Join our Neighborhood discussions - be our Neighbor!
We Move DC event by thisisbossi licensed under Creative Commons.
Tunnels. Barry Farm. Metro’s ridership declines. What “YIMBY” means. These are some of the topics our Neighbors have discussed recently on the discussion group for the GGWash Neighborhood. Won’t you be our neighbor and join the discussion?
The GGWash Neighborhood is our new membership program that builds year-round support for our news and advocacy, while providing members with expanded conversations. In past years, our annual Reader Drive has provided important financial support to cover our operating expenses, such as our Managing Editor’s salary and server space for the website. The GGWash Neighborhood creates a community for our donors and gives us a sustained revenue stream.
The GGWash Neighborhood has three levels of participation, with cumulative benefits. No matter what level you choose, your contribution will further our mission to support equitable urbanism in the greater Washington region. In recognition of your commitment, and to give you more connection to our operations, we offer perks to our Neighbors.
One of those perks: an online discussion group, which is available to all GGWash Neighbors.
How the discussion group works
The thing that drew me most to GGWash when I first started reading the site three years ago was the depth and civility of the comments. The commenters provide insights that extend the content in the posts. GGWash is fortunate to have so many knowledgeable readers who are truly invested in urbanist issues.
Because of this incredible asset, I wanted to build the membership program around reader interaction. In a focus group with GGWash readers, someone mentioned that she saw a great comment from someone who probably lived in her neighborhood on the site, but had no way to connect with them! We want the GGWash Neighborhood to be your virtual space that can also allow for connections in real life.
The GGWash Neighborhood discussion group is currently operated through the Google Groups platform. This provides an easy way for members to create new discussion topics and reply through email (you don’t have to have a Google account). You can also take part in the conversation through the Google Group page. Members have the option to receive each post as it comes in or receive a daily digest of all activity (you can also opt-out of receiving emails all together, and then just check in to the discussion group online whenever you’d like).
We hope that the GGWash Neighborhood discussion group will grow into a vibrant online space to discuss and debate all things urbanism with your fellow GGWash neighbors.
Have other ideas for membership perks? Contact jgreen@ggwash.org!
What kind of Neighbor will you be?
Here are the three levels of Neighbors and what you get:
| Friend | Advocate | Leader |
| $60/year or $5/month | $120/year or $10/month |
$300/year or $25/month |
| Online discussion group Events and passes |
Online discussion group Blog sneak peeks |
Online discussion group Blog sneak peeks Adopt-a-tag |
Learn more about the other great benefits of being a GGWash Neighbor:
Events and passes: We are launching the GGWash Forum, a series of panel discussions on hot urbanist topics. These lively events are an opportunity to get insight from leading figures and network with fellow readers, and all Neighbors will be able to attend for free.
Blog sneak peeks: See GGWash content before anyone else! Neighbors who join at certain levels will be able to take an exclusive early look at certain blog posts (up to about one a week). The posts will be about finished but not 100% edited, so you might see them before some typos get fixed or even other changes made. You will even be able to add comments before the posts go live to the public!
Q&A conference calls: We will have periodic discussions by phone or online chat with GGWash staff, contributors, and collaborators to dive deeper into our news and advocacy. Our first Q&A, on November 2 at noon, will give you an inside look at the GGWash endorsements process.
Adopt-a-tag: Show the internet how much you love GGWash content. The “adopt-a-tag” badge with your name will appear on every post published for three months under a content tag that you choose, like HOUSING or PARKING or whatever you pick (depending on availability).
Member Advisory Committee: You can have a voice in GGWash activities through the Member Advisory Committee. This will include two in-person gatherings per year to discuss and give feedback. We will have our first event in late November.