By putting purchasing power directly into teachers’ hands, state departments of education can efficiently disperse funding to support the precise needs of their public school teachers and students.

The Challenge: Enable Utah teachers to select the COVID-relief resources that would most support their students’ learning

During the pandemic, state departments of education had to quickly decide how they would allocate COVID relief funding, like ESSER and GEER, to help teachers support their students recovering from learning loss caused by the pandemic. Utah, like many other states, wanted to allocate that funding in a way that would meaningfully support student outcomes — and when every student had a different COVID experience, a one-size-fits-all solution wouldn’t cut it.

With the variety of student needs, the Utah State Board of Education intrinsically knew they wanted to give local control to teachers by allowing them to select resources that would make the biggest impact in their classroom. As they started conceptualizing how to build such a system, the logistical concerns and questions began stacking up.

• How would they receive and review teachers’ applications? 
• How quickly would DOE staff be able to review teachers’ projects, recognizing that many projects were timely and related to a particular unit or activity?
• Who would collect and review price quotes and receipts? 
• What would happen if teachers needed to return an item?
• Who would teachers call or email with questions? 
• How fast would DOE staff be able to respond to hundreds or thousands of emails?

The State Board of Education realized they either needed to make a massive investment of both time and money, or find a partner that already had the ability to receive and fulfill teacher requests at a grand scale.

The Solution: A Turnkey Teacher Support Campaign through DonorsChoose 

DonorsChoose is a nonprofit that gives public school teachers the ability to request resources that will help their students learn. Since our founding in 2000, 5.6 million donors have contributed $1.4 billion, bringing more than 2.5 million resource requests to life.

Sydnee Dickson, the Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction, learned about DonorsChoose through our Teachers Support Campaign with Nevada, where we distributed $8 million in ESSER funding to Nevada teachers over 10 weeks. Our team worked closely with Utah State Board of Education leaders to launch a similar campaign for Utah teachers, while meeting the Board of Ed’s specific requirements for what teachers could request, as well as the Board's federal reporting needs.

The Utah Teacher Support Campaign launched as students returned to school in January 2022. Using the messaging and communications support provided by our team, the Board let teachers across the state know they had the opportunity to receive funding for one DonorsChoose project, up to $1,000 per teacher.

The Results: Record-Breaking Deployment Speed and Public Praise

Immediately after the campaign was launched, Utah teachers flocked to DonorsChoose, writing detailed descriptions of how the resources they requested would benefit their students’ learning and pandemic recovery. Once projects were vetted and approved by the DonorsChoose team, funding was instantly applied, and requested resources began arriving into teachers’ classrooms in as little as two days.

Within just two weeks, the entire $12 million grant was distributed to 13,355 public school educators — half of all Utah public school teachers. 

The campaign also garnered the Utah State Board of Education positive local press surrounding their support of teacher-selected resources, while teachers shouted out their gratitude across social media.

Interested in partnering with DonorsChoose for a statewide teacher support campaign? Learn more and reach out to us.

Your team may have the perfect educational program or resource — but with more than 98,000 public schools across the country, how do you get that learning tool into the hands of teachers and students?

The answer: we need to meet teachers where they are! Teachers are always looking for more resources, and by offering them the learning tools and incentives, we make it easier for them to take on new and innovative projects that keep their students motivated and engaged throughout the school year.

Educators at more than 86% of public schools have used DonorsChoose to request resources for their students and classroom. Thanks to our 23-year history of helping teachers do what they do best, we know how to inspire and activate some of the country’s most innovative and dedicated educators.

Through a unique partnership between DonorsChoose and BUILD.org — supported by Comcast NBCUniversal — BUILD was able to equip educators with an entrepreneurship program designed for high school students. Teachers who participated in and completed the program were given DonorsChoose funding credits as an incentive.  

“Thanks to the partnership with DonorsChoose and their highly engaged teacher community, BUILD.org was able to grow the footprint of its programming and inspire the next generation of problem solvers and entrepreneurs,” said Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Corporation. “We are grateful to support this collaboration through Project UP, our $1B commitment to advance digital equity and build a future of unlimited possibilities.”

