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Supporting racial equity in education is essential to racial justice. We’re thrilled to share our new partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that works to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality.

Starting on August 6, projects that request Just Mercy alongside other books from a special list focused on racial justice will receive doubled donations, thanks to EJI. EJI founder Bryan Stevenson shared this note with our community.

“At the Equal Justice Initiative, we believe that our nation has failed to honestly teach and engage with our history of racial injustice, and that this failure has left us vulnerable to a legacy of racism, unjust treatment of the poor and people of color, and unreliable and abusive practices in our justice system. 

Today, America has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, repeated acts of police violence have caused deep pain and stress in communities, and racial bias remains deeply entrenched in American life. We work to address these issues each day, but we understand that we need allies and that teachers in America are on the frontlines of an important struggle to make education more complete, more honest, and more effective at reckoning with American histories of unjust treatment. 

We want to support teachers, students, parents, communities, and educators who believe that a more focused effort must be made to prepare a new generation so they are equipped to understand and eliminate racism, bigotry, and inequality. We are proud to partner with DonorsChoose in supporting teachers who want to use Just Mercy and other materials produced by EJI to engage students in understanding our criminal justice system and the legacy of racial injustice. 

We at EJI are grateful for this community of teachers and in particular, for your leadership and willingness to address these important topics. I would not be able to do what I do today had I not been educated by teachers who, when I was a student, inspired me to believe that there is more that can and should be done to create the kind of just society we seek. Thank you for continuing this important tradition, we are grateful for all you do.”

If you’re a teacher and want to request a copy of Just Mercy for your class, check out our help center article to learn how to qualify for the match.

When Charles Best founded DonorsChoose from his Bronx classroom in 2000 — years before social media would exist or crowdfunding would become a word — he didn’t have many places to look for guidance. Yet when he found himself making copies of a book for his students to share early one morning, he found unusual inspiration in the Statue of Liberty and a British rock band. His small idea, with the help of his students, Oprah, Stephen Colbert, an impassioned corps of teacher volunteers, and a little bit of luck along the way, led to DonorsChoose, which has raised nearly $1 billion for classrooms over the last 20 years.

Listen as Charles tells the DonorsChoose story to Reid Hoffman, host of the podcast Masters of Scale, with a special cameo by Stephen Colbert, or read a transcript of the interview.

Fundraising can be tricky in even the best of times, and coronavirus, social distancing, and distance learning provide even more challenges! But at DonorsChoose, we have a massive community of donors who are ready and excited to help — they just need to hear your story.

To help you raise funding for your project from friends, family, and the larger public, we talked to some superstar DonorsChoose teacher fundraisers to find out what works best for them.

Paint a picture for your donors

As a teacher, you’re in a unique position to tell your students’ stories to the world. Tap into that insight and give donors a taste of what it is to teach during coronavirus. Whether sharing your favorite moments on Zoom calls, your innovative at-home teaching set up, or the way your students are supporting each other, details like these will bring your project to life for donors.

Use asset-framing to show what your students could achieve, instead of what they lack

“Asset-framing is defining people by their aspirations and their contributions, then acknowledging the challenges that often extend beyond them, and investing in them for their continued benefit to society.”

—Trabian Shorters | Founding CEO, BMe & DonorsChoose Board Member

When thinking about what students need, it’s easy to focus on what they don’t have. Instead, talk about your students’ potential. Highlighting students’ imagination, passion, and tenacity allows donors to feel like partners in your students’ success.

Focus on the details of how your students will benefit

Whether you’re requesting a document camera for yourself or a picture book for just one student, share how these resources will impact student learning. Donors crave making a tangible impact on a student’s life, so sharing how snacks will keep your students full and focused or how a long-distance art project supports students’ mental health will help donors feel connected.

Be specific when posting on social media

When writing for social media, you’ll need to keep your ask short and punchy! Share a quick detail or two about how you’re helping your students. Here are some formats to inspire you!

I’m requesting _____ so that my students can ____. When you support my project, you’ll help students achieve _____.

