DonorsChoose.org Resources

 

DonorsChoose (www.donorschoose.org) is a nonprofit organization that helps public school teachers in the United States obtain funding for their classroom projects. As of the beginning of 2013, they had helped teachers raise over $168 million dollars which had impacted over 8 million students!

As a classroom teacher, I received thousands of dollars in funding, and I want to help other teachers achieve the same success. I asked 5th grade teacher Francie Kugelman to join me in a webinar and share her tips for writing proposals. Francie has received over $28,000 in funding and she's a volunteer project reader for DonorsChoose, so she's definitely an expert! Below you'll find the link to the webinar and other materials mentioned during the session.

Friends and Family Weeks at DonorsChoose

DonorsChoose frequently hosts Friends and Family weeks where donations are matched, dollar for dollar, when the donor uses a special matching code. Look for email announcements from DonorsChoose about these special events, and be sure to take advantage of them. I suggest sending home a letter to parents to let them know about the matching code and how it works. I created a DonorsChoose letter that you can customize and send home to let parents know. Be sure to add the relevant dates and details about your projects before sending it home to parents. You can also copy and paste this information into an email to let them know.

DonorsChoose News

Want to keep up with the news on DonorsChoose partnerships and special funding opportunities? Just scroll to the DonorsChoose News section at the bottom of the page!

Promote Your Project on Facebook

Check out my blog post on Corkboard Connections to find out how you can promote your project on my Facebook page and possibly receive some help with funding your project. I'm no longer in the classroom, so I enjoy supporting other teachers who are doing wonderful things for their students! Each Sunday morning, look for my Facebook request for proposals, post them on my Wall, and ask your friends to vote for your project. I'll choose one or more projects to help fund, and even if your project is not selected, you'll be promoting it online to over 50,000 fans! You can read more about my Fund-day Sunday initiative on Corkboard Connections.

How to Fund Your Classroom Projects Webinar Info

• How to Fund Your Classroom Projects Webinar
• Francie's PowerPoint Slides from the Webinar
• Laura's DonorsChoose Sample Letter ( This sample letter might help you direct donors to the website to fund your project.)
• Francie's List of DonorsChoose Projects worth $28,000! (This list might help you think of ideas for your own grants.)

How to Fund Your Classroom Projects Webinar Recording

 

DonorsChoose.org News!

Do you have news about DonorsChoose that you would like posted here? Send it to suggestions@lauracandler.com and if it's relevant and newsworthy, it will be shared!

Current Funding Opportunities

The Current Funding Opportunities page is a huge list of ways to get your project funded. The national opportunities are at the top, followed by a list of states with special funding deals.