Rootwork Empowers Your Supporters with Tools for Social Change

Rootwork designed GI-Net’s online campaigns and social networking strategy in ways that supported its real-world campaigns. The Time to Protect website was created to support a national student “DarfurFast” for Sudan, by connecting activists to their communities through an events map and social networking groups. Structured around a coordinated day of on-campus action, the campaign site and outreach on social networks raised more than $100,000.

The custom-designed MySpace profile includes an integrated email-signup form and organizationally-branded videos. The development and use of videos through MySpace and YouTubeYouTube is a social network built around video content: posting, sharing, rating and commenting. was also key to the early growth of the Genocide Intervention Network.

Rootwork’s strategy for Casino-Free Philadelphia’s use of Twitter includes scheduled posts pointing to different areas of the website, a “picture of the day” highlighting past Casino-Free actions, and full statistics tracking of all links followed from Twitter posts. Beyond a broadcast tool alone, Twitter helps Casino-Free Philadelphia listen to its supporters and interact with them on a one-to-one basis.

Compiling such a large amount of information can be a challenge to present in a usable format, but Rootwork’s easy-to-use website regularly won accolades from supporters. Behind the scenes, meanwhile, GI-Net staff could easily and consistently update the legislative information for each member of Congress when new legislation was introduced. The scorecard helped make dozens of locally-organized congressional meetings possible, as supporters could develop their own events without having to request lengthy legislative reports from GI-Net’s office.

Rootwork created a robust event system for Casino-Free Philadelphia, including integration with Google Maps and an RSS/iCal feed. Supporters can sign up for events they want to attend and will automatically receive a reminder email before the event; staff, meanwhile, were able to use the RSVPs for a clearer projection of expected attendance at events. Finally, Rootwork added a “tell a friend” feature, allowing visitors to post information from the website to friends through email or social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.

Two video contests were centered on the presidential primary debates, increasing the volume of submissions around genocide issues and leading to a question about Darfur in a Democratic primary debate. AskTheCandidates.org also enabled supporters to question presidential candidates at campaign events, and report back their responses on the website, creating a repository of information on the candidates that would have been impossible with GI-Net’s small staff alone.

Supporters of Casino-Free Philadelphia are encouraged to participate in real-world events through a robust events system, allowing them to sign up for upcoming events and be automatically notified when one is occurring in their area. Rootwork can design your website to support grassroots events – that is, events your supporters can organize and post to the website, similar to the functionality found on commercial sites like MeetUp and evite.

Your website can also engage supporters by giving them specific tools and ways to take action, such as the legislative scorecard Rootwork developed for the Genocide Intervention Network. Supporters could then use that information in “user-generated content” campaigns, such as submitting blogs or videos about why they are passionate about your cause. Integrating such participation into your website can both increase the authenticity of your organization’s message, and allow members to feel that their voice is being heard on the issue.

One simple way to engage your supporters is to strongly encourage comments on blog entries and other items, such as directly asking for feedback, responses or stories in the comments section — and then republishing the “best of” in the future. If you have an existing blog that struggles to get attention from your members, this can be a powerful way to draw their attention.

For organizations that have a geographically dispersed base, encouraging your supporters to submit photos of events that you sponsor — or that they organize — can enable you to create nearly instantaneous photo galleries that make visible the depth of your movement.