The Challenge: Expand teacher participation in the BUILD Design Challenge

Since 2020, Comcast NBCUniversal has fueled BUILD.org’s Design Challenge to empower 7th–12th grade students in underserved areas to take action by developing innovative solutions for their communities. Thanks to this funding, teachers are trained to guide students through 10 hours of Design Thinking instruction, during which students identify a problem within their community, and prototype and test a solution with the end goal of developing young entrepreneurs.

Within its first years of operation, the BUILD Design Challenge was a big success among teachers who participated. BUILD wanted to expand on this impact and was looking for avenues to introduce the Design Challenge to educators in new schools. They sought a partner with a large network of teachers to spread the word about the benefits of participating in the Challenge and to encourage adoption.

Our Approach: Activate the DonorsChoose teacher community through classroom funding incentives

The DonorsChoose team instantly saw the value of BUILD’s project-based, youth entrepreneurship program for teachers, and we had a sense that educators would be excited to facilitate the Challenge with their students. 

To encourage teachers to learn more about the program, we offered qualifying educators a DonorsChoose funding credit for attending a 1-hour webinar, and additional credits for completing the challenge. DonorsChoose funding credits are highly motivating for teachers, who understand the value of the resources they represent for their students. (In a 2014 Harvard Business School supervised study, teachers offered DonorsChoose funding credits were 14 times more likely to help their students’ progress through a math course than a comparable group encouraged to achieve the same milestone with no such credit!) 

All DonorsChoose funding credits were backed by Comcast. Teachers had the ability to use this funding towards their next DonorsChoose project request, helping to fill their classroom with learning materials while engaging students in hands-on learning.

The Results: We hit the numbers and teachers were happy

Our ongoing partnership is on track to exceed goals around webinar attendance and Challenge completion this year!

• 1,000+ teachers attended the design challenge training webinar, providing BUILD.org with a robust email list of new teachers to further engage 
• 220 teachers have already completed the Design Challenge, and we’re on track for an additional 160 teachers to participate by the end of the school year, exceeding our goal of 200 new teacher participants

Teachers were thrilled to be served this opportunity and were especially grateful to receive classroom funding for engaging in content that was relevant to them and their work.

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How many of us have heard “underserved youth” or “violent inner-city schools” in situations that describe students of color or students from low-income households? What could happen if we focused on what’s possible instead of what’s lacking? While focusing on what’s missing might sometimes work to open wallets, it can often stigmatize the students at the heart of our mission and reinforce damaging bias. This type of deficit-framing language positions students as the problem, while ignoring the systems that created and perpetuated the problem.

As an organization that fundraises on behalf of teachers and students, we recognize our power to create and reframe narratives about education to the public. By using asset-framing, we can challenge stigmatizing cultural narratives around students, and encourage the public to help those students reach their goals and aspirations. 

“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

We teamed up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to test the effectiveness of asset framing in email fundraising ‍

Through a series of donation appeal email experiments, we tested different framings (asset, deficit, neutral) in combination with different content themes. To control for the effect of match offer campaigns on donor behavior, every email included a promo code doubling the recipient’s donation, backed by a $500,000 grant from the Gates Foundation.

Experiment 1: Can asset-framing compete with deficit-framing when asking for donations ?

Pervasive nonprofit lore holds that the best way to inspire action is to elicit guilt and sadness by highlighting the pain and suffering of constituents. But does this assumption actually hold water? First, we needed to test if asset-framing could ever outperform this deficit-framing language. 

We sent 6 different versions of a fundraising appeal — 2 asset-framed, 2 deficit-framed, and 2 neutral-framed — to a random selection on 511,000 DonorsChoose donors.

Experiment 1 Results

Top performing email: neutral-framed description of the time of year

Tied for second: asset-framed description of student attributes associated with learning and deficit-framed description of student experiences associated with a lack of supplies

While the neutral framing won out overall, we were happy to see that the asset-framed and deficit-framed messages performed similarly. This finding indicates that asset-framed appeals can be as compelling as deficit-framed appeals, and are worthy of further experimentation.

