, spent her childhood on a Virginia horse farm. It was in many ways an idyllic youth, one that instilled in her a deep love of and respect for all animals. Little did she know how such a childhood would shape her future!

Kathy left the south for graduate school in Boston, MA, where she spent eleven years as a high school English teacher. She received widespread recognition for her novel approaches to education, and in 2000 was asked to head a charter school in Boston. Instead, one year later, she opened Catskill Animal Sanctuary, one of the country's leading havens for farm animals and a center for raising public awareness of their sentience and their suffering.

Kathy's first book, Where the Blind Horse Sings, shares the life-changing lessons learned from a blind horse, a sheep, a pig, and a rooster, and received much critical and popular acclaim. It has just been released in paperback after three hardcover printings. Her second book will be released in late 2010.

Kathy lives behind the barn with her dog Hannah, CAS's Director of Canine Pursuits, and her cats Fat Boy and Mouse. She's an avid reader, loves to hike, swim, and bike, and spends rare quiet time with her partner David and her close friends.

Don’t miss the technology and nonprofit news that everyone’s buzzing about. From the super-useful to the sort of weird, we round up the week’s most-re-tweeted stories every Friday.

Want these updates in real time? Follow us on Twitter.

Check out this month's round up of Free Nonprofit Webinars, including topics like "Google for Nonprofits" and "LinkedIn for Nonprofit Organizations" (via Wild Apricot).

Planning for web development and promotion is the first step to improved website performance from SEO Wizardry.

Apply for a semester of free consulting with MBA students from the University of Maryland through Grassroots' Social Venture Consulting program. Applications accepted until July 31.

Run through these tips to evaluate the return on investment of your nonprofit's videos (via See 3 Communications).

Who should manage communications at your nonprofit? Advice from Big Duck NYC.

Don't miss out on GrassrootsCamp's free Meetup on SEO tomorrow! We're presenting as co-hosts of the event and invite everyone n the tri-state NYC area to sign up. There are only a few seats left so RSVP to attend and learn some Search Engine Optimization tips!

When: Wednesday, July 7 (starts at 7 PM)
Where: Merc Bar, 151 Mercer St New York, NY 10012 (Back private room)
How: Learn more or RSVP on GrassrootsCamp's website

MeetUp Everywhere is a new tool allowing people all over the world to organize in-person meetings about any cause. Grassroots.org is encouraging our nonprofit members, volunteers and supporters to use this tool to share your stories and resources with other Grassroots.org community members!

We know that some amazing things can happen when people connect face-to-face. So discuss your experience with Grassroots or tell a new nonprofit in your area about our free services! Meet up offline and share what you're doing to build capacity online.

Schedule a Meetup now! Grassroots.org community members in New York, Tucson and Seattle are already waiting for you to meet up with them!