Our Cool, New UI is Thanks to Their Hard Work

June has been fast paced in the midst of rolling out the new YouGottaCall.com. user interface. Feedback has been thrilling - genuine enthusiasm for the design, the graphics and ease of use. Our recent growth says it all!

A lot of effort and sweat by the entire team has gone into it. So here's some deserved thanks. Ben and his development team at ForeSite are creative, thorough - and patient! Our "Super Members" Rich, Michele, Ed, Caitlin and Giulia - social media consultants who help in QA'ing the site, brainstorming and giving honest feedback - have been encouraging and inspiring.

The CT TweetCrawlers (#cttu, #pcct, #pcwm, #swct) - from Hartford & New Haven to Stonington and Stamford - are great to have in your corner. They are trusted local businesses with well-earned reputations. For them, word-of-mouth is not new. But they are using social media to share it in new ways. And they are generous with their ideas and critiques.

With this cool UI we are ready to take it to not-for-profits and businesses to demonstrate the power of word-of-mouth connecting. And that's our goal for the next several months.

We have tons of neat stuff planned - right, Ben? But for now, thanks to all of you, we hope to see lots more "Good referrals. Doing good."

- - Tim

Tapping Into Social Networks to Raise Funds and Build Community

Two articles by Association of Fundraising Professionals on the emerging role of social networks.

Welcome to Web 2.0: Where Community Comes First, Then Fundraising
With all the buzz around social networking, what should a fundraiser do about it? Is it worth your time? Jono Smith, vice president of marketing at Network for Good advises us to ask a few important questions before diving in.

Raise More Money with Less by Embracing Self-Organized ‘Swarms’
What happens when companies and individuals take it upon themselves to organize their own efforts to raise awareness and money for your cause? What do you do? How do you control the message? How do you protect your donors?