When you help my students and me access ____, you’re helping us _____. I know my students will _____ when given the chance to _____.

My students love _____, which is why I’m requesting _____. Support my projects and help me give my students _____.

Don’t forget to grab some eye-catching images from our Design Playground that you can use with your social media posts.

Join our teacher community on Facebook to connect with fellow educators, brainstorm fundraising tactics, and more!

Looking to create a project? Get started!

"LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Lexington teacher is helping her students get through these challenging times. Kelsey Davis at Coventry Oak Elementary School is encouraging her students to be creative, and she’s making it easier by taking art supplies to their homes.When it became clear that schools would be closed for an extended period of time, Davis sought funding for art supplies so she could give them to her students. Thanks to the Keep Kids Learning Grant through Donors Choose, Davis received $1,000 in Walmart gift cards."
Read the full story at wkyt.com.

"More than 55 million U.S. children aren’t physically in school. In a survey of almost 4,000 teachers done by the classroom-focused nonprofit Donors Choose, 97 percent said school closings are jeopardizing student learning. This tough situation is compounded for kids from poor, dysfunctional or abusive homes. Donors Choose normally links contributors to classrooms around the country needing help; now it has created a “Keep Kids Learning” fund, targeting donations to teachers in low-income schools, who send supplies or food to children."
Read the full story at nytimes.com.

"Izzo was one of a handful of teachers around the country who won a $1,000 grant from DonorsChoose, a national nonprofit that helps educators raise money to buy classroom supplies and other resources. She used the money to buy supplies for her students now learning from home.She learned last Tuesday she won the grant and spent the week communicating with parents and gauging student interest in what they could use at home, all the while trying to keep it a secret from her students that they would soon get a special delivery in the mail."
Read the full story on dailygazette.com.

"For students at E.M. Downer Elementary School in San Pablo, the adjustment to distance learning has been made far more fun thanks to their new Legos, microscopes, Rubik’s cubes, Tetris boards and other hands-on learning gear.Their STEAM teacher, Mark Fox, recently received an email from DonorsChoose notifying him about a $1,000 Keep Kids Learning grant to purchase distance learning materials. The grant was used to purchase 125 individual remote learning items, 'everything from science to technology to engineering to art materials,' Fox said."
‍Read the full story on richmondstandard.com.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that every teacher is different. But whether an educator is soft-spoken or boisterous, a subject-area expert or a classroom management wizard, acerbically kind or kindly acerbic, they all share a few things in common. 

Below are five things you need to know about the heroic educators that guide their students toward success every single day.

Teaching doesn’t end when the bell rings

Show us a teacher that only works during school hours. We dare ya! First, there are the formal job duties that come outside of the classroom: club leadership and team coaching, professional development seminars, lesson and activity planning, grading and report cards, and parent and administrative meetings. If that weren’t enough, most teachers admit to thinking about their students when they’re not working: mulling over how to individualize a lesson for a specific kid while grocery shopping, thinking through a parent meeting while cooking, even nodding off at night to the latest professional development book.

Every educator teaches a secret subject

Without exception, every teacher helps their students with more than the subject areas they are “officially” responsible for. For example, an elementary school teacher spends as much time helping their students navigate their first experiences as a member of a class community as they do math or reading. From taking turns (fairness) to group projects (collaboration and leadership) to transitioning from recess (body awareness and changing expectations), every interaction is an opportunity to build character and a sense of belonging. 

Above and beyond above-and-beyond

Teachers are often asked to go way above-and-beyond their job description, even opening their own wallets for their students. In fact, 94% of teachers spend money out-of-pocket on classroom materials, and teachers spend an average of $500 each year. Educators in communities of high economic need even help students procure food, hygiene items, and winter coats.

Teaching is ever-changing

Like any area of expertise, teaching is ever-changing, and teachers work to stay abreast of the latest best practices and techniques. Whether attending professional development workshops or doing a deep-dive into the latest research, teachers are always refining their practice. Says Ms. Kreiger, a teacher in upstate New York:

“High-quality professional development just makes all the difference and gives me opportunities that, in turn, become opportunities for my kids.”

