DonorsChoose.org Reviews

Donations to DonorsChoose.org can be made in several ways. One can choose to donate monthly. The chosen amount will be charged today and account credits will be given to use toward any project. Starting from the next month, the same amount will be charged on the 17th of each month and an email will be sent to pick the projects. If no project is picked, the donation will be used to support other classrooms.

Another way is to donate once but support teachers year-round through account credits. These are funds that can be contributed now and drawn from later to fund classroom projects.

Donations can also be made through donor-advised funds, IRA, cryptocurrency, and stocks. For each of these methods, after processing, a gift code will be received that can be used to support projects.

One can also choose to support a specific classroom. A teacher or classroom can be found on the search page and support can be sent directly to them, whether they have a live project or not.

Lastly, one can choose to leave a legacy gift. DonorsChoose can be named as a beneficiary, and the support can be tailored exactly where it would like to land.

Please note that all these methods are subject to change and it's always best to check the official website for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

DonorsChoose.org is open to all public and public charter schools in the United States, as well as GED and Pre-K programs run by public school systems. All front line educators are eligible to create accounts on the site and submit project requests. Teachers who have 6 or more points can submit a Special Request project. Teachers can request student-centered materials needed to support student instruction, including classroom materials, virtual field trips, and online classroom visitors. However, all requested resources must be used by students or directly provide a student experience. The request must be appropriate to your school. The project cannot foster discrimination or proselytize a religious or political viewpoint. Any project that infringes upon a student's safety or right to privacy is not eligible.

DonorsChoose.org is a platform where individuals can donate to support classrooms in need. The cost to the donor is flexible, as they can choose how much they want to donate monthly. The donation is charged on the day of the donation and then on the 17th of each subsequent month. If the donor doesn't pick a project, the donation is used to support other classrooms. Donations are tax-deductible. It's important to note that the specific costs associated with running the platform or the projects themselves are not explicitly stated..

DonorsChoose.org was founded in the year 2000 by Charles Best, a social studies teacher at Wings Academy in The Bronx. The idea was conceived when Charles and his colleagues often found themselves spending their own money on school supplies for their students and discussing materials they wished they could afford in the teachers' lunchroom. The first version of the site was built in his classroom, and he invited colleagues to post material requests.

In 2003, The Oprah Winfrey Show featured Charles Best in a segment on Innovative Teachers, which aired on June 20. The traffic generated from the show crashed the site, but viewers donated $250,000 to classroom projects. In 2006, following the destruction of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the site opened to public school teachers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. In 2007, the site opened to every public school in the United States.

As of March 2018, donors have contributed over $640 million to fund more than 1 million classroom projects posted on the site, reaching 27 million students in public schools across the United States. DonorsChoose enables teachers to request materials and resources for their classrooms and makes these project requests available to individual donors through its website. Donors can give $1 or more to projects that interest them, which are searchable by school name, teacher name, location, school subject, material, and keywords. DonorsChoose then purchases necessary supplies and ships them directly to the schools. Every project contains a line-item budget and a description of the project. All donors receive photographs of the project taking place in the classroom and a letter from the teacher. Donors who contribute $50 or more to a project also receive hand-written thank-you notes from students..

DonorsChoose.org is a platform that empowers public school teachers to request much-needed materials for their students. The site connects teachers in high-need communities with donors who want to help. Popular services include supporting a classroom, monthly donations, and match offers. The platform is known for its transparency and efficiency, showing donors how every dollar was spent and the difference it made.

The DonorsChoose Featured Favorites store is a new addition, offering hundreds of curated resources that teachers can shop from when creating their projects or selecting replacements. The store carries a wide range of resources from growing brands, including art supplies, educational kits & games, books, classroom basics, food clothing & hygiene, instructional technology, reading nooks, and sports & exercise equipment. The store is managed by DonorsChoose and offers representative resources from creators who are Black, Native American, Multiracial, and People of Color, other diverse and inclusive products, and popular teacher-requested items. The materials available are ready-to-ship, and some items may have quantity limits to ensure that popular resources can be sent to more classrooms. If stock runs out, the product will be removed from the store.

In addition to these, the platform also focuses on addressing racial and economic inequity through its Equity Focus School Projects. DonorsChoose.org is trusted by teachers, donors, administrators, and partner organizations across the country. It has received the highest possible ratings from Better Business Bureau, Charity Watch, Charity Navigator, and Guidestar..

