How can you bridge the divide between your organization's social media efforts and your database? An easy and affordable way to start is by purchasing social media data from a company like Rapleaf.

The climate bill is dead. But that's not stopping our groups, friends, and partners from taking the earth into their own hands.

Hey. Don’t let the haters get to you. You know that more people than ever, EVER, believe in climate change and want the government to do something about it. More people than ever are freaked out about demolishing our oceans and forests. More people than ever are worried about harmful crap in their food and on their babies and in their hand lotion and are on that first level of engagement, ready to be moved up when you reach out to them.

Groundwire Labs, our innovation engine for engagement technology, is honored to receive a $20,000 grant from the Salesforce foundation to build a volunteer management module.

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.

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.

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?

Civic engagement can mean a lot of different things – from the casual forwarding of a friend’s email to deep involvement on a board of directors. The most effective social change organizations understand how to wield their portfolio of engagement tactics in Zen-like fashion; knowing just what kind of touch is called for to influence the outcomes of a particular decision.

While knowledge about the environmental, economic, or social benefits of a product or service is crucial to the topic of sustainability, consumers say that the notion of responsibility symbolizes why it matters. As a value-laden ideal, responsibility provides a more meaningful call to action for all those in society to participate in the greater good.

In September, Drew Bernard and I spent five days immersed at Hollyhock, Cortes Island, for Web of Change 2009. While it’s true we spent a bit of time gazing into eyes, finding our inner woo woo, and sharing feelings, we also spent a ton of time learning from each other best practices from our daily work of changing the world.

Use your organizing and online communications chops to help build a sustainable world.

An Alex Steffen presentation on climate change is different. His kinder, conspiratorial approach gently coaxes you away from “I can’t take an hour and a half of Mad-Max talk” to a place of “Oh, yeah, we can do this. We really can.”

Groundwire uses a “Theory of Change” to maintain our mission focus. Social change is crucial to the work many of us do, and a Theory of Change is a conceptual map used to describe how change happens. At Groundwire, we use our Theory of Change both for strategic planning and for evaluation.

Back in 2006, thanks to funding from Social Venture Partners, we contracted with Jane Reisman at Organizational Research Services to help us improve the way we evaluate the impact of our programs. At the time, we were just coming off of some important strategic planning work and, after our first meeting with Jane, quickly realized that a Theory of Change could be a valuable supplement to that planning.