We like to talk about engagement superpowers around here, those special powers that help you build relationships, make people prioritize your cause, and better engage them in your work.
Oregon Environmental Council, notoriously good at flexing their superpowers, is at it again: Wonder Twins powers, activate! Form of: Eco-Healthy Homes Checkup Kit!  Form of: Roasted Turkey and Cherry Chutney wrap!

At Groundwire, we invest most of our skills and resources in strategy and technology projects for environmental advocacy organizations.  This is where we think what we’ve got to offer has the most bang for the buck.  But there are other projects that we take on, projects that we think have real impact, and occasionally one of these projects is for an environmental funder, or funders, as the case may be.

We are thrilled to welcome Eric Magnuson to the Groundwire team. Eric is our new (and first!) Labs Manager. At the end of last year, we put an official name to our innovation program and Groundwire Labs was born.

10 Fun Ways to Reconnect with Your Mother This Summer. (And by Mother, we mean Earth. And by Earth, we mean that big round thing that supports your existence. And by Summer, we mean right now.)

The groups we work here at Groundwire with are an industrious bunch -- always planning this, that, and the other to engage the greatest number of people in protecting and enjoying this gorgeous little planet of ours. Read on for a few of our favorites and please feel free to add to our list.

Watch video from our latest knowledge share: Google Analytics 101.

Sixty-two days and billions of barrels into it, many of us are considering an off-the-grid escape and/or just completely giving up and spending the rest of our days in an Escalade gnawing on a side of corn-fed beef. The Gulf Spill is so big, so terrifying, so complex and so intertwined with our daily lives that a lot of us who live in the General Population feel hopeless, guilty, angry, tired, scared, paralyzed. Time to shake it off, people.

Get to know Groundwire's new Executive Director, Neal Myrick, in his own words. First we went a little serious, then we got all Actors Studio. Enjoy.

So the first question, pretty obvious.  Why Groundwire?
Groundwire has both a rich history of success and amazing potential. Gideon Rosenblatt, the previous ED, did an incredible job of positioning Groundwire with the right people and the right skills at the perfect time for helping environmental organizations take advantage of online and social media tools.

Deep in the northeastern corner of Washington State, there is magic. This is where the mighty Columbia pushes down into the lower 48, where the Western Rockies meet highland ranches, where grizzlies refuse to stop at the border and make their home in one of the richest wildlife habitats in the state. This special place is called the Columbia Highlands, thousands of acres of upper Columbia River wilderness featuring open parklands, forests, rolling grassy slopes, granite ridges, and quiet canyons.

We want to take a moment and recognize one of our superstar volunteers, John Fine. After two years of volunteering with Groundwire's database team, John’s time with us has officially come to an end.

This is the second installment of tricks and tips for troubleshooting HTML problems in an email newsletter template. Learn how to properly set the link color.

It’s time to celebrate!  We are so excited to welcome our new Executive Director, Neal Myrick, to the Groundwire community. 
Please join us for Happy Hour in honor of his arrival. 

Check out Washington Trails Association's awesome new map tool featuring their huge database of hiking trails. The new map makes it super-easy to find, explore and search over 1000 trails. You can filter by distance, elevation gain, kid-friendliness and more. And the map provides instant access to the thousands of constantly-updated trip reports from WTA's statewide community of hikers.

In May 2010, we installed a long-overdue new phone system here at Groundwire HQ. It's pretty awesome, and since one of our superpowers is showing how the technology sausage is made, we're pleased to share with you the geeky details and hope that you're inspired by the possibilities.

Hey! We just launched a new website for GreenFaith. Based in New Jersey, GreenFaith's mission is to educate and mobilize people of diverse religious backgrounds for environmental leadership.They offer the GreenFaith Certification Program for interested intuitions nationwide, the first program of its kind in the world.

We believe that significant improvements in email broadcasting data storage efficiency are easily achievable, by using Campaign Member objects as the point of integration, rather than a custom object.  Here's how email service providers can implement this solution.

What is your superpower? This is a favorite question of my colleague, Jon Stahl, and when he asks it, what he’s really talking about is value proposition. And not just some vague value proposition, like, “we protect the environment,” but more along the lines of what can you do for me today? Wonder Woman, for example, fights crime, but her superpowers? Invisible plane, “lasso of truth” and, hello, magic bracelets. I’m on board with the fighting crime part, but more likely to pay attention if I can get a ride in the invisible plane. When we talk about value proposition at Groundwire, what we are really asking is, What is your superpower?

For the vast majority of organizations, the "About Us" and "Staff" pages are among the most visited ones on the site. But too often, these pages are afterthoughts when it comes to writing content.  Considering how much of your audience will visit those pages at some point, wouldn't it make sense to make them say more about your organization?

The fight to protect ancient rainforests, an abundance of wildlife, and some of the most majestic coastline in the world from an ecological disaster is a daunting one, against some of the most powerful corporations and governments in the world.   At the forefront of this fight is Dogwood Initiative—a small, Victoria-based nonprofit comprised of a smart, innovative crew known for punching hard for its weight.

Here at Groundwire, we think it's important to help organizations move beyond thinking about technology as a set of shiny new tools (websites! viral videos! social media!) and to help groups think instead about their systems for building and sustaining relationships that make social change.