Your Community Wants To Help

Working together is vital to the success of any project and it’s no different in education. Crowdsourcing—the sharing of best practices from many people—and community giving programs are not exclusive to small businesses and are valid methods of finding support for education.

There is a community out there that wants to share their experience to nurture your students. This document is here to help you find those communities.

Where to start?

There are so many wonderful places to ensure support for your students, but here’s just a few of our personal favorites:

Local corporations and businesses are excellent resources to share your student stories and find help. Reach out and ask if they have a corporate giving program. Many want to support their local communities and you’ll be amazed at what you find. Major Corporations, Sports Teams and Private Foundations are a hidden wealth of options. A little research will go a very long way when you are able to match your goals with the foundations’ mission. We’ve seen everything from Nike to Range Rover to Banks gifting schools.

Donors Choose - www.donorschoose.org/about

Started by a NYC teacher in 2000. Makes it very easy for corporations and people to help classrooms and teachers by funding the school’s ‘wish list’. Add the ReaderPen on your list and you’ll be surprised at people’s generosity.

Adopt a Classroom - www.adoptaclassroom.org

An award-winning, national nonprofit organization that provides funding for school supplies to classrooms and needy families. Any K-12 teachers or schools can register and share their stories of supply needs. One of the best features of AdoptAClassroom is donated funds are immediately available for use, unlike some other sites.

Other Resources

PledgeCents

www.pledgecents.com
PledgeCents is a quick and easy solution to classroom and school fundraising. Grow a fundraising idea until it’s fully funded! Similar to websites like Indiegogo, PledgeCents is a great way to create your own community.

ClassWish

https://www.classwish.org
When you need more flexibility in what you’re fundraising for, Classwish might be a great option for you. ClassWish is open to public and private schools along with education professionals including librarians, guidance counselors and school aides. It also allows anyone to find or contribute to teachers around the country, regardless of their connection to the school.

Fundly

https://fundly.com
Fundly is open to people from all walks of life. However, many teachers have used Fundly in particular to raise resources for their special projects. One successful project used Fundly to raise money to hire a music teacher in Nairobi, Kenya. One benefit of using Fundly is that it caters to mobile usage and mobile giving.

GoFundMe:

https://www.gofundme.com
GoFundMe is a popular crowdfunding platform used to raise money for all kinds of causes. There’s a section dedicated to teachers who want to raise money for projects in the education field. Educators can start campaigns to raise money for school supplies, class activities and any other classroom need that arises. Over one million people have used GoFundMe for education-related goals. GoFundMe has also been known to host contests and special events for teacher fundraising accounts.