After analyzing the results of experiment 1, we were particularly curious to explore the other factors that contributed to engagement rates — specifically, how different themes of content interplay with different types of framing. 

Experiment 2: What content themes make asset-framed appeals most effective? 

For the next tests, we ran an even more granular experiment, sending 15 emails to 1.2 million donors. We created five content themes and wrote three emails (asset, deficit, neutral) for each theme. 

Experiment 2 Results

Content theme 1: Describing constituents 

In our emails using adjectives to describe students, asset framing drove the highest engagement, but deficit framing drove more overall donations.

Content theme 2: Scoping the need

In our emails sharing the number of teacher resource requests, asset framing again had higher engagement rates and a higher conversion rate, while deficit framing inspired more overall donations.

Content theme 3: Passing the mic

In our emails quoting teachers, deficit-framed teacher quotes won on nearly all factors, though asset-framed teacher quotes led to a higher average donation size (but less funding overall).

Content theme 4: Humanizing the issue

In our emails telling stories about students, neutral and deficit framing performed similarly, with neutral framing driving slightly more conversions and deficit framing driving slightly more donations.

Content theme 5: Explaining systemic factors to inequity

In our emails stating that public school funding is inequitable, neutral framing prevailed in almost every metric.

Donor Trends

In analyzing these results, interesting trends around donor responses emerged.

• Donors who were already highly engaged in our platform (multiple past donations) seemed most responsive to asset framing on a whole. This leads us to believe that higher engagement correlates to a better understanding of the core problem our org seeks to solve, making them more responsive to a vision of a better future.
• Donors who had not given to our site in more than 2 years converted at similar rates across framings, with a slight lean toward neutral framing. These donors likely have the least connection to us and our cause, and presenting our problem statement the most objectively seems to be a promising approach.
• Donors who are averagely engaged were split evenly between asset and deficit framing, and responded least to neutral framing.

While no single “silver bullet” fundraising appeal rose to the top, this set of results showed us that asset-framed appeals can be at least as effective as deficit-framed appeals, when deployed with the right content and to the right audience. 

Early Recommendations

We have so many more questions and experiments we want to run and are greatly inspired by our early learnings. Based on our first year of experimentation, we’ve developed the following list of recommendations for other nonprofits looking to implement asset framing in their donor fundraising emails.

1. When garnering donations & engaging audiences, the following asset-framing approaches are shown to be effective & are a terrific starting point:
   a. Describe the people who will benefit with accurate, positive attributes
   b. Frame data to show the proactivity of the people who will benefit (in addition to the need)
2. Donors who are already engaged with your mission may be the most receptive to asset framing
3. Use a variety of approaches, and don’t rule out neutral framing!

Looking to the future, we want to try out more content approaches, branch out beyond email to SMS and ads, test imagery, along with learning from industry peers taking a similar approach.

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Interested in partnering with DonorsChoose to support teachers? Contact us!

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Looking for a special way to celebrate Valentine’s day with your students this year? 

Affirmations can help students build a growth mindset, increase their resilience, and foster a love of learning. By sharing affirmations with your students, you are sending a message of love and support, and helping to build their confidence in themselves and their abilities.

Download these special cards as-is or customize our Canva template, then print, and share with your kiddos to remind them that they are kind, clever, creative, brave, and so much more.

Teachers, thank you for pouring your hearts into your work, providing a safe and supportive learning environment for students. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Coming on February 8: Donations to every project by Black teachers and teachers at schools where most students are Black will be doubled, while funds last. 

The best way to take part in this celebration? Make sure your community knows about the awesome work you and your students are doing! Teachers who take one of the 5-minute sharing actions below have a 89% success rate on DonorsChoose. (Seriously.) To help you give your projects an extra boost, our DonorsChoose team designed some resources to make sharing your project super simple, so the only question left is: 

How are you taking part in Black History Month celebrations on DonorsChoose?

