Community Spotlight

Featured Member: Getting Tools to City Schools

Getting Tools to City Schools is a Grassroots.org organization that "procures and delivers free basic school supplies to low-income public schools in New York City." Having school supplies is directly related to student academic success, and according to the organization, "[o]ver half of the 1.1 million children enrolled in [New York City's] public schools can't afford lunch, much less basic school supplies."

As an organization that just received their 501(c)3 status, establishing a website has helped collect applications from schools and raise funds for the materials they distribute. Altogether, Getting Tools to City Schools has accessed $2885 worth of Grassroots.org services. The organization used Doodlekit Web Builder to build and maintain their site.

Here are Grassroots.org resources for using the Web Builder:

Tweet, Tweet!

We have over 1,000 Twitter followers and 500 Linked In members! If you're not in any of our groups, link up now with our social networks to receive updates on our work and free services.

You can also help keep the Toolbox free by making a contribution at our "Donate Now" page!

Welcome from Grassroots.org

Last month, Grassroots.org attended an Execulife networking event at NYC's Full Court Pressure. We enjoyed meeting and reaching out to potential donors, partners, and members. We'd like to personally thank Execulife for hosting the event and sponsoring our organization. Thanks also to all attendees and those who dropped by our booth!

Grassroots.org To Receive Help From AmeriCorps VISTAs

Grassroots.org's application for an AmeriCorps VISTA project was recently approved! This is great news because we will:

recruit two new VISTA members to help Grassroots.org build capacity.
continue to build on the previous success of AmeriCorps VISTAs at Grassroots.org.
continue to expand the free Grassroots.org Toolbox.

Thank you to the CTC VISTA program for considering our application and supporting our dedication to help other nonprofits build capacity!

DoSomething.org Spreads Word

Last month, we created a Grassroots.org Program Partners page. Dosomething.org is one of the first partners that helped spread the word about Grassroots.org. The organization believes that young people have ideas to inspire change. By providing young people resources and funding for their community projects, DoSomething.org hopes to convert their ideas and energy into positive action.

DoSomething.org sent out information to their members about free website building tools in the Grassroots.org Toolbox. Thanks to them, we have received applications from those ready to change their local communities and share their work via the web!

Check out Dosomething.org for valuable resources, funding opportunities, or to nominate them for a 2009 Webby Award!

Want to be a Grassroots.org partner? Email New Media Coordinator, Alice Luu

Looking for past news or a specific topic? Stay updated on all of our news at the Grassroots.org Newsletter Archive.