Green Street Services

Services Quick Links:

SERVICES: Website Development

Green Street Project develops community-oriented websites for government agencies, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, schools, corporations and community-based businesses. Our websites include all the latest call-to-action features (e.g., registration, email lists, petitions, blogs, ecommerce, calendars) necessary to move stakeholders from observers to participants.

In 2007, Green Street Project collaborated with Chicago Mayor Daley's Office, Interfaith and Community Affairs division, to build a $1.5 million software platform, called CitizenPowered.org, capable of quickly and easily deploying and hosting thousands of state-of-the art, engaging websites.

For clients wanting even more sophisticated websites than CitizenPowered.org provides, the software platform can serve as their backend and a starting place for futher customization. The platform saves them time and money since most of the core functionality they'll need is already been built, continually tested with live users, and constantly updated.

Green Street Project makes its software platform available to its clients at no cost. Clients simply pay $100 per hour for Green Street Project's expert developers and designers to customize the CitizenPowered.org platform to meet their needs. Since clients pay nothing for software, the custom websites we build typically cost pennies on the dollar compared to hiring a traditional web development firm. We host and maintain the websites, freeing clients from this burden.

Interested in hiring Green Street Project to develop your website or web-based application? Contact Todd McMeen at tmcmeen@greenstreetproject.org.

Example:

Green Street Project was retained by the Chicago Police Department and its Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) to help with its community outreach and organizing goals. As part of the project, Green Street Project developed the website for CommonSenseSavesLives.org, a new nonprofit organization that's becoming the mouthpiece for Chicago's growing, anti-violence movement, a response to the surge in street-level gun violence. Chicago Police Officer Ronald Holt founded the organization after his teenage son, Blair, was tragically slain in an infamous, daytime, public bus shooting--an innocent bystander when alleged gang members targeted other victims. Ron found himself in front of news cameras and microphones, in interviews ranging from the Opera Show to National Public Radio to local television and built his organization to give purpose to his pain.

We developed CommonSenseSavesLives.org and its sister site, PurposeOverPain.org, to help Ron and other parents of slain children shift the conversation from the sensational "why" we should care to the more participatory "how" we can care. Concerned residents can get organized and take action, by signing the online petition, pledging to volunteer and learning about upcoming peace building events.

SERVICES: Program Development and Management

Green Street Project works with community groups, government agencies and corporations to develop and manage programs that address social challenges and opportunities.

Example:

The Community Building Initiative of Chicago
Co-founder and Administrator

In May 2006, Chicago Mayor Daley gave Sean Harden, head of Community and Interfaith Affairs, a mandate to build the capacity of community-based and faith-based organizations. In response, the City of Chicago and Green Street Project co-founded the Community Building Initiative, with Green Street Project serving as the Initiative's administrator.

In 2007, we invited 1,000 community leaders to tell us how we could best support their work, during six town hall meetings at City Hall and in hundreds of small-group briefings. What did they want? They asked for more social capital, which we define as the number, quality and utility of relationships. Emerging community groups wanted in-kind donations. Nonprofit wanted more funders. Businesses wanted access to quality workers and more customers. Faith-based organizations wanted deeper connections with the broader community. Specifically, the leaders suggested web-based technologies to help them create new relationships and opportunities for sharing resources.

Under the auspices of the Community Building Initiative, Green Street Project pledged to build tools that will help create the City's largest network of community-minded people. Toward that end, we developed and are managing the following programs:

CitizenPowered.org--a free website maker for community-oriented groups, with easy tools to help them engage their supporters and promote themselves. (link to the CP.org)

The Connection Station--a kiosk that visits community events to setup free websites for their participants.

The Registration Station--a free solution to help community organizations register attendees and keep them engaged after the event. (Link to the Registration Station page)

SERVICES: Fiscal Agent Services

Green Street Project is pleased to serve as the fiscal agent for emerging nonprofits which have yet to receive their own 501(c)3 designation. Emerging nonprofits can use our fiscal agent services to receive and process tax-deductible donations. Interested? Please contact Todd McMeen at tmcmeen@greenstreetproject.org.