Teachers never teach a class

No, really! Very few teachers actually teach a class. Instead, teachers teach every kid individually. Whether it’s assigning different problem sets based on current skill level, conferencing with individual kids during writing time, helping each student find a topic they’re passionate about for a video project, or something else entirely, the best teachers know each student for the person they are — and the person they’re becoming.

Learn more about America’s teachers by viewing their DonorsChoose projects, a unique window into tens of thousands of public school classrooms. 

Do you remember the first time you felt “seen” by a character in a book you read? The joy you felt in the moment that you connected with a character because of a shared experience, feeling, or identity? 

Kids develop both a sense of confidence and a love of reading when they can identify with the characters and stories they read. Yet students from underrepresented communities — students of color, immigrants or refugees, students with special needs, or LGBTQ+ students, for example — are often underrepresented in their classroom libraries, too. Books with diverse characters also offer windows into the lives of others, helping students develop empathy and other vital social-emotional skills.

A few things to consider when building a more inclusive library:

• Engage your students in selecting new books. Ask them about the stories they’d like to hear, or the books you already have that resonate most. Show them that their story (and opinions!) matter.
• Seek out “own voices” authors — authors who are themselves a part of the communities and identities they write about.
• Look to the families and community around your school. What do your students’ families celebrate? What are some of the community’s challenges? What books reflect these topics and might resonate with your students’ life experiences?
• Consider graphic novels with diverse characters as a gateway for struggling or uninterested readers.
• Expose your students to characters and stories they might not see in their own communities. If your students are less likely to encounter someone who’s different from them, offer them books that help them relate to people with other identities.

Julie Stivers, the librarian at Mt. Vernon Middle School in North Carolina, decided to revamp her entire library, and engaged her students in creating guides for other school librarians seeking to create diverse, inclusive libraries.

She sets an intentional goal for herself when it comes to ensuring her students can see themselves in her library: “Our school is about 80 percent students of color, and my goal is to have 80 percent of books on the shelves that feature a main character of color.”

Here’s how Julie went about updating her library, and some of the young adult books that have become instant hits for her middle school students.

Create a Project

Support a Book Project

At DonorsChoose, we strive to have our organization be as diverse as the students and teachers we serve. Our team is encouraged to engage in affinity groups that help celebrate our differences and build a platform for discussion and learning. 

For Black History Month, we wanted to highlight one affinity group’s work: BOSS (Black Organization of Soulful Staff), our employee resource group for Black staff members. 

Throughout February, BOSS members created a weekly agenda with educational events and helped steer a classroom funding initiative with the support of our partners. Below are some of the team’s reflections on working at an organization centered on educational equity, the importance of representation in the classroom, and how identity impacted their school experiences.

Q: What does it mean to you to celebrate Black History Month, working at an organization centered on educational equity?

Kristina (Steen) Joye Lyles, Partnerships Director: With our country's legacy of slavery, racial oppression, and segregation, Black History Month is critical when you work at an educational organization. You can't talk about equity in our education system without talking about the race of the students and teachers that we serve. Much like 70 years ago, students of color today - namely black students - are systematically deprived of the resources they need to learn. I keep this in mind every day that I show up to work, and especially during a month when we acknowledge the truth and power of black history.

As an employee of DonorsChoose, I love seeing when teachers post projects that help other young black students expand their horizons about who we've been, and who we can be.

— Geoff Hill, Chief Financial Officer and EVP, Fulfillment

Christin Washington, Community Partnerships Associate: Whenever I share stories about my life, it usually involves a special teacher or professor who saw something in me that I hadn't yet been aware of myself. Working at an organization that addresses educational equity allows me to lift as I climb, ensuring young black students who for centuries have been denied quality education as a result of our race and the neighborhoods we live in, can experience teachers and learnings that marry worlds, set passions ablaze, and unbolt the caps of our potential.

Our goal of having our staff be a representation of the students we serve makes me proud. Seeing the impact we have on Black student’s lives makes me proud. While we focus on BHM in February, the work we do to bring equity in education celebrates Black history every day.