Option A: I’m sharing my project link on social media

On Wednesday morning, pick your favorite graphics from our collection and share at least twice on social media. You can mix & match your favorite platforms (i.e. 1 Facebook post + 1 TikTok), do a morning and evening post on the same platform, or post and re-share your own content (Insta feed + Insta story!). Wherever you tweet, post, snap, or share, make sure you include a link to your project!

Feeling extra excited about these graphics? You can create your own custom graphic using the Canva templates below:

• Instagram
• Instagram Stories / TikTok
• Facebook & Twitter

Option B: I’m spreading the word to my friends & family via text

On Wednesday, customize, copy, and paste the text below (with your project link!) into a group text chat with 3-5 friends or in an email to at least 3-5 people. Wherever you send it — your starred group chat, that DM thread with your funniest friends, your family email chain — make it super personal to their favorite teacher (you!).

Hi friends! DonorsChoose is celebrating Black History Month by doubling donations to my project!! I want to give my students [books by Black authors, crayons with diverse skin tones, wiggle chairs]. I’d be so grateful if you would make a small donation or share this link with others: [your project link]. Thank you a million times from me and my [28 little Einsteins-in-training]!

Option C: I’m giving my project the maximum boost!

This the ultimate option: A way to let friends and family and your wider network know about your project and the big match day. Complete these three steps together to give your project the momentum it needs:

1. Send a personalized email to one person who cares about you and your classroom, asking them if they would like to celebrate Black History Month by supporting your project. Include your project link!
2. Post your project on your favorite social media platform and Include your project link!
3. Send one group email or text to folks you know, asking them to help you spread the word about your project while there are doubled donations. Include your project link! 
   Not sure who to reach out to? Get some ideas here!

Whichever approach you choose, know that your community wants to see you and your students thrive: A warm hello, your project link, and a giant “thank you” goes a long way!

Classrooms can be powerful places for fostering expression and creativity among kids, and giving students affirming, supportive, and well-resourced learning environments is key to making that happen. Through DonorsChoose, donors fund teacher-selected resources that improve student outcomes and support teacher retention — all while building a more racially equitable education system.

In November 2022, in honor of the theatrical release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Disney matched $250,000 in donations to STEM and art projects on DonorsChoose as part of Disney Future Storytellers, an initiative that empowers the next generation of diverse storytellers and innovators. Disney’s grant doubled donations to qualifying projects, and specifically supported requests from Equity Focus Schools, which have been historically underfunded due to economic and racial inequity.

In total, Disney brought to life 1,376 STEM and art projects across 684 public schools. 

Here are a few of our favorites!

Electrical Engineers

Ms. Jackson | Elementary School | New York

“My students are amazing SCIENCE SCHOLARS! They enjoy experimenting, investigating, and designing! Each child, regardless of learning differences, feels successful while engaging in hands-on tasks. I’m excited to capture the buzz of excitement and to foster a love of science and lead students to make connections to real world phenomena.”

Sewing Satisfaction

Ms. O | Elementary School | California

“Sewing is a tremendous visual art encompassing all that our school is developing through our STEAM curriculum. It utilizes math and measuring, and sewing with a machine develops technology skills and furthers students’ understanding of engineering. Teaching young people to sew through a STEAM curriculum is powerful and satisfying!”

Growing Green With My Bed-Stuy Team!

Ms. Scott | Early Childhood | New York

“Bringing environmental education to my scholars at an early age will make a huge difference in how they see the world.  The hydroponics kits will create meaningful project-based learning in the classroom.  My scholars will grow and harvest throughout the year, as they are learning science concepts behind each task.”

Experience the Mind of Leonardo Da Vinci

Mr. Trousil | High School | Illinois

“I am a teacher that believes in having students use critical thinking to solve the mysteries of history. The students will jump into the mind of Leonardo Da Vinci and use critical thinking skills to build one of his great inventions, the catapult. This STEM cross-curricular activity will bring history alive.”

Thank you to Disney for sparking creativity and ingenuity in so many classrooms!

You can watch Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever streaming on Disney+ starting February 1!

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Across the country, teachers are putting together lesson plans for Black History Month, celebrating the monumental significance and contributions of Black people throughout history. A lesson I hope we all reflect on this year: why Black teachers matter.

