Stories from the Sidewalk
In this issue… Message from E-Democracy – Donate Now! Steven Clift, Executive Director and Cirien Saadeh, Communications & Outreach Assistant Nonprofits all over the state today are participating in GiveMN’s “Give to the Max Day.†E-Democracy is joining them as we get ready to launch our year-end giving campaign. This comes right on the heels of a great weekend at CityCampMN 13 and the ensuing hackathon. E-Democracy is coming up on its 20-year anniversary. It started as the nation’s first election information website, and now has over 20,000+ members on its neighborhood forums, building community every day.
Many of you probably use the forums and do not realize the costs associated with making E-Democracy the organization and website that it is. In this year alone, we hired eight part-time staff members to knock on doors and engage individuals on the forums. At the same time, we filled out our core team to include part-time technology and development coordinators. We’ve also worked hard to make sure we have the best volunteer team around, keeping the forums active and safe places for online community-life exchange. A pat on the back to all who make E-Democracy tick! Organizations like E-Democracy run on the bread & butter of individual donations, from $10, $25 to $50. While those individual donations may seem small, they add up, and moving forward they need to grow to become the most important part of our annual budget. Today, Give to the Max Day, marks a new beginning for E-Democracy. Get connected to our social media, (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) and watch for our year-end giving campaign! Our 2013 goal is to reach 100 donors by the end of the year. Please check out the video above for a little inspiration on why to give to E-Democracy! If you didn’t already know, you can always give here.
Check out photos from both CityCampMN 13 and the hackathon, and watch this brief photo slideshow! Click here to support the work of OTC! Media Coverage
In Frogtown, Cycles for Change is looking to hire 3-5 young women to take part in a bike-related apprenticeship. Details here. And on November 14th, there is a discussion on housing and crime issues being hosted by the Payne-Phalen District 5 Planning Council. More details here. We make donating easy! You can make a tax-deductible donation to E-Democracy and help build democracy in three easy steps:
And voila! You’ve helped build digital democracy and your neighborhood in less than two minutes!
A big thank you and a huge round of applause to our outreach staff who are completing their last weeks with E-Democracy. Since the first week of June, a handful of outreach staff have knocked on thousands of doors and attended dozens of events, inviting neighbors to join the forums and online community. Please join us tonight at Sweeney’s in Saint Paul, 96 Dale Street North, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Welcome to E-Democracy! Get Started! ♦  As a forum member ♦  Start a forum in your neighborhood! ♦  E-Democracy help desk Be Sociable, Share!      Submit feedback about Stories from the Sidewalk to news@e-democracy.org |
A yellow lab was found outside of the Seward Co-op in the Seward neighborhood …now reunited. Check out the exchange 
