If you cannot read this or see links below, please click: http://GreenMap.org/greenhouse/en/node/3263

Help Us Get 2008 Off to a Great Start!

The new year has already brought an exciting opportunity to Green Map System and you can help us win big! If we collect the most $10 donations from the most people in January, we’ll be among the eight $50,000 prize winners in "America’s Giving Challenge", helping our movement and communities worldwide enormously.

Here’s how America’s Giving Challenge works: the 8 nonprofits that receive the greatest number of unique $10 online donations by January 31 through a special web page set up by their "Champion" will win $50,000. Our founder, Wendy Brawer, has signed on as the Champ for Green Map System and there are two easy ways that people worldwide can help us win:

1. Contribute $10 Donate $10 or more using this link to Wendy’s special Challenge fundraising webpage:

http://givingchallenge.globalgiving.com/dy/registry/ag.html?regid=899&cmd=prevfund

Important: To count, each donation must be made by a unique giver, so please don’t use the same credit card for more than one person’s gift. $10 is the Challenge’s minimum, and Green Map System will benefit from every tax-deductible dollar you donate online!

2. Increase the Number of Contributors by Spreading this Message!

Forward this link ( http://givingchallenge.globalgiving.com/dy/registry/ag.html?regid=899&cmd=prevfund ) along to your friends, family and social networks (ask them to forward it to their networks as well)! There’s an optional sample message at the end of this newsletter.

If you have a website, blog or social network site, please post the Link and encourage people to donate directly on our fundraising webpage.

The more unique donations, the better our chances of winning one of the eight $50,000 prizes! Additionally, 100 nonprofits will win $1,000 prizes for the most money raised in January from America’s Giving Challenge, which is sponsored by Parade Magazine, The Case Foundation, Network for Good and GlobalGiving. We are already a part of GlobalGiving’s 400-project network, so with your help, we have an especially good chance of winning. This is a unique and practical opportunity to support and thank our diverse, dedicated, largely volunteer Green Mapmakers for their promotion of local green living resources all over the world! Please click and add your $10 today!

2008 is an important year for the Green Map movement

Indeed, on the very first day, a fresh new Green Map was published by Mapmakers at Green Camel Bell in western China, charting the Yellow River of Lanzhou! We’re still calculating the total number of Green Maps that were printed or published online in 2007, but are happy to report that a record-breaking 67 brand-new Green Map projects were registered! All 441 projects around the world can be found at GreenMap.org.

Very soon, the latest version of the Green Map iconography will be making its debut. We expect to see these new icons appear first in locally published Green Maps of Bucharest and Baltimore, with hundreds more to follow!

The new icons will also be featured in the Global Green Map! This interactive open map will be online by mid-2008, inviting both the public and the network of Green Mapmakers to contribute green sites, pathways and resources worldwide, enhanced with open commentary, green ratings, and on-the-move formats for always-available access.

While the Global Green Map will merge our collective knowledge about the places and projects making progress toward sustainability worldwide, we will continue to empower and promote the local Green Map projects at the same time, helping to highlight the full range of resources, individuals and organizations leading way to more sustainable communities.

The prospect of adding $50,000 to our modest budget is so important as we start this new year, helping to sustain our diverse activities as we continue to grow our network of Mapmakers and expand our accessibility and global impact. Today, please pitch in and help Green Map System take the next steps towards a more sustainable future for everyone!

Donate & Forward Now!
America's Giving Challenge runs until 3:00PM EST on January 31, 2008. Please donate now to make sure your contribution really counts, and use the links and code below to alert your family, friends and colleagues.

Many thanks in advance for your help! Together, we can make 2008 a great year for greener communities worldwide!

Sample email message:

SUBJECT: Help support a great cause in America's Giving Challenge!

Please join me in supporting public participation in sustainable communities around the world by donating $10 to Green Map System as part of Parade Magazine’s “America’s Giving Challenge.”

Each donation of $10 or more will go directly towards supporting Green Map’s work engaging communities - locally and globally - to chart a sustainable future, and will help them win a $50,000 prize for collecting the greatest number of unique online donations through their Challenge fundraising site.

To donate and help Green Map win big, click on the following URL:

http://givingchallenge.globalgiving.com/dy/registry/ag.html?regid=899&cmd=prevfund

Think Global, Map Local - Let’s do our part to connect communities and environments everywhere!

Thank you, and please forward this message!