April recap: gaining momentum

April was an exciting month for the Policypitch team!  Our first legislative bill was pitched by a Louisiana state legislator, we made it to the finals of the Tulane Business Plan Competition, made a splash in the press, and continued development of our new platform!

Policypitch Coverage in New Orleans

The past few weeks we have received some great press from the New Orleans media.   I wanted to share some of the coverage that we have received.   A lot of it stems from the first bill that we made available for public comment 2 weeks ago, House Bill 638 by Representative Hines.  The Louisiana Legislative session starts today, and Rep. Hines is still seeking public input on the bill.

From WDSU Channel 6 News “New Web Site Offers Public Feedback on Proposed Bills:”

The site allows users to communicate directly to their state representatives and communicate with other residents about the issues they care about most.  The web site http://www.policypitch.com is an online forum for introducing and discussing community ideas. Citizens can give input into proposed bills and receive feedback by voting or ranking the ideas in their community.  People who visit the site can also start petitions, accept online donations, and build support for their ideas.

Policypitch was launched by local New Orleanian Zach Kupperman.

And from New Orleans City Business “No State Income Tax for Young Adults:”

…Kupperman said his Web site, launched in test form last year and headquartered in New Orleans, is “trying to change the way that the public interacts with their elected officials. Society is moving towards a bottom-up approach to creating public policy. We are entering the era of the community authored wiki bill.”

The Web site will soon offer free legislative tracking for Louisiana and, eventually, the United States.

Also watch the news video from ABC 26 News “Tax Break for College Students.”

Check out our press page to check out all of our recent buzz!

Change the Web Challenge Finalists Announced! Winner to be selected April 28

As a strategic partner with Social Actions, Policypitch is excited about all of these amazing widgets and applications!  Which apps do you think could be of most use to enhancing the ideas on Policypitch?

NetSquared and Social Actions are proud to announce the Top 24 Finalists from the Change the Web Challenge…read more.

March Policypitch Roundup

We got a lot done in March.  A short snapshot at our inner workings:

Headline news:

• Policypitch founder Zach Kupperman was invited for a nomination to Pop!Tech’s Social  Innovation Fellows Program!
• We worked with MakeNewOrleansHome.com on voting for their pitched idea “Outdoor movie screening on the levee,” scheduled to take place in Audubon Park, New Orleans, LA on May 7.  Vote here

February Policypitch roundup

The Policypitch team accomplished a lot in February.  We advanced in the Tulane Business Plan Competition, our members pitched new policy ideas, and development of our state legislative tracking and public markup continued!  Please sign up for our Beta 2.0 Launch!

Thanks,

Zach

New pitched ideas:

• Lower traffic camera ticket fines; New Orleans, LA
• Open a full service grocery in downtown New Orleans; New Orleans, LA
• Build an express train between Baton Rouge and Downtown New Orleans; Louisiana
• Student Loan Bailout; New Orleans, LA
• See them all…

February Web stats:

• 822 unique visitors
• 2,220 visits
• Almost 17,000 page views

Other important info:

• Policypitch is one step closer to a $20,000 investment; we made it into the semi final round of the Tulane Business Plan Competition! We are still waiting to hear whether we made it to the final round…
• 7 new blog posts
• Lots of progress on the development of legislative tracking for all 50 states
• Development of real time wiki-style editor for public bill markup began
• Twitter account reached 350 followers.  Check us out @policypitch.com
• Our partner, SocialActions, launched their Change the Web Challenge

Social Actions’ Change the Web Challenge

Our friends at Social Actions have worked long and hard putting together their Change the Web Challenge.  The contest, which began February 23, awards $5,000 to best web-based application created that makes use of the Social Actions open API.   Second and third place also receive $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.

Social Actions currently aggregates opportunities to make a difference from over 40 online platforms such as VolunteerMatch, Kiva.org, Policypitch.com, Idealist.org, and Change.org.   They are looking for applications that will share these opportunities to take action on the websites, blogs, and social networks that people visit each day.  Anyone got any ideas specific to Policypitch?  We’d love to hear em!

Social Actions Round-Up #24: Government Enters Social Media for Social Change Movement

Originally posted by Peter Dietz and our friends at Social Actions on February 5, 2009.

As a child of the 80’s (okay, very late 70’s), I am used to government having very little (if any) involvement in technology driven initiatives (outside of the military), and certainly not technology for a purpose.

Enter the Obama Administration. Suddenly, there’s a Director of Citizen Participation and a Department of Social Innovation. Woah! This round-up just touches the surface: mentioning the appointment of a former Google executive to the Obama administration, highlighting the Utah senate’s use of social media, and drawing attention to the Republican party’s efforts to leverage crowdsourcing (Obama-style).

The effects of government ‘getting it’ are going to be huge. At Social Actions, we’ll be keeping an eye on how these stories develop.

Below is the Social Actions round-up covering the period January 21, 2009 to February 2, 2009.

News Roundup

• Kiva.org launches its developer API and a new website, build.kiva.org.
• Google Exec Katie Jacobs Stanton joins Obama administration as Director of Citizen Participation.
• CauseGlobal introduces Katie Jacobs Stanton and her vision.
• UC Berkeley Human Rights Center launches a Mobile Challenge on NetSquared.
• Civic Ventures is accepting nominations for The Purpose Prize.

• Ashoka GenV and Lemelson Foundation is accepting submissions for their Invent Your World challenge.
• DoSomething.org is accepting nominations for their 2009 DoSomething Award.
• NABUUR is accepting votes for Volunteer of the Year.
• Idealist.org launches a virtual volunteering program.
• BetterPlace reflects on a report called Generation Generosity.

