How to Get Started on Donors Choose
/Do you ever feel like you have new, exciting lessons and project ideas running through your head, but they immediately get stopped in their tracks when you realize you don’t have funding to get the materials? We’ve all been there, but luckily we have a pretty amazing group of people who want to help educators with this exact problem!
I got the opportunity to start the STEAM program at my school from scratch, which was super exciting. The only problem was the program was added too late for me to have any funding for materials. What was I supposed to do?
I turned to DonorsChoose.org, a crowd-funding website solely for public school teachers!
You’re probably wondering, where do I start?! I was sitting in your shoes about 6 years ago. Here is how I navigated posting my first project.
Search through projects that other people have posted.
Make a list of materials you want for your classroom - think big, small, and everything in between.
Look at what match offers they currently have listed. **This provides the most bang for your buck - literally! 95% of the time, I only post a project that has a match offer to start with.**
Write an engaging description of your students and project.
Come up with a catchy title! **So important because you want to stand out!**
Post your project and don’t be afraid to share it with others (social media, email, school website, etc.).
Be patient!
That last step is the hardest. Whenever I post a project I get really excited about using the materials, but I have to remind myself, even after having 38 projects fully funded, that patience is key. Sometimes my projects are funded very quickly and other times months go by and they’re about to expire, but someone pulls through and sprinkles a surprise!
If you need examples from my projects you can check out my page here.
Click here to get started today!
If you need help, head to my contact page and send me an email. I will answer any questions you have!
