How to use DonorsChoose to Get Cool Stuff for Your Classroom

Do you want free items for your classroom? Wishing you had new furniture, technology, or supplies? Here’s a super simple solution for you! DonorsChoose! It’s an incredible website that allows you to request items for your classroom and receive donations from supporters around the world, which means you get them for FREE. In this post, I am going to walk you through everything you need to know about DonorsChoose and how to request items for your classroom.

I started my first project on DonorsChoose in 2016 and requested virtual reality glasses for my classroom. My project was fully funded thanks to the generosity of several anonymous donors. I continued to create projects for supplies and to date, I have received over $2,000 in funding. Because of DonorsChoose my students now have Chromebooks, Osmos, robots, building materials, and more. You can even set up a DonorsChoose request to attend professional development workshops or for class trips!

How to Start With DonorsChoose

All you need to do to get started is visit the donorschoose.org website. Getting started is as easy as 1,2,3! First, you request your items. These can be found right on the DonorsChoose website and come from trusted sources like Amazon Business, Best Buy Education, and more. Because DonorsChoose uses vendors like these, you and your donors can be sure you are getting the very best materials for your classroom. And, the items you can request are virtually limitless. You can request technology, classroom supplies, furniture, and more through DonorsChoose. You can even request TPT gift cards from DonorsChoose to buy lessons, books, robots, and more.

Next, you put your request out for the world to see. You will receive a personalized link you can share on social media or your school website. Share it anywhere you can. Social media is a great platform for sharing your list. Encourage your family and friends to share your post for greater reach. Your class newsletter, school newsletter, or school website is another great way to share your link. This allows both anonymous donors and donors within your community to step up and fund your projects. And. . . DonorsChoose will match donations from every donor you refer to your first project.

Once your project is funded your requested items will be delivered directly to your school. Once they arrive, it is time to send thank you notes to your donors. Take some pictures of your students using the items you requested and get your students involved in writing thank you notes. this step and ask them to write thoughtful thank-you notes to all the donors who helped fund your project.

What to Request from DonorsChoose

DonorsChoose makes creating a project very simple for us busy teachers. Start by brainstorming ideas on what you would love for your students. Are you excited to create a dedicated STEM space in your classroom? Or, would it be helpful to have iPads in your classroom for your students to use to learn how to create stop-motion movies? Maybe your students want to start a greenhouse and you are looking for lights and vertical planters. No matter what you need, DonorsChoose can make it a reality.

If you are having trouble thinking of what to request, take a look at my Amazon wishlist. I keep this updated with resources that I love using in my classroom. It’s a great place to start when you are looking to stock your classroom.

If you create an Amazon Wishlist for the #clearthelist campaign, look through your wishlist and see if any themes stand out to you. Maybe you have a lot of robot-themed items on your Amazon Wishlist. This would be a great starting point. You could write up a proposal for integrating robots into your curriculum to use with coding mats or STEM challenges. Or, maybe you have a ton of books on women in STEM. Write up a proposal for a STEM library to add to your classroom focusing on women in STEM. You could even find a cute bookshelf and maybe a rug or chair to create a reading corner for your students.

How to Write a Proposal for DonorsChoose

When you are ready to write your proposal, follow these simple steps:

• Create your DonorsChoose account.
• Fill in your grade level & subject.
• Write about your students and town. Help potential donors get to know your students a little more.
• Shop from various stores such as Amazon, Best Buy, Lakeshore, School Specialty, Lego Education, Time for Kids and more. The website brings you directly to the store site where you can shop online like normal.
• Explain what is in your cart in one sentence! Sort of like a tagline.
• Write about the project and how it will help your students in 1- 2 paragraphs.

Treat your essay like a story. You want your donors to be immediately drawn to your project and imagine how their donation will make a difference in the lives of you and your students. Remember when you are writing your essay that this is what your donors will see first. This is what will inspire them to donate to fund your project. So, don’t be afraid to put it all out there. It’s a great way for donors to feel personally connected to the project.

Sharing Your DonorsChoose Page With the World

Once your project is live, it is time to share it with the world! At first, I felt shy and embarrassed to share my page, but then I realized how much I love to donate to various causes and remembered that there are people all over the world looking for ways to enhance the lives of children.

So, with that in mind, I took the leap and began by sharing my page with family and friends! Then, I simply asked them to pass along the link on their social media platforms. I also shared my link on my classroom page.

Before long I had donations streaming in. One of the things I love most about DonorsChoose is your donors don’t have a specific amount they are required to donate to your project.

So, you could have your project fully funded by 3 donors, or 15! You may have some donors who donate $5 towards your project and others who donate $50. But, no matter the amount, every little bit helps.

Match Offers on DonorsChoose

Keep a look out for special promotions and events!!! DonorsChoose will often have promotions where partner organizations offer a matching opportunity! Build excitement for your project by reposting the link to your project along with a short sentence letting them know that if they donate it will be matched. This is a great draw because people know their donation gets doubled. These are called match offers.

A match offer allows corporations or foundations to pledge to match individual donations for specific projects using specific criteria. For example, a company may be interested in funding a compassion-based project. They may require that the project focus on teaching your students to learn to see the world through the eyes of another person. And, they will ask that the supplies you request be used specifically to help teach compassion. They will typically also include some guidelines for the essay so they can see how you will use these supplies to teach your students about compassion.

Match offers are often tied to specific subjects, geographic locations, or types of resources requested. They are time-sensitive and depend on the availability of funds from the matching partner​. So keep that in mind when applying for these special match offers. Make sure to read the requirements of a match offer carefully so that you make sure to include all of the requirements.

DonorsChoose for the Win!

Don’t be afraid to try out DonorsChoose this year. Being an educator is tough and it’s sometimes nearly impossible to get all of the supplies and materials we want for our classrooms. So, using a platform like DonorsChoose helps connect you with people who want to help you have the best possible year for your students.

Looking for even more inspiration for projects or supplies you can use in your classroom with the help of DonorsChoose? Check out these posts with some of my favorite items and how I use them in my classroom.

• 3D PRINTING IN THE CLASSROOM: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED
• MY FAVORITE STEM ROBOTS FOR THE CLASSROOM
• FROM IMAGINATION TO CREATION: 9 PICTURE BOOKS THAT BRING INVENTORS TO LIFE

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