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Welcome to Grassroots News!

This monthly newsletter offers information and tools that can help you to make a difference in the world. Daily updates of news and tips are available on the Grassroots.org blog at http://www.grassroots.org/blog. We also publish a newsletter for our clients called Grassroots Client News with information for nonprofit organizations. You can sign up for Grassroots Client News by filling out the form at http://www.grassroots.org/do/SubscribeClientNewsletter.

NetSquared
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Grassroots.org is proud to announce its sponsorship of NetSquared (http://www.netsquared.org), an online and offline community created by TechSoup and CompuMentor.  TechSoup will hold an offline conference (http://www.netsquared.org/conference) on May 30-31 in San Jose, California.  The conference will be the culmination of six months of intense online discussion about how nonprofits and non-governmental agencies can best use the web to achieve their missions. The majority of the conference will be participatory, with NetSquared community members sharing their knowledge, experience and ideas with other community members, in presentation, panel discussion and open discussion formats.


Free Domain Name for US and Canadian Nonprofit Organizations
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Grassroots.org recently introduced a new program that allows new and existing nonprofit web clients to receive a free domain name of their choice for one year. The arrangement is made possible through a new partnership with the domain name registrar Moniker.com. Under the agreement nonprofit organizations will be able to register a new domain name or transfer their existing name to take advantage of the offer.  To receive the free domain name, along with free web hosting and web design, an application form must be completed at http://www.grassroots.org/do/Tools and submitted along with proof of the organization's nonprofit status. Qualified applicants will then be given instructions on how to register a new domain name or transfer an existing domain name at no cost.  Existing hosting clients can receive instructions on obtaining the free year of domain registration by sending an e-mail message to hosting@grassroots.org.  See our press release at /releases/2006/02/prweb350259.htm face=arial,helvetica,sans-serif>.

More News and Information
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Many of our topical web sites now include news feeds with content that is continuously updated.  We are in the process of upgrading all of our sites, but in the meantime you can check out news feeds at the following sites:

addicted.org (http://www.addicted.org)
aidsinfo.org (http://www.aidsinfo.org)
childrens.net (http://www.childrens.net)
fastfood.org (http://www.fastfood.org)
healthinformation.org (http://www.healthinformation.org)
knowledgeispower.org (http://www.globalpress.com/mikemann/)
prisonoutreach.com (http://www.prisonoutreach.com)
productsafety.org (http://www.productsafety.org)
outsource.org (http://www.outsource.org)
voterregistration.org (http://www.voterregistration.org)
workingpoor.org (http://www.workingpoor.org)

OneWebDay: September 22
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The mission of OneWebDay is to create, maintain, advance, and promote a global day to celebrate online life: September 22, 2006.  According to their web site, "OneWebDay is one day a year when we all - everyone around the physical globe - can celebrate the Web and what it means to us as individuals, organizations, and communities. As with Earth Day - an inspiration and model for OneWebDay - it’s up to the celebrants to decide how to celebrate. We encourage all celebrations! Collaboration, connection, creativity, freedom. By the end of the day, the Web should be just a little bit better than it was before, and we’ll be able to see our connection to it more clearly."

To The Streets: Youth Homelessness
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To The Streets (http://www.tothestreets.org) is a coalition of homeless youth, students, young workers, Christians and other people of faith working to address the root causes of youth homelessness and to assure the increase of services  On March 31st organized Sleep Outs will be occurring across the country.  Each one is designed to be as unique as the communities and people they represent. 
To The Streets has outlined a few different ways to organize them. For more information see some of these tips on their page, Organizing a Sleep Out (http://www.northpark.edu/umin/tts/nation.html). Also see this FAQ (http://www.northpark.edu/umin/tts/faq.htm).

SearchSystems.net Public Records Directory
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The SearchSystems.net Public Records Directory (http://www.searchsystems.net/) is the largest online public record directory. Since 1997 Search Systems has been a free resource of business information, corporate filings, offenders, inmates, criminal and civil court filings, vital records, property records, unclaimed property, professional licenses, and more. At the site you can browse by category or search for a type of public record in a specific area. Access to this site is free, but there is a delay of about 30 seconds or so to be able to reach each record. To eliminate the delay & banner ads, the company charges $4.95/month for their DirectPass system.

National Poison Prevention Week: March 19-25, 2006
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Approximately 30 children die in the United States every year due to accidental poisonings, and approximately 1 million phone calls are placed to Poison Control Centers annually by adults seeking help when children have swallowed something harmful. In an effort to prevent such tragic events, National Poison Prevention Week was established by the U.S. Congress on September 16, 1961.  This year Poison Prevention Week will be March 19-25.  See this news release (http://www.poisonprevention.org/News%20Release.pdf) for more information.


Grassroots – eScrip Visa – Support Grassroots.org by Signing up with eScrip
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Show your support and help Grassroots.org raise money through your everyday purchases. The eScrip program allows you to make purchases at various merchants (http://www.escrip.com/merchants/search/index.jsp) and have a percentage of those purchases go back to Grassroots.org. The eScrip VISA allows you to contribute money through all of your credit card purchases. Through your Everyday Purchases, you can give Extraordinary Results! Learn more about the Grassroots – eScrip fundraising program at (http://www.grassroots.org/do/eScrip).