I grew up in a household where celebrating and uplifting the Black experience happened all year, not just in February.

I saw it on Sundays while soaking up the fervent words of a fiery Black preacher in a southern Black church. I saw it in Jack and Jill, where Black families are the center of social and cultural programs year-round. I saw it through my parents’ community involvement in their Divine Nine sorority and fraternity. And I sought it myself, heading to the historically Black Spelman College after spending my public school education in classrooms with fewer Black teachers than I can count on one hand.

To read the full article, go to wordinblack.com.

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 Celebrities are fans too! When these ten public figures aren’t busy wow-ing us on screen, they’re using their star power to shine a spotlight on teachers. Public school teachers use nonprofit DonorsChoose to request the items they need for their students; over 85% of U.S. public schools have at least one teacher who has requested items through the site! The DonorsChoose teacher community is so fortunate to have thoughtful actors, authors, and other public figures helping classrooms get the resources they need! Here are some celebrities that used their platform to shine a spotlight on DonorsChoose teachers in 2022.

Amanda Seales Secured $30,000 for Classrooms on Wheel of Fortune 

Comedian and Actress Amanda Seales spun her way to $30,000 for classrooms on DonorsChoose.

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Reese Witherspoon Encourages Donations to Classrooms on Giving Tuesday

On Giving Tuesday, Actress and Producer Reese Witherspoon donated to DonorsChoose and shared some love for teachers in this video. 

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Sheryl Lee Ralph Shared What Your Donations Mean to Teachers

By sharing this blog post, Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph reminded people how classroom project donations mean the world to teachers. This year, she also spun the wheel for DonorsChoose on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.

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Mark Duplass Completed 25 Teacher Requests for Materials

Filmmaker and star of The Morning Show, Mark Duplass helped fund 25 teacher requests for basic supplies and invited others to join him.

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Abbott Elementary Cast Competed For DonorsChoose on Celebrity Family Feud

Survey says… The Abbott Elementary cast supported real-life teachers by playing Celebrity Family Feud for DonorsChoose teachers.

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W. Kamau Bell Shared DonorsChoose Match Opportunities and Projects

Throughout the year, comedian, host, producer, and DonorsChoose board member W. Kamau Bell used his platform to shine a light on teacher projects and share funding opportunities like this GivingTuesday match.

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Yvette Nicole Brown Won for DonorsChoose on NBC’s Password

Actress, host, producer, and DonorsChoose board member Yvette Nicole Brown, earned $50,000 for classrooms on the celebrity game show, Password. 

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Stephen Colbert Spoke About Supporting Students on the Masters of Scale Podcast

Late-night TV host and DonorsChoose Board Member Stephen Colbert shares why he got involved with the DonorsChoose community in this full podcast interview with Masters of Scale.

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Angie Thomas Celebrated Black Educators and Students During Black History Month

During Black Month, Angie Thomas, author of The Hate You Give, shared how Black educators empowered her to find her voice. 

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Nicholas Ferroni and Emily Hampshire Surprise a Group of Teachers

Educator Nicholas Ferroni teamed up with Actress Emily Hampshire to surprise a group of teachers with DonorsChoose gift cards.

Happy 2023, teachers! Whatever your classroom needs most this year, it can be yours! Turn your new year’s resolution for your classroom into your next project today!

Resolution #1: This year, I’ll stop straining my eyes at screens (and help my students do the same).

Mrs. Phipps, a high school teacher in Twin Falls, Idaho wants her students to be able to “escape the indoors without leaving their desks”. She (and lots of other teachers!) have figured out the solution: fluorescent light covers to provide a reprieve from the constant bombardment of harsh lighting in school. With their treetop and cloud designs, teachers are turning fluorescent overhead panels into window-like natural lighting.

