MEDIA ALERT: See the P.S. section of this message.
UPDATE: Still needed to take Bill Haynes matching $5,000 contribution — $3,607
We’ve just made a major website improvement, and more is on the way.
We proposed an idea, some DC Downsizers paid for it, and now we’ve executed it.
First time visitors won’t confront a long and boring registration process in order to use our Educate the Powerful System. Instead . . .
When potential new members come to our site to send a letter to Congress, they can actually start sending their letter right away.
This is very different from when YOU joined. YOU were greeted by an intimidating form. But not any more. As a result . . .
Better recruitment will make YOU more powerful
How many possible supporters do you think we’ve lost because people looked at our registration form, and didn’t want to bother with it, or started it and then stopped? After all . . .
These forms are everywhere. And the more of them I’ve completed, the less I want to fill yet another. I have to believe that other people feel the same way I do. Do you? If I’m right, then this has been a real impediment to growth. Yet we need this information to fill out forms at Congressional websites . . .
How the Educate the Powerful System does what it does
Please understand, we do NOT send “emails” to Congress. PLEASE READ THAT LAST SENTENCE AGAIN. Instead, our system fills out web-forms at the three websites for your elected representatives — your House Rep, and your two Senators. Otherwise, you would have to go to each site yourself, and fill out three separate registration-like forms just to send one letter. Talk about time consuming!
But our system does all of this for you. Our system also helps you to jump hurdles, like CAPTCHAs, that some Congressional offices put in the way.
We didn’t buy this system from someone. We created it ourselves. And we maintain it ourselves, at great expense. For instance, every time a Senator adds a CAPTCHA to their website we have to spot that problem, and enhance our system to account for it.
But all of this is made available to YOU, for FREE.
And now, we’ve made it EVEN BETTER, by creating a new approach that still enables us to get all the info we need for Congressional web-forms, without an intimidating, boring, time-consuming registration process.
What you will see the next time you send a letter to Congress
If you’re already registered to use the ETP system, then you can’t really see how our new non-registration system works. But you will be able to see that the whole letter sending process looks a bit different. It’s cleaner, and more open looking. Plus . . .
You may soon get a bunch of new helpers to impose additional pressure on your local elected representatives. Here’s why . . .
Believe it or not, there are more than 11,000 subscribers to the Downsizer-Dispatch who have never used the ETP system to contact Congress, EVER! In fact . . .
This was one of the things that clued us to the idea that many people might be balking at the long registration process. And now that we’ve improved that, we’re going to send a special Dispatch to these non-ETP users asking them to test our new non-registration system to send their first super-easy letter to Congress. So . . .
You may be getting more people to help you in your district very soon. But that’s not all . . .
More improvements are on their way
Recently, we gave you the ability to communicate with other Downsizers in your District through Your Downsize DC Toolbox. But your ability to FIND other Downsizers using this system has been limited, plus, you’ve had to go check your InBox on our website to see if anyone is trying to communicate with you. We’re working right now to improve both of these things.
- You’ll soon be able to get an email notification whenever another DC Downsizer is trying to communicate with you through Your Downsize DC Toolbox, plus . . .
- We’ll soon be working on improvements to allow you to communicate with more people in your own area
But all of this work depends on continued financial support.
Do you want us to continue delivering these kinds of improvements and progress?
OR, do you want DownsizeDC.org to…
- MISS out on $3,607 that has been offered to us if we can raise a matching amount?
- MISS its budgetary goal this month?
DC Downsizers have been given a challenge by Bill Haynes of CMI Gold & Silver.
He says, “I’ll match the first $5,000 of new contributions to DownsizeDC.org” (that’s NEW pledges and NEW one-time contributions; PayPal STILL accepted, but not counted towards the match). So far this month, DownsizeDC.org has received $1,393, which Bill has matched.
Personally, I’d love to see every bit of the remaining $3,607 come in as new monthly credit card pledges. Those kinds of contributions would make us stronger for every month to come.
However, that’s not likely to happen. In order to secure all the funds by September 30, we’re probably going to need at least one $1,000 donor, or two $500 donors, plus dozens of people offering support at the $125, $76, $35, and $15 levels.
Every dollar is matched with another, so every contribution, regardless of size, helps!
Please help us CONTINUE bringing new and improved tools to you. And please help Mr. Haynes part with $3,607 more of his money by September 30. This will also help YOUR DownsizeDC.org meet its MODEST budget goal for this month.
Thank you for your support,
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
P.S. Most media appearances are announced on Twitter and Facebook
But an organization that has promoted DownsizeDC.org on many occasions is having me, Jim Babka, on their Sunday AM podcast (9/18/11), and is scheduled far enough in advance to announce here. The Natural Solutions Foundation hosts “Dr. Rima Reports,” at www.HealthFreedomPortal.org.
My appearance starts at 11 AM Eastern (10 AM Central, 9 AM Mountain, and 8 AM Pacific), and there’s a corresponding chat. We may have better details for you how can listen by Sunday, and if so, those will be posted on Twitter and Facebook.