DonorsChoose

This week I attended a Regional Community of Learning on Autism (CoLa) Conference in Richmond, and I was asked to do a poster presentation on my success with DonorsChoose.  I was thrilled to be able to spread the word amongst my colleagues!  So I set to work, putting together my tri-fold poster presentation.  On the night of my presentation, I looked around at the handful of other presenters, whom were all presenting on evidenced based practices and current research, and felt a little bit out of my league.  As the conference participants began to enter and make their way around the room, they inevitably stopped and hovered at my table.  In fact, I’m pretty sure my table was the most popular!  Half of the Specialists either said they had never heard of DonorsChoose, or had signed up but never followed through with a proposal. Well, I want to change all of that!!! 

My DonorsChoose poster presentation at the 2013 Regional
Communities of Learning on Autism (COLA) in Richmond, Va.

In March, I wrote my very first DonorsChoose proposal for a color printer so I could create colorful visual supports in my classroom.  Within 2 hours of my project going live, it had been fully funded.  Within 3 weeks, I received my printer.  Well that started a whirlwind of projects.  I immediately started writing new proposals and since March I have written 6 more.  Of the 7 proposals I have written these past few months, 5 have been fully funded and the other two have been partially funded! Some of the other items I have gotten from DonorsChoose include over $300 in therapeutic art supplies, math and language arts centers, an X-Box with Kinect, and supplies to support a student led recycling center.   So, I have experienced success with DonorsChoose and would love to see more teachers utilize this spectacular resource.  Here’s how to start and if you need a little more in depth help go here. 

1.     Go to DonorsChoose.org and create a teacher’s account and upload a classroom profile picture.

2.    Use your start up points to submit a project that is under $400.  These have the best chances of being fully funded.

3.    Think of a creative and catchy title that will grab the reader’s attention.

4.    Go shopping!! DonorsChoose has partnered with School Specialty, Lakeshore, Nasco and several others of our favorite teacher catalogues.  Keep the items student centered!!!

5.    Summarize your request.  Explain why your students need the items your requesting.

6.    Tell your story.  This is the part where you describe your students and how these items will help your class.  Remember to write well and from the heart! 

7.    Lastly, you are going to provide some simple project details and then quantify the impact. 

From start to finish, creating a project usually takes me 20-30 minutes.  I LOVE DonorsChoose and I know that you will too!!!  Good Luck and let me know how you do!  If you have any questions, please let me know!!