Today we made it official: We've dropped the "r" and we're now Grasshop. More on the name change at the end.

We've also officially launched our grassroots advocacy and communications platform, which some of you have been using and helping us improve. If that's you... Thanks!

We designed Grasshop to bring effective engagement tools to associations, member organizations and individual issue advocates. We're addressing three big challenges facing many grassroots organizations and activists: Advocacy technology is expensive, difficult to use, and it's not always very social.

Our goal with Grasshop is to make it simple for associations and activists to communicate with their supporters and get them engaged in advocacy campaigns. Grasshop focuses on two areas:

• Grassroots Advocacy. Launch and track issue-advocacy campaigns at the federal, state and local level in minutes. Use a mix of email and social media channels to get your calls-to-action to your supporters and their networks. We match everyone to their elected officials and get their messages delivered while you track your success.
• Stakeholder Communications. Use a mix of email and social media channels to reach all of your members and supporters and target your communications by state, city or district. Facilitate a social media community of your most passionate supporters and provide tools for them to share your content and campaigns.

The high cost of legacy advocacy technology has kept these tools out of the hands of most associations and grassroots organizations. We wanted to make a robust grassroots advocacy solution available to all organizations, regardless of budget or technical resources. Now, having authentic stakeholders who share your passion and positions on issues is the only ingredient necessary to wage an effective advocacy campaign and get your voices heard.

Susan Connors, President and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America, says "with Grasshop, the process of communicating with our members and launching grassroots advocacy campaigns is much simpler. And the accessibly of Grasshop makes it easier for our state affiliates to get on board."

About the name change. When we first thought of "Grasshopr" we felt we had a great name and a clever "webby" spelling. Many agreed. However, since then, the owner of grasshopper.com transferred from a lawnmower company to a phone service for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Since then, brand confusion has increased, so we decided to drop the "r" from our name. It's shorter and seems to have ended confusion. Are we bitter? Nope! We actually love the Grasshopper.com phone service and use it ourselves! How's that for happy irony!

We'd like to thank The Brain Injury Association of America and the other organizations who have helped us get to this official launch. It's only the beginning, so stay tuned for more features and more enhancements! We've got a lot in store!

- Andrew Wright, Co-founder