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May 2006
Volume 3 Issue 5

Grassroots.org - Make Change!
Providing free services to charities and promoting social action


in this issue

--Revised Grassroots.org Site
--Grassroots - eScrip Visa
--Help Grassroots.org by Selling on EBay
--Free Domain Name for US and Canadian Nonprofit Organizations
--Shelters.org
--MIT OpenCourseWare: Managing and Volunteering In the Non-Profit Sector
--Grassroots.org at Conferences
--Measuring Your Program Outcomes
--Clearinghouse for Volunteer Accounting Services
--Web Design Volunteers Available
--Previous Newsletters
--Banner Requirements
--Donations
--Grassroots.org Shirts, Mugs and More
--Donation Exchange
--Free Services
--Discussion Forums
--Your Feedback
--Administration
--About Grassroots.org

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Welcome to Grassroots Client News!

This monthly newsletter offers information and tools that can help you to make a difference in the world. Daily updates of news and resources are available on the Grassroots.org blog.(RSS feed: http://gr.grassroots.org:8888/roller/rss/grassroots). We also publish a consumer-oriented newsletter called Grassroots News. You can sign up for Grassroots News here. You can also subscribe to the Grassroots.org Blog via email using Squeet and the RSS feed.

Revised Grassroots.org Site
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Grassroots.org is proud to introduce our revised home page. The new layout includes a reorganized layout of our content to enable easy navigation, updating, and integration with many new cutting edge applications. In addition, we now feature highlights of our clients, volunteers, employees and supporters in order to give you additional information about the people behind Grassroots.org and about the organizations we support. Tell us if you like the changes. Please send your comments to comments@grassroots.org

Grassroots - eScrip Visa
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Support Grassroots.org by Signing Up with eScrip. Show your support and help Grassroots.org raise money through your everyday purchases. The eScrip program allows you to make purchases at various merchants 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.

Help Grassroots.org by Selling on EBay
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If you sell items on EBay, you can designate Grassroots.org as a beneficiary of a percentage of the sale. (There is a $10 minimum per item.) For more information, go here. This contribution will help provide funding for our operations. Thank you for your support!

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, fill out this application and submit 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.

Shelters.org
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Our directory of homeless shelters across the United States and Canada, available at Shelters.org, was recently updated, adding more than 350 Canadian shelters in addition to the directory's existing 1,000+ US homeless shelter listings. The directory provides contact information (physical address, phone number and web site) as well as services offered by each shelter. Soon we will be adding food banks, soup kitchens, and other service providers along with mapping capacity. If you know of any shelters that are missing from the directory or if you have any corrections or revisions to existing shelter listings, you can submit the information to us through the site using the "Add a Link" and "Modify a Link" tools. .

MIT OpenCourseWare: Managing and Volunteering In the Non-Profit Sector
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MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is an online collection of lecture notes and course materials used in courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. The OCW site offers resources for hundreds of courses, including this one: Managing and Volunteering In the Non-Profit Sector, from the Spring 2005 semester. This is a great new method of learning that gives you access to resources from one of the world’s most prestigious schools at no cost.

Grassroots.org at Conferences
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During the next few months Grassroots.org will be exhibiting at several conferences and workshops:

If you attend any of these events, please come visit us for a chat.

Measuring Your Program Outcomes
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The United Way's Outcome Measurement Resource Network provides information, downloadable documents, and links to resources related to the identification and measurement of program and community-level outcomes. Their online library contains a number of related reference materials and sample reports that can help you better understand your organization's effectiveness.

Clearinghouse for Volunteer Accounting Services
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The Clearinghouse for Volunteer Accounting Services (CVAS) provides accounting services to nonprofit organizations by matching accountants with organizations in need of accounting services. All accountants work on a volunteer basis, and offer their services free of charge to eligible nonprofits. This enables nonprofit organizations to obtain professional accounting services at no cost. Go to their web site to locate an accountant or to volunteer your own accounting services.

Web Design Volunteers Available
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In addition to free web hosting we also provide free web design to charities in the US and Canada. We can do this by providing organizations with their choice of either a web design volunteer or a WYSIWYG application that allows a non- technical person to create their own web site. If you are interested in this service and are already a hosting client, just drop us a line at hosting@grassroots.org to let us know. If you are not a hosting client, you can apply for both free web hosting and free design by completing this form.

Previous Newsletters
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You can view all previous newsletters in the Grassroots News Archives and the Grassroots Client News Archives.

Banner Requirements
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As part of the agreement for receiving free services from Grassroots.org, clients are required to put our banner unaltered within the top three inches of their organization's web site and link it to our home page. The banner can be downloaded here.

Donations
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We need your help! Please consider contributing to Grassroots.org to help the organization fulfill its mission to provide free services to nonprofit organizations and to provide information to the general public on various social issues.

Because Grassroots.org is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, all donations are fully tax-deductible. There are a couple ways that you can donate. Donations via PayPal, MasterCard and Visa are accepted via our website. Checks or money orders can also be sent to Grassroots.org, 7831 Woodmont Ave, Suite 338, Bethesda, MD 20814.

Thank you for your support!

Grassroots.org Shirts, Mugs, and More!
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You can now buy Grassroots.org merchandise at our online 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 here.

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 (free domain name, web hosting and web design)
- Free Legal Consulting for nonprofit organizations

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 here. 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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To view previous newsletters, go to the Archives.
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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 Grassroots.org - Make Change!.............................Providing Free Services to Charities and Promoting Social Action