THE ESSENTIAL FUNDRAISING GUIDE FOR K-12 SCHOOLS (A 1-HOUR BOOK WITH MORE THAN 350 LINKS)
To give you a feel for my new book before you order it, I thought that you might like to take a look at parts of the book. Here is a sample from Chapter 1. Note: There are many more links in Chapter 1 than are listed here. Thanks for taking a look.
Best,
Stan Levenson
Chapter
1
Grants
for Teachers and Schools
K-12 classroom teachers are busy people. They need all the help they can
get. I know this as a fact. I’ve been there, done that. My wife has been a
teacher for many years. My daughter-in-law is a teacher. It’s a daunting task!
Good teachers are constantly dipping into their wallets to pay for paper,
pencils, pens, computers and other necessities not available in today’s schools.
How can classroom teachers find funding for some of the basic necessities they
need in their classrooms today? Also, how can classroom teachers find monies
for some of the things that have been eliminated at their schools like music,
art, P.E. foreign languages, and field trips? You’ve come to the right place!
This chapter will lead you in the right direction and alleviate some of the
budget strains that you face each and every day. Take a look below and feast
your eyes on sites like DonorsChoose.org, Grants Alert, Education World Grants
Center, The Foundation Center, eSchool News, and others.
DonorsChoose.org
In 2000, Charles Best, a New York
City public school teacher, spent a lot of time in the teacher’s lunchroom,
talking with his fellow teachers about the books they wanted their students to
read, the art projects they wanted them to engage in, and the field trips they wanted
their students to take. They didn’t have the funding to do these things,
so Best founded DonorsChoose.org out of his classroom. In 2007, this nonprofit
organization expanded to serve every public school teacher in the United States
,
and today it is one of the most successful fundraising programs in the country.
How it works: Public school
teachers from every corner of America post short classroom project requests on
DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils
for a poetry-writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. Individuals can
browse through the requests and give any amount online to the project that
inspires them. Once a project reaches its funding goal, DonorsChoose.org sends
the materials to the school. All donors hear back from the classroom they
supported with thank-you notes and photos. At DonorsChoose.org, anyone can give
as little as $1 and get the same level of choice, transparency, and feedback
that is traditionally reserved for someone who gives millions. They call it
“citizen philanthropy.”
I
became aware of DonorsChoose.org when they first started operating in New York
City in 2000. Their motto was “Teachers Ask, You Choose.” This approach
appealed to me so much that I personally became involved as a donor. The first
project I funded was a second-grade reading project in the Bronx. They took my
personal info and money online with my credit card. It was as simple as paying
for almost anything online. The staff provided the classroom teacher with my
name and also purchased the materials for her to implement the project. I got
immediate positive feedback from the teacher and the kids, as they were in touch
with me via the DonorsChoose.org website and thanked me profusely. I was also
able to communicate with the kids via the teacher online. As a follow-up, I
received wonderful thank-you notes with photos from the kids in the mail. I
became so excited about DonorsChoose.org that I started mentioning it in my
writings and talks and was hopeful that the idea would spread across the
country. I continue to fund projects and encourage others to do so as well.
Since
2000, the DonorsChoose.org community of more than 800,000 donors has channeled more
than $105 million into classrooms in need and benefitted approximately 6.2
million students. K-12 public schools in all 50 states and the District of
Columbia, including public charter schools, have been funded. You can be funded
too! Below
is the info you need to get started right now. You won’t be sorry!
Get Started Right Now with DonorsChoose.org
More Grants for
Teachers and Schools
In
addition to DonorsChoose.org, there are many more funding opportunities for individual
classroom teachers, schools, and school districts. The following links will
save you time and energy and familiarize you with what’s out there.
Grants
Alert
Education World (Grants Center)
The Foundation Center
To order the book now, go to:
