Donors Choose

My mother in law first told me about Donors Choose last year. She recommended checking it out as it is a great way for public school teachers to obtain classroom materials that they cannot afford to (or don't want t0) purchase with their own money.

I decided to give it a go.

I created a proposal requesting some math manipulatives and games for my students. I was having a hard time motivating some of the kids during math and they were struggling. I was searching for a way to make math more enjoyable, bearing in mind that kids are more likely to learn if they are having a good time and math makes more sense when you have things to move around and manipulate. 

The fun part about creating a proposal for materials is the shopping! There are many education websites linked to the site where you can do some virtual shopping and add desired items to your cart. When finished, you have a completed list of items that you are requesting and a total cost which includes the cost of shipping. 

Don't get me wrong, this is not just an easy way to get whatever you want for free...Your request has to be student centered, reasonable, and meaningful which is why you are required to submit a proposal for review in which you describe the materials you would like, how you will use them, how the students will benefit etc. 

Once submitted, the proposal gets reviewed and, if accepted, gets posted on the  DonorsChoose.org webpage. Potential donors can browse through the proposals and if there is a particular proposal that speaks to them, they can make a donation towards the total cost. I was fortunate enough to have two wonderful donors who submitted enough money to cover the cost of the math games and manipulatives I had requested.

I received notice that my proposal had been funded and was asked to confirm the shipping address of my school. Shortly after that I received the thank you package which included a disposable camera, the names of my donors, and instructions on what to do next. As part of the process, teachers are required to photograph their students benefitting from the donations (whether it is using the materials or participating in an activity), they are also required to have their students write thank you notes to the donors, as well as write a personal thank you note describing the impact the donation had on the students. Within a few weeks of returning the thank you package, I received a box including all of the materials I had requested.

That was an exciting day! I showed my students each of the new things we had gotten and they were just as thrilled as I was. During an indoor recess shortly after the arrival of the new games, all of my students played math games instead of blocks, coloring, or computer games!

Once you have established an account with Donors Choose, there is a point system. You begin with three points and you can spend and earn points by completing various actions. Submitting proposals costs points (based on the cost of materials), but by responding to email notification quickly and returning the thank you materials you can earn back points. 

Once submitted a proposal has about 6 months to be funded or it is removed from the site. Since I had excellent luck with my first proposal, I decided to create a second. This time, I requested non-fiction books relating to science and social studies themes I cover as well as picture books written in Spanish for my students who participate in Spanish Language Arts. The proposal has been listed for awhile and so far I have not had any donor action, but I am still hopeful! 

Teachers typically spend a lot of their own money on classroom supplies. Donors Choose is a fantastic way to receive donations rather than using personal funds. So many teachers have inspiring, creative, and magnificent ideas, but are limited by the costs involved. If you are one of those teachers that has a fantastic idea brewing, but needs some materials to make it work, I strongly encourage you to check out DonorsChoose.org and give it a go!

My current, hopefully soon funded, proposal