“Being in a room with no windows all day is a difficult task. These light covers give my students a chance to see nature without having windows. It also gives some students something to focus on when they need a moment to relax, calm down, or re-center themselves. It also helps soften the room and cover the ugly old yellow dingy lighting we have. I often catch students just looking up for a moment and enjoying a moment of peace imagining they are in that location, then they are able to come back to their learning with a fresh start.” – Ms. Hansen, “A Breath of Fresh Air”

“The light covers are amazing. They filter the lights enough that children are able to see the board or TV in the front of the room when they are sitting in their carpet spots. The light covers have also helped reduce the glare on papers and work when students are sitting at their desks. The reduced glare of the lights has also helped me develop a calming atmosphere in the classroom.” – Ms. Moon, “Reducing the Glare”

As one supportive donor from Wilkesboro, North Carolina noted on this project for light covers, let’s “make your New Year a little easier on your eyes!”

Resolution #2: This year, I won’t reinvent the wheel.

DonorsChoose teachers tell us TPT gift cards (formerly Teachers Pay Teachers) are a shopping spree in the world's largest catalog of educator-created learning content. Or, as Mrs. Chudnofsky puts it, TPT is the best way to “spend less time creating lessons by purchasing already beautifully made resources and more time teaching the content and working with students.”

High school teachers, Ms. Bates (Human Anatomy and Physiology teacher) requested gift cards with her project, saying::

“Teachers Pay Teachers is a wonderful site in which teachers share their resources with one another. The luxury of having a gift card is that when I come across something, or go looking for something that would benefit my students, I have the ability to purchase right away. This is especially helpful with students that may need a little extra help on a specific topic. I am able to find supplemental materials that help them to master the topic and not fall behind.”

Middle school teachers, Ms. Siebers explained:

“TPT gift cards are especially helpful for social emotional learning, math intervention, reading comprehension, and growth mindset lessons that can keep my students on track for high school.”

And for you elementary school teachers, Ms. Peterson tried it out for you:

“Activities available on TPT often contain strong visuals, leveled versions of the same task, and cross-curricular connections. It is for these reasons that activities found on TPT are a perfect resource for my group of diverse students!”

TPT gift cards give you access to materials for every student and every unit, including core curriculum lessons in Spanish, Black History Month projects, science experiments, animal research projects, Women in History projects, and activities for students with autism spectrum disorder or specific learning needs, and much more. 

Resolution #3: This year, I won’t waste time digging for a pencil.

Last fall, Ms. Mulhall posted her project 2022-2023 Organization Tools. Thanks to the DonorsChoose community of donors and partners, she received post-it pads, a new bookcase, pencil cases, and command hooks to get her classroom neat, clean, and organized. Here’s how it went:

“These organization tools have been a life-changer in this classroom. Students are taking care of all of their materials and they have a safe place for all materials. In the morning, students come into the classroom and their room is clean and organized and they know where to access the supplies they need. This project also is helping students stay accountable for their things and teaches them great life skills.”

For your next project, build a bundle of supplies that will get your classroom ready for the months ahead. Take a look at these projects for inspiration. (On DonorsChoose, copying is never cheating!), then copy and paste the cart of your most organized dreams!

• Little Things Make a Big Difference
  “[My students] were thrilled to see all the educational games, white boards, and flexible seating, along with triangular shaped pencils, a laminator, big money, and other new learning tools. They wanted to get started using everything right away!”
  
• Supplies to Help Students Shoot for the Stars!
  “Making sure that my classroom is inviting and well equipped with the proper materials will help students perform better and lessen the stress on parents for certain materials throughout the school year.”
  
• Tidy Tigers!

“My students’ reactions were priceless when the boxes and supplies arrived. They were excited to see the big boxes. They actually started unpacking the boxes before I could. The students started sorting and situating where the items would go and what they would use. They made space for the items and placed them in what they saw as the most useful spots in the room.”

But the best resolution of all? The one that gets you started!

Resolution #4: This year, I’ll post a project.

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Over the past few years, we’ve seen a blossoming of support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the corporate social responsibility (CSR) sector, with racial equity campaigns front and center. 

Through our education crowdfunding nonprofit platform at DonorsChoose, companies and foundations make a tangible impact for public school students by funding learning materials handpicked by teachers. Public schools aren’t created equal — school districts that serve mostly students of color get $23 billion less in state and local funding annually, and teachers of color are steeply underrepresented. Recognizing this, many of our partners have been coming to us, looking for a way to build a more racially equitable public education system.

