The Genius Blog

SignUpGenius Serves at Loaves and Fishes

Last week, the SignUpGenius team took a break from our computers to spend time serving at Loaves and Fishes, a ministry that has over 20 food pantries in our hometown of Charlotte, NC. The organization provides a week's worth of nutritious groceries to individuals and families in a short-term crisis, and last year alone they served 78,602 people. 

During our lunch hour, 12 of our team members helped to sort over 175 boxes containing food and household items. Sorting the items into categories helps the Loaves and Fishes staff stock and distribute goods in a nutritionally balanced way to those in need. 

If you’d like to learn more about SignUpGenius and the organizations that we support throughout the year, please visit our Giving Back page.

There are few things more rewarding than serving in the local community. What are YOU up to in your own little corner of the world? Share your story!

Dr. Seuss Continues to Inspire During Read Across America

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr. Seuss wasn’t the only one who valued the lessons learned through reading. 

Seuss’s writing continues to inspire and motivate readers of all ages, and Read Across America is a wonderful time to honor his birthday with some fun. Check out the resources we’ve pulled out of our red and white striped hats just for you! 

• Celebrate with these unique Read Across America ideas!
• Get inspired with our favorite Dr. Seuss quotes.
• Need some tips to make reading fun? Start here.
• Assist young readers with these helpful READING RULES for parents.
• Organize a school-wide challenge, such as a Reading Marathon.

If you’re as excited as we are about making a difference in the lives of young readers, be sure to enter our School Library Makeover, where one lucky school will win $5000!

Look Who's Talking!

SignUpGenius was recently featured in Business North Carolina magazine as a “NC Trend.” The piece highlights our founders, shares about recent company growth, and tells about how our site helps groups get organized.

Read the full Business NC article HERE. 

Though getting media coverage is swell, it’s the words from our users that really hit home. Here’s what others have had to share lately: 

"Wow, this site is amazing! I've used it for a few years but this year we upgraded to Pro and it has been a game changer for our school! Being able to have that summary page with all the school sign ups together and being able to have multiple admins is well worth the cost of the yearly membership. Each time I think it would be nice to have this feature or that feature, I find that you are already way ahead of me. Thank you so much for all you do!!!” - St Joseph’s Catholic School, Moorhead, MN 

“I am a HUGE fan. I am a second career nurse in northern Virginia at a large teaching hospital where I work on the labor unit with 120 fabulous coworkers. The nurses have to "sign up" for 8 hours of "call" each schedule of 4 weeks. After 2 months of getting the staff prepared mentally for "online call" I'm pleased to say our maiden voyage was a huge success...peace reigned on the west side where the paper sign up used to be. All 84 nurses signed up within 24 hours - unheard of. Thanks SUG. I'm a fan forever.” - Max Engler, Burke, VA 

Thanks for using SignUpGenius! Have something to share? Drop us a line.

Privacy Policy Update: All About Advertising

We’ve made a few changes to our privacy policy and wanted you to be aware.  

The recent updates provide clarification on the privacy of user data related to new companies that we are working with. Like many other sites, we partner with ad networks that utilize contextual marketing, which is targeted advertising based on user data like web behavior. For example, recently my wife and I were doing some searching online related to our summer vacation. Immediately afterwards, we started seeing advertising on many of the websites we visit related to discount cruises and resorts. You’ve probably had a similar experience on the web, and there are a number of companies and websites that make that kind of ad targeting possible.  

The critical point that concerns you as a user is that data that SignUpGenius provides an ad network or vendor is NEVER “Personally Identifiable Information” or PII data. PII data is data that can be used to identify, locate, or directly contact a person (like your email address or phone number). There are a variety of technologies that ad companies use to serve you relevant ads, but none of your important PII data is ever compromised when you visit SignUpGenius. In addition, all users have the ability to opt-out of behavioral targeting or could pay a small fee to use our sign ups without ads. 

For more information, please read our full Privacy Policy, which we have worked hard to make as clear as possible. And thanks so much for using SignUpGenius. 

Dan Rutledge
CEO, SignUpGenius 

Collecting money is EASY!

Gathering cash for the school field trip, coach's gift, or church fundraiser can be a real pain. But it doesn't have to be! Join our friend Todd on his journey to find a better solution for collecting money, with SignUpGenius Payments!

Genius Reflection: Valentine's Day FAIL

Kate White

Marketing Genius

It was February 14th of my junior year of high school when a friend of mine dropped me off to an empty house after practice. I walked in an immediately realized something was not quite right…our house had been broken into! Unsure how to get in touch with my parents in a pre-cell phone world, I called the cops.

Unbeknownst to me, my dad had actually taken the microwave, stereo, and various other items over to the site where my parents were building a new home. So, while I was filing police reports, he was warming up Mom’s favorite to-go meal and lighting candles, oblivious to my panic! Upon their return home, they were more than a little surprised to find a police car in the driveway. I heard my mom explaining things to the officer, who was NOT amused. Let’s just say that the next time Dad tried to sweep my mom off her feet, he informed his eldest daughter.

Speaking of sweeping someone off their feet, SignUpGenius has some great gift ideas that’ll give your honey something to smile about this Valentine’s Day. (If you’re lucky, your child won’t even call the police on you!) 

Do YOU have a funny Valentine’s Day story? Share it with us on our Facebook page or in the comments below.

Want to WIN this Valentine's Day? Enter our PinToWin for a chance at $250!