• ThePoint is looking for a rockstar designer.
• PolicyPitch reports that Republicans are crowdsourcing an effort to Rebuild the Party.
• PolicyPitch writes about how the Utah Senate is embracing social media.
• ChristmasFuture receives a $50k creative services grant from Karo.
• ExecDigital publishes an article on micro-philanthropy, called Philanthropy: The Spirit of Giving.
• NewsCred blog writes about the viability of newspapers adopting an The Endowment Model.
• TheExtraordinaries share the slides from their presentation at Stanford’s Computuer Science for Social Good Class.
• Lucy Bernholz, philanthropy blogger extraordinaire, raves about Twitter.
• Mashable explains How to Build Community on Twitter. (Nov. 2008)
• The Culture of Collaboration blog raves about micro-blogging in general.
• Social Velocity blog explains how to Ask for Money in a Recession.
• FrogLoop shares Everything You Wanted to Know About Online Fundraising in a Bad Eco….
• FrogLoop writes about the Joys of Google Grants.
• TechSoup.org shares Ten Tips for Planning a Successful Webinar.
• Beth Kanter lists Women in Nonprofit Technology Who Rock (Hats off to each and every one of them).
• Money on the Move blog discovers a handful of micro-philanthropyplatforms.
• Cindy Gibson, citizen-centered civic engagement expert, starts blogging again.
• Tom Watson of CauseWired launches the Open Source Giving blog on SocialEdge.
• Katya Andresen writes about the lack of control when it comes to leveraging social media.
• 1DollarClub.org blog answers the question, Just What Is Micro-Philanthropy?
• GiftHub hosts a conversation on Microphilanthropy for Macro Social Results.
• Britt Bravo writes about iPhone Apps for Nonprofits.
• Prelude Interactive blog asks readers to Look Beyond the iPhone.
• Global Mindshift posts the video from its Google Tech Talk.

Recent Discoveries

• Dgoodr.com – Dreamers Who Are Doers
• EthicL – Buy and Sell Things That Help Humanity
• Knight Citizen News Network – Helping Citizens and Journalists Ampl…
• Advocacy Online – eCampaigning Software

Social Actions News

• Social Actions raises $14,715.34 in donations and pledges.
• Social Actions officially launches its social media consulting plans.
• The Change the Web Challenge is hosting a community conference call on Thursday, February 5.
• The Change the Web Challenge confirms three new media sponsors: See3 Communications, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Reply f…
• The Change the Web Challenge introduces a proposed logo for the contest.
• The Change the Web Challenge publishes Judge Nominations (or 50+ Rock Stars to Follow on Twitter).

We want your feedback!

Help the PolicyPitch team make the website easier to use!  We are working on a major overhaul of the website, from design and layout to new features.  Planning and analysis have been ongoing for weeks, and we want to incorporate your suggestions into the new launch.

Let us know what you like, what you don’t like, and any new features you think would be useful.  Thanks!

Follow us on Twitter: @policypitch

Policypitch.com is now on twitter!   twitter.com/policypitch

Follow us for the latest news feeds, blog posts, new local policy ideas, and policypitch website updates!  Help us get to 100 followers by the end of the week! (currently at 37).

Guest Post: Social Actions Roundup #22

Online giving markets and other websites that facilitate online action hit the ground running in 2009. Below is our latest weekly round-up of news and recent discoveries.

News Roundup

• SocialEdge is welcoming applications for the annual Global Social Benefit Incubator Competition.
• RisingVoices is welcoming applications for its annual new media outreach micro-grants of $5k.
• Nabuur is accepting applications for volunteer online project managers.
• TakingItGlobal launches a personal fundraising campaign to support its work in 2009.
• Kiva prepares to launch an open API for its micro-lending platform.
• PolicyPitch is a December 2008 Ideablob finalist.
• DreamBank publishes its favorite tips for a succesful and happy 2009.
• Stephen Colbert joins the board of directors of DonorsChoose.org.
• Convio is asking nonprofits for their 2009 technology resolutions.
• Gina Bianchini of Ning shares her company’s three month roadmap.
• Leslie Poston shares on Mashable a guest blog post called, Give Back With Social MicroFunding in 2009.
• Rachel Cunliffe shares on Mashable a guest blog post called, 10 Ways Twitter Will Change Blog Design in 2009.
• Firstgiving shares three online fundraising resolutions.
• ModestNeeds invites the newly unemployed to apply for bridge grants.
• mySociety gest a new design.
• JD Lasica posts a comprehensive list of social media conferences in 2009.
• Beth Kanter reports on her succesful social media birthday fundraiser on behalf of the Sharing Foundation.
• Kimberly Brock writes about protecting consumer rights by becoming a citizen blogger.
• Sean Stannard Stockton shares on Paul Brest’s blog a guest blog post called, What’s The Evidence For Evidence-based Theories of Change?.
• Christine Prefontaine writes about the importance of investing in a community facilitator.
• SFGate.com writes about how giving can change your mind for the better.
• Paul Lamb shares on mySociety his thoughts on the value of creating a social credit card (from 2006).

Recent Discoveries

• Everything you ever wanted to know about Clay Shirky
• 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service
• GivingGame – Do good. Pass it on.
• Service-learning – Using structured reflection to enhance learning …
• Ignite format presentations
• Inviting Change consulting
• John Haydon’s social media coaching
• Economic Xchange – how the current economy impacts philanthropy

Social Actions News

• Eric Cooper explains how to build a Social Actions powered application.
• Our Related Ways to Take Action WordPress plugin appears on PluginsCatalog.com.
• Peter Deitz announces that Convio, NTEN and CauseWired Communications are sponsoring Social Actions’ Change the Web Challenge.
• Social Actions publishes the most popular cause-related search terms from December 2008.
• Social Actions officially wins Reddit’s FeedANeed contest.