We’ve honed in on three paths for CSR teams who want to tangibly and authentically foster racial equity in education.

Funding frontline teacher wisdom

Research shows that DonorsChoose-funded resources help students achieve academically and inspire teachers to stay in the classroom. By funding resources requested by teachers of color or that support predominantly students of color, companies can directly retain powerful educators and improve student outcomes.

One in four Black teachers in America use DonorsChoose, and we have access to robust school-level student demographic data. This, combined with our hyperlocal funding capabilities, allows partners to zoom in on the exact communities, teachers, and schools they’re passionate about supporting.

For example, Robert F. Smith, Vista Equity Partners, and PowerSchool gave $1.3 million to bring to life 2,161 projects in six southern communities where more than half of Black Americans live and work. Read Robert F. Smith’s letter to our community about this support.

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Filling classrooms with diverse & inclusive learning resources

Every teacher and student has a role to play in building a more equitable education system, and making sure teachers have classroom resources that reflect and affirm a diversity of identities brings us closer to that goal. From books featuring protagonists of color to crayons that express a diversity of skin tones, culturally-responsive materials are shown to have a positive impact on students’ overall learning and success.

Inspired by The Allstate Foundation’s desire to support inclusive classrooms at scale, we launched a new project category: Racial Justice & Representation. Since we launched this category in August 2021, 32,000 donors have given to such projects, bringing more than 13,000 of them to life.

‍“Thank you so much for your contributions. [Students] both love the multicultural library space and use this space to engage with peers on topics like diversity, inclusion and justice. THANK YOU!” —Ms. Shaw, Grades 3–5, Syracuse, NY, Building a Multicultural Library with Flex Seating

Supporting insights through direct research initiatives

Teachers’ voices and perspectives are often overlooked in public discussions, and passing the mic to educators is a powerful way CSR teams can elevate front-line solutions from the teachers closest to the issue. By providing funding incentives for teachers to participate in research and surveys, companies expand DEI field’s overall knowledge, while providing material support to classrooms.

A coalition of anonymous funders teamed up to support the biggest ever survey on the experiences of male teachers of color. Teachers who participated in the survey received $300 in DonorsChoose funding as a thank you, and partners sustained support by fully funding projects from Black male educators across the country.

Our team would be excited to work with you to build a custom DEI CSR campaign that achieves your goals, aligns with your brand, and truly brings us towards a more racially equitable public education system. Contact us to learn more!

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Every month, companies and foundations from all across the country show their support for public school teachers and students by matching donations to DonorsChoose requests — and it’s one of the easiest ways to secure funding for your classroom! Right now is a wonderful time to think of what resources to request for your classroom and make the most of this year’s giving season.

When a project receives a doubled donation, its chance of success jumps from 85% to 92%.

Currently available, while funding lasts. Updated as of 12/15/22. For the most up-to-date status on our funding opportunities and more match offers, visit our Help Center.

Get $100 in Classroom Rewards for Using Kahoot!

Are you a 3rd - 8th grade teacher who loves using Kahoot! with students? Complete one Kahoot! Lesson with at least 15 students and you could receive $100 in classroom rewards! Once you’ve done your lesson, all you have to do is fill out a survey to be eligible. Learn more about this offer

Earn $150 Classroom Rewards for your Equity Focus School

PwC Charitable Foundation is excited to help students explore career pathways and passions! If you teach 3rd - 8th grade at an Equity Focus School, your class is eligible for a $150 gift code. Check out the Time for Kids interactive career exploration platform called Your 🔥 Job, complete a short survey and you’re all set! Learn more about this offer

Donations Doubled to Sports Team Projects at Equity Focused School

Could your winter basketball team use a restock of supplies? Does the spring track & field team want a head start at getting what they need? This 2x match from the DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation is meant for you! Equity Focus School teachers are eligible to receive doubled donations on team sports projects. Use the campaign code SPORTSMATTER and request materials for your school’s sports teams to qualify. Learn more about this offer

These are just a few of the match offers we have live this month — make sure to bookmark our funding opportunities and match offers page to stay up to date! 