Donations to DonorsChoose.org can be made in several ways. One can donate monthly by choosing a specific amount to donate each month. The charge is made on the day of the donation and gives account credits to use toward any project. Starting from the next month, the charge is made on the 17th of each month and an email is sent to pick the projects. If no project is picked, the donation is used to support other classrooms.

Another way to donate is through account credits. These are funds that one can contribute now and draw from later to fund classroom projects. DonorsChoose.org also accepts donations through donor-advised funds, IRA, cryptocurrency, and stocks.

One can also choose to support a specific classroom. If there's a local teacher one would like to support, they can find the teacher or classroom on the search page and send support directly to them, whether they have a live project or not.

Lastly, DonorsChoose.org also accepts legacy gifts. One can name DonorsChoose.org as a beneficiary and tailor exactly where they would like their support to land.

Please note that the exact steps to donate may vary and it's recommended to visit the official DonorsChoose.org website for the most accurate information..

On DonorsChoose.org, all "front line educators" are eligible to create accounts and submit project requests. This includes teachers, librarians, guidance counselors, school nurses and full-time teachers who also act as coaches. These individuals must work directly with students for 75% or more of their time. Teachers can request student-centered materials needed to support student instruction, including classroom materials, virtual field trips, and online classroom visitors. However, all requested resources must be used by students or directly provide a student experience. The request must be appropriate to the school and the project cannot foster discrimination or proselytize a religious or political viewpoint. Any project that infringes upon a student's safety or right to privacy is not eligible. Materials funded through DonorsChoose generally belong to the public school or Head Start center at which the teacher is employed when resources are shipped. There are exceptions to this ownership policy for certain projects and scenarios, for which materials are owned by students.

At donorschoose.org, one can donate dollars into their own account without having to pick projects first. This balance can be kept in the account and used to fund projects over the next 12 months. These are called Account Credits. Purchasing account credits allows for a ready balance available whenever there’s a match announcement or last-minute project one wants to fund. This also allows for giving once, and then having the next 12 months to choose projects throughout the year, instead of having to process a new donation each time. Account credits can be purchased using credit card, PayPal, a donor advised fund (DAF), ACH / Wire, or checks (for amounts $100 and up) from one's personal account or IRA. As soon as the donation is received and the credits are put into the account, an email notification is sent that they are ready for use. Please note that credits purchased through a donor advised fund or check will not appear instantly in the account. One must follow the instructions to generate a unique donation ID each time they purchase credits, and put this ID into the memo section of their grant or check, so that it can be tied back to the donor account.

At DonorsChoose.org, the refund policy states that refund requests submitted within 150 days of the original payment date will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and in most cases, will result in a DonorsChoose credit. However, no refunds are offered if more than 150 days have passed since the payment date.

As for the return policy, vendors cannot accept returns or exchanges for materials without approval from DonorsChoose.org. This policy ensures donations to projects are used as intended by the donors. If an item arrives damaged or isn't functional, DonorsChoose.org will work with vendors to provide an exact replacement. However, vendors have different return policies, some with strict time frames.

Regarding the shipping policy, the majority of materials from fully funded projects are delivered to school addresses. Under extenuating circumstances, certain projects are eligible for flexible shipping to locations other than a school address. If a school is unable to receive packages and the project is ineligible for flexible shipping, DonorsChoose.org can update the school’s address to a district administrative office, a district warehouse, a district meal distribution site, or another school in the district that is open or available to receive packages..

DonorsChoose.org is an online charity on a mission to make it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Founded in 2000 by a high school teacher in the Bronx, it empowers public school teachers from across the country to request much-needed materials for their students. The platform enables teachers to request materials and resources for their classrooms and makes these project requests available to individual donors. Donors can give any amount to projects that interest them, which are searchable by school name, teacher name, location, school subject, material, and keywords. The platform is trusted by teachers, donors, administrators, and partner organizations across the country. It also provides transparency and efficiency by showing how every dollar was spent, how it made a difference, and how grateful the students and teachers are. It has received the highest possible ratings from various organizations such as the Better Business Bureau, Charity Watch, Charity Navigator, and Guidestar. It also offers monthly donations where donors can choose a new project every month. The platform also focuses on addressing racial and economic inequity by supporting equity focus schools. There are thousands of exciting teacher requests that would benefit from a donation of any size. DonorsChoose.org connects teachers in high-need communities with donors who want to help..