While working as a high school teacher in the Bronx in 2000, Charles Best grew frustrated about operating on a shoestring budget. He felt his students were being shortchanged because they lacked access to decent materials, supplies, and experiences. To counter that, he founded DonorsChoose, a crowdsourced funding platform primarily for teachers in high-poverty areas.
...Each year the group raises substantially more money than the one before it. In 2016, they cleared well over $100 million. In part, that’s because the group operates more like a Silicon Valley company than traditional nonprofit. When they needed a pro bono renovation, they sought out Eight Inc., the design firm behind the first Apple Store, to create something both hip but also thoughtful; those new digs are purposely constructed in several ways to teach the group more lessons about themselves.
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