New to DonorsChoose?

We’re a nonprofit platform that connects public school teachers like you with a thriving community of donors eager to fund your classroom projects. Learn how you can get funding for the exact items your students need to thrive.

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Our community of teachers is loving ABC’s Emmy-award winning Abbott Elementary. This critically-acclaimed (and hilarious) show explores life at a fictional Philadelphia elementary school. Since its pilot episode, educators have been stunned by how accurately the show captures the highs and lows of teaching in the U.S. public school system. We asked DonorsChoose teachers what the show gets right — here’s what they said:

🚨Spoiler Alert🚨If you aren’t caught up, what are you waiting for? Stop everything and watch right now!

1. If you’re a teacher, your students will definitely think you’re corny

As an adult, you might be the life of the party in your group, but the moment you become a teacher, your students will see you as O.L.D.! There’s no way to avoid it; making students cringe is part of the job description. You might not have done a silly performance like when Jacob joined the improv group, Story Samurai, on stage. But, chances are you’ve done something a bit corny.

2. Teachers have to figure out creative ways to get the supplies they need 

Abbott Elementary shows how teachers go to unusual lengths to get the get the supplies and materials they need from Melissa calling in a favor to get that Eagles branded carpet, to when Janine used TikTok to ask for supplies during Wishlist Week. This show demonstrates what every DonorsChoose teacher knows — to make amazing classrooms, the community needs to get involved! 

3. When students have teachers that look like them, it matters

Having positive role models and representation in the classroom is so important! When Gregory’s students draw pictures of him, he initially doesn’t think much of it. But Janine tells him that his students must really love having him as a teacher.  While the show hasn’t gone into great depth about the impact of Black male teachers (yet!), we can see it in the students’ appreciation for Gregory.

4. Teachers have to find time when there’s no time

These days, we all feel like we need more time, but no one needs more time than teachers!  When first-year teacher Gregory planned out every single moment of his schedule so he could try to meet the demands of a new and robust curriculum, teachers all across the country felt seen.

5. Teacher salaries are too low

When Janine finds herself struggling to pay rent, she tries lots of outrageous ways to figure out how to avoid eviction. While this episode is one of the funniest so far, it also showcases a hard truth: Teachers’ salaries often aren’t enough to sustain regular living expenses. 

6. Communicating with parents can be difficult

A big part of every teacher’s job is to make sure they provide updates and feedback to parents and guardians. In one episode, Gregory struggles to tell a parent why her child needs to be dropped off at school on time. While it was a frustrating conversation for him, it was one of those crucial small moments between teachers and parents that keep kids learning. 

7. Setting boundaries doesn’t mean teachers don’t love their jobs

Over the past few years, teachers have received criticism from those who don’t have school or classroom experience. But veteran educators know: Teaching is a marathon, and the know how to protect personal time to recharge. 

8. Working with students is the most rewarding experience 

One of the best feelings for teachers is getting to know their students and watching them learn new things. In one episode, we even get to see Barbara run into a former student and see how much they’ve grown.

9. Classroom management styles can be tricky to navigate 

At some point, every teacher has to figure out how to address or correct inappropriate behavior in class. When Gregory sends one of his students to the principal's office, he’s annoyed that Ava doesn’t discipline them. After a helpful conversation with Barbara, Gregory adjusts his approach for getting the student to stay focused in class. 

10. Support from other teachers and school staff makes a world of difference

Throughout the show, the teachers and staff at Abbott Elementary work together to create the best experience they can for the students. Whether it’s the teachers helping each other solve problems or Mr. Johnson and Ava stepping in to watch a class, everyone leans on one another. 

11. In spite of challenges, teachers show up and do their best 

Whether it’s finding the right type of desk for a student using a wheelchair, or taking on an extra grade level, teachers go above and beyond for their students every day. 

This holiday season, warm a local teacher’s heart! Find your local “Abbott Elementary” and support a classroom! 

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