When we were at the National Conference for Volunteering and Service, we had the great pleasure of meeting Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org. Ten years ago, when Charles was teaching in the Bronx, he and his fellow teachers were frustrated by the scarcity of supplies and the fact that teachers often paid for needed materials out of their own pockets. So, he set up a website that allowed individuals to read about what local classrooms needed and then donate directly to those specific projects.
Forehead-slappingly simple. A classroom needs $532.17 for sets of books that teach kids about US geography. You’re a big fan of geography. Or you love maps. Or you can’t believe schools are so strapped for cash that they can’t buy books. Whatever. You go to the website and donate directly to that goal. In return, you’ll get a nice thank you note and photos from the class when those books arrive. Pretty sweet.
Charles is verrrry enthusiastic about how much DonorsChoose.org has grown. Now you can publish info about the project you’ve chosen to support directly to your Facebook stream. They’ve embraced Twitter as well, by publicly thanking donors online and in return, often getting shout outs from the donors themselves. The two-way connectivity and appreciation is rewarding for the kids, teachers, and donors alike.
Charles calls it Citizen Philanthropy. We call it a wonderful way to build community around our schools which, let’s face it, need all the help they can get.
Take a look. Charles says it better than we ever could!
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Tags: Charles Best, DonorsChoose, National Conference on Volunteering and Service, NCVS, philanthropy, schools