— Christopher Prince-Barry, Director of IT

Q: Tell us about a teacher or classroom experience that shaped your views on the celebration of Black History Month.

Geoff Hill, Chief Financial Officer and EVP, Fulfillment: In school, we largely covered the "standard" historical African American heroes. I did not appreciate what I was missing at the time - I'm excited to think about the additional encouragement that many teachers now get to both go deeper during black history month, and incorporate diverse topics and voices into their year-round curriculum.

Ariana Jacobs, Special Assistant to the CEO: My seventh-grade class went on a trip to the Gullah Islands, the Low Country region of South Carolina made up of mostly plantations where enslaved Africans brought into Charleston and Savannah were once held. The Gullah have masterfully preserved their cultural heritage through storytelling and art, and we spent a week learning about their history first hand. The week culminated in us performing a West African dance at the annual Gullah Festival. Like the Gullah, there so many Black stories that go untold—they aren’t written in a textbook and the online information is minuscule. My teacher made it her mission to find these stories, investigate their history, and help us do the same.

Every class during Black Studies 101 at Amherst College encapsulated the complexity and beauty of life - to be in celebration of blackness is to be in celebration of humanity.

— Christin Washington, Community Partnerships Associate

Christopher Prince-Barry, Director of IT: My favorite teacher, Mr. Merchant was the first Black male teacher that I had in my life. He taught at Brooklyn Technical High School. He took the time to make sure each student understood what he was teaching during and after class. Although, the most impactful lessons were taught outside of the lesson plan. Often, he challenged us to think critically about the news, politics, and finances. Having him as a role model definitely showed me that it was ok to be a smart Black man in an environment where it was more acceptable to be an aloof teenager.

Inspired by these stories from our staff? You can help teachers with projects that embody the spirit of Black History Month by supporting a project from our Black History Month 2020 Giving Page! 

This January, the DonorsChoose team had the joy of meeting Texas school district leaders at the TASA Midwinter Conference in Austin! Charles Best, DonorsChoose founder and CEO, gave a keynote speech on Tuesday, January 28. Charles shared how DonorsChoose got started out of his Bronx history classroom years before crowdfunding was even a word, along with our 20 years of impact. He highlighted how one rural Texas district raised more than $225 per student, and Lady Gaga’s work in supporting the El Paso community though DonorsChoose.‍

Charles also unveiled a new, free program designed to help districts get even more out of our platform.

Texas Districts are Invited to Join the Free DonorsChoose District Partnership Program

Through the District Partnership Program, school leaders can maximize the use of our non-profit crowdfunding platform and make it a more intentional part of their district’s national philanthropic engagement strategy. The program is completely free, and all Texas districts are encouraged to apply!‍

The program is designed to help districts take advantage of all we have to offer and go all-in aligning DonorsChoose with their district priorities. Partners receive:

• First notification of funding opportunities from our corporate partners
• Central office reporting to track donated materials and receive updates on posted projects
• A customized landing page to showcase their impact on a district-branded page on our site
• Support for principal and teacher trainings
• An annual report for district leaders

Submit your application

If you missed Charles's keynote, check it out below!

Supporting Texas District Leaders with a Co-Published Toolkit

Our team worked with the folks at TASA to build a toolkit designed specifically to support Texas district leaders. In this toolkit, administrators can find:

• Case studies on districts using DonorsChoose to enhance their strategic priorities
• Resources for engaging district administrators and teachers
• Information on controls for school districts like free reporting, principal notifications, and technology guidelines

Download the toolkit

At DonorsChoose, We Trust the Wisdom of the Frontlines

Set up right across from the registration booth, our team had a special showcase, featuring our new branding! Danielle, Kirk, and Jinan from our Advocacy and Public Partnerships team took the chance to speak with folks as they arrived, learn about the issues on Texas superintendents’ minds, and listen to how our nonprofit crowdfunding platform can better support their classrooms.

We came away inspired to continue our work bringing resources to Texas teachers and students, and excited to introduce our District Partnership Program to more states across the country.

