In the illustration above, you can see four ways to unlock something. In order, they are keys, a keypad, a thumbprint reader, and the word "forms", our keyword and key to sharing information with others in your community. Surprisingly, it's not all about business advertising. It could be a thank you to volunteers. You might want to announce a bake sale that will support local youth activities. It could be a volunteer opportunity and it could be the availability of a free class in your neighborhood.

Summary: Free and easy self-publishing

Why? Because it's needed and it makes us feel good.

In just a few paragraphs, we will try to describe how Local4All hopes to help your community plus your neighbors, friends, and family.  We will assume for the moment that you don't have anyone looking over your shoulder... we are talking to one person. What we hope to accomplish is to make a set of online tools available for your use seven days a week, 24 hours a day. What that will take is just a little help from you and a little more from hundreds if not thousands of others like you.

Benefit #1: Save time!

Stop chasing reporters, publicity agents, and any other middleman unless you really love doing that. Any committee member or volunteer can now help you with your publishing needs on a schedule that's convenient for the two of you.

Benefit #2: Save frustration!

Have you ever missed a publishing deadline or sweated out the rush to get an ad to the newspaper office on time? With only a few exceptions, news stories and photos, material is published RIGHT NOW! For security reasons and to maintain a website that is family-friendly, child-safe, we have real people checking news and photo submissions.

Benefit #3: A "feel-good" paycheck (when you share this information or use it to help others.)

Why do we volunteer to help others? Because we can and it makes us feel good to help.


You might encounter a moment of disbelief but try this on for size... people ENJOY helping other people.  Think about the number of volunteers that work long hours for the Red Cross, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and thousands of other nonprofit organizations.  While they don't earn the same type of paycheck like they do in their 9-5 job, they still show up! 

Why? Enjoyment!  It's selfish and self-less at the same time... THEY FEEL GOOD! OTHERS FEEL GOOD!

If you're a volunteer, you know what I mean... YOU FEEL GOOD!!!

WHAT'S 'FREE' IN "FREE4ALL"?

We know how important it is for everyone to get the information out where others can find it. Just about everything in Local4All is free to use and enjoy for anyone with one exception.  While our 'customers' are diverse, only businesses are asked to pay anything and they get advertising value in return. Advertising is a normal and expected part of doing business. BUT, we charge less than most!

Businesses:  They need products and/or services that they can sell for a profit, employees to build, package, and/or sell it, and advertising - information about the products, services, and what it costs. 

We sell additional business advertising because businesses really, really need it, but we sell it for much less than others charge.  That can lead to lower prices for you unless the company's owners or managers are greedy.

Nonprofits:  They need volunteers and money to accomplish their mission and these are two areas where we try to help. 

• Attracting volunteers:  Nonprofits can use one volunteer to find 10 or 20 more.  How?  By publishing accurate information of what their mission is, how they plan to accomplish it, when, and asking for help.  Volunteers will come forward WHEN there are people they can help, a cause they can believe in.
• Retaining volunteers:  For groups like Habitat for Humanity, publishing details of your work days on a public calendar can result in more volunteers showing up with the right tools, on the right day, at the right time.  That means 'less frustration', 'more accomplished', and a better feeling for having invested time and energy.  Whether you volunteer for Habitat for Humanity or any other organization, having clear up-to-date information available is a must to avoid a 'revolving door' volunteer program. Several forms lend themselves to volunteer recognition, too.
• Fundraising:  Our business advertisers are recognized as "Community Sponsors" and we need help getting the word out to them.  Selling advertising is not always considered a prime fundraising activity but it really is.  Anything that has their name on it is advertising and they know it.  They will buy and when they do, a nonprofit whose volunteers help can earn money for their organization.

Individuals:  Not every person is part of a business or a nonprofit organization, but they are a part of the community.  What we hope to do for the individual is give information that is helpful in his or her everyday activities.  In addition, our Agent program is designed to let individuals work alone or side-by-side with nonprofits in fundraising activities.

What to do next: check out our three tutorials

Nonprofits:  Learn about free tools at http://n2.local4all.com Individuals:  Study agent program details at a2.local4all.com Businesses: Although we have three options in low-cost advertising for entrepreneur and small companies, there are many more possibilities for "free". Learn more at http://b2.local4all.com OR check out your hometown. URL: http://.local4all.com

In exploring Local4All, let your imagination be your guide, help others when you can, and don't be greedy.