Finding Funding for Your Donors Choose Project
Raise your hand if you've ever tried to get a Donors Choose project funded. Now, raise your hand if you've ever wanted to start a project on Donors Choose, but felt awkward about asking your family and friends for money. Ok, since I can't see your hands, I'll assume that if you're continuing reading, one of these applies to you.
I have been able to get 5 projects fully funded on Donors Choose, and the majority of the money has not come from my family, friends, or my own pocket. So, how did I secure funding for my projects? Here are some tips that could help you fund your first, or next, project.
Always Keep a Project Posted
My biggest tip for you is to simply post a project and keep it posted. You don't need to then send it out to anybody or post it to social media, but it is important that it is live on the site. Why? Every so often, companies or other donors will come along and fund projects on the site. My very first project was for a set of two iPads and Osmo game systems that I could use in math and reading centers. It was coming up on the last couple of weeks before the project expired and I was sure that it would go unfunded. I woke up one morning to an email that my project was fully funded! How? A company named Ripple had made a HUGE donation and fully funded every project that was live on the Donors Choose website. Now, this doesn't happen all the time, obviously. However, if there are items that are not a pressing need for you but you would love to have, it can't hurt to put a project up requesting them and keep it up until it expires.
Check for Match Offers
What is a match offer on Donors Choose? Well, there are two different kinds. They are all listed on Donors Choose under "Tools and Resources" on your project page.
The first and most common you will find is a percentage or x-to-one match offer. Usually, to receive this kind of match offer, your project has to meet certain requirements. For example, at the time of writing this post, there is a one-to-one match offer on team sports projects. Any project that requests resources for team sports materials and uses the match offer code provided gets 1-to-1 donations. That means that a $50 donation gets matched and becomes a $100 donation. These kinds of match offers can be helpful if you do want to donate to your own project or know of family or friends who will donate.
The second type, and kind I have found most helpful, is a gift code offer. Gift codes are credits that you can apply to your own projects. If you consistently check the match offer page, you will find new gift code offers pop up from time to time. I currently have over $300 in gift codes waiting for me to apply them to a project. Two of my projects have been fully funded using gift codes that I have gotten from checking for gift code offers. How do you get the gift codes? There are a variety of activities that you may have to do. In the past, I've taught coding lessons to my class, had them play an internet safety game, implemented a financial literacy lesson into our science and social studies curriculum, and downloaded an app that gave me a digital fitness assessment. Many of these were incredibly simple to complete and did not take too much