Save our Landfills Recycling Campaign
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Grassroots.org, through Funding Factory, is collecting empty printer cartridges and old used cell phones to be recycled. According to the EPA, by the end of 2005 130 million cell phones will become obsolete during the year as owners replace their existing phones with newer models. The disposal will result in more than 65 tons of waste which, if deposited into landfills, will leak toxics and harmful materials into the environment, eventually finding their way into our drinking water and the air that we breathe. Similarly, each toner cartridge that is thrown away adds about four pounds of plastic, metal and chemicals to a landfill. Through the Funding Factory, cell phones and ink cartridges are recycled and refurbished, protecting our landfills. Let us know if you would like to get involved and we will arrange for a box to be delivered to you, free of charge. Fill up the box and drop it off at the nearest UPS or UPS affiliate merchant store. There is no charge to mail the box and Grassroots.org will receive financial support in exchange for these items. So, get involved, Save Our Landfills, and support Grassroots.org so that we can continue to deliver free services to charities and provide information to concerned citizens around the world.

If you need additional information, please e-mail us at recycle@grassroots.org or go to http://www.grassroots.org/do/FundingFactory.

Donations
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We need your help! Please consider contributing to Grassroots.org to help the organization fulfill its mission (http://www.grassroots.org/do/About#mission) to provide free services to nonprofit organizations and to provide information to the general public on various social issues. To donate go to http://www.grassroots.org/do/Donate.

Help Grassroots.org by Selling on EBay
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If you sell items on EBay (http://www.ebay.com), you can designate Grassroots.org as a beneficiary (http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/contextual/seller-information.html?fromFeature=Sell Your Item) of a percentage of the sale. (There is a $10 minimum per item.) For more information, go to http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/contextual/minimum-donation-information.html?fromFeature=Sell%here. This contribution will help provide funding for our operations. Thank you for your support!

Previous Newsletters
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You can view all previous Grassroots News and Grassroots Client News newsletters in our archives located at http://www.grassroots.org/do/News.

Volunteers
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If you are interested in giving back to the world community, consider volunteering your time and skills to Grassroots.org. We especially need web designers to develop and enhance web sites for our free web hosting clients. All Grassroots.org volunteer opportunities are now listed on VolunteerMatch (http://www.volunteermatch.org) and we were recently profiled on JustVolunteers (http://www.justvolunteers.org). Review our listings to see if any of our opportunities match your skills, experience, and interest. (You can submit your information to us through the appropriate "I like this opportunity!" link on the page that describes the particular opportunity.)

Grassroots.org Shirts, Mugs, and More!
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You can now buy Grassroots.org merchandise at our new online store (http://www.grassroots.org/store). The store features shirts, mugs, prints, and more. Any purchases you make from our online store are tax deductible

Donation Exchange
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This forum on Grassroots.org was created to facilitate the exchange of donated items. Organizations or individuals looking to donate items or those in search of obtaining donated goods should join in the discussion at http://www.grassroots.org/jive3/category.jspa?categoryID=45.

Free Services
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Grassroots.org offers several free services to nonprofit organizations in the US and Canada:
-Free Web Services for nonprofit organizations: http://www.grassroots.org/do/Tools
-Free Legal Consulting for nonprofit organizations: http://www.grassroots.org/do/Legal

News and Views
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Keep up to date with the latest information from Grassroots.org on our blog (http://www.grassroots.org/blog). In addition to reading our blog on the web, you can read posts from ours and other blogs using an RSS Reader (http://blogspace.com/rss/readers).

Discussion Forums
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Exercise your freedom of speech!!!
Our discussion forums are a great way for you to help and encourage others, to allow others to learn more about you and your organization, and to build relationships with others in the same field of interest. You can access all of the Grassroots.org discussion forums at http://www.grassroots.org/forums. We encourage you to visit the forums, register, and participate.
Let your voice be heard!

Your Feedback
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Drop us a line and let us know what you want to see in future issues. E-mail your comments to newsletter@grassroots.org.

Administration
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If others you know would like to view this newsletter, please forward this copy and have them subscribe to the newsletter.
-To subscribe to this newsletter, use this form: http://www.grassroots.org/do/SubscribeNewsletter.
-To unsubscribe, use this form: http://www.grassroots.org/do/UnsubscribeNewsletter.
-To view previous newsletters, go to the Archives: http://apps.grassroots.org/cgi-bin/news.cgi/NewsFront.
-If you have questions about Grassroots.org, complete the form at http://www.grassroots.org/do/Contact.

About Grassroots.org
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Grassroots.org provides free Internet, business and legal consulting services for charities in the US and Canada. We also provide information to the general public on various social issues through our network of 40+ topical web sites.

Grassroots News
Copyright, 2006
Volume 3 Issue 3
Grassroots.org - Make Change!
Providing free services to charities and promoting social action
http://www.grassroots.org