We’re always looking for more opportunities to connect directly with education leaders across the country! If you’re part of a state education association and would like to work closely with DonorsChoose, email ksmiley@donorschoose.org for more info.

‍Interesting in joining the District Partnership Program? Submit your application.

February is Black History Month, a time when teachers across the country bring their students resources and lessons that reflect upon the often under-taught and overlooked stories of Black history in America.

To give you a peek into the rich tapestry of learning students are embarking on this month, we’ve collected a few of our favorite projects that focus on and celebrate Black history.

Building Bridges and Breaking Barriers - Celebrating Black History Month

Ms. Bost, a 2nd grade teacher at Barrett Elementary School in Homestead, PA requested a wide set of resources to celebrate Black history through a schoolwide “living museum.” When describing how items like traditional percussion instruments, posters celebrating famous Black Americans, African masks, and more benefited her community, she shared the following.

“With the new artifacts for our Black History Month Museum, we are able to bring diverse individuals together and start conversations regarding what makes each of us special and unique, about culture and heritage, as well as the opposition and obstacles that we had to overcome to get where we are as a society today as well as the work that we still need to accomplish.

By promoting and enriching our Black History Month Living Museum, we are able to bring the whole community together and allow these lessons to be taught in a safe and nurturing environment where administrators, teachers, parents, community stakeholders and children can learn together.

The best part of this whole project is it started with one small idea and continues to grow.”

Oh, the Places You'll Go! : Exploring HBCUs

Ms. Ghebregergish wanted to give her high school students in Saint Paul, NM the chance to visit Historically Black Colleges and Universities before they begin their college application process. She requested funding to bring her students to Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark University, Tuskegee University, Stillman College, and Rust College.

Ms. Ghebregergish shared why this trip was so important to her students.

“As a teacher and advisor at my current school, I am inspired daily by the energy and resilience that I see in my students. I believe that [my students] deserve so much more than they get. Seeing what else is out there for them will help them make their vision for their future much clearer.

My goal is to show my students that they can literally go anywhere they want in this world if they work hard and are given the opportunity.

They will get the opportunity to meet college students and professors, and they will learn the importance of going to a university/college that genuinely values Black history. Students will be learning about the HBCUs through independent research and networking. Students will learn the application requirements of each school. Ultimately, they will become more informed before making the very important decision of where to attend college.”

Afrofuturism: Through the Eyes of Our Youth

Afrofuturism is a concept that marries African diaspora history and culture with technology. Ms. Thomm wanted to give her Chicagan elementary school students the opportunity to represent themselves and their visions for the future through art.

“Our mission within our school is to make sure that our students' voices and stories are seen and heard. Each of our students deserves to use their voice to tell their story in a way.

The items within this DonorsChoose project will support our students in creating work that will be viewed by not only themselves, but the entire school. Students will use these materials to create an Afrofuristic (a movement in the arts featuring futuristic or science fiction themes incorporating elements of Black history and culture) and vibrant self-portrait that will be on display in the hallways.

When students walk through the hallways of our school and see their own faces, it will create a sense of belonging and they will be able to embrace themselves and others around them. My students will be so excited to explore futuristic Black identity through the lens of Afrofuturism and use their radical imagination to showcase themselves permanently in our academic home.”

Honoring Black History in Our Classroom

Having a classroom library filled with diverse characters was fundamental for Ms. Potter as she prepared her 10th grade classroom for Black History Month. She wanted to ensure that her students not only feel represented, but that they know the world is open with possibilities.

“As educators, we aim to inspire young men and women to accomplish great things. We have a diverse student population, yet we have few things in our classroom that represent our student's identity. In an effort to do so, we intend to create a display in our classroom of books focused on the visibility of the Black community through books written by and about Black people.

We intend for every young person that enters our classroom to leave with equitable respect for people and belief in their ability to achieve great things.

By providing these books as resources to our students, we hope to help our students see themselves in our classroom. We want students to feel accepted for who they are and know that they have a place in our school community.”

Here’s to a month and beyond of learning and celebrating our country’s rich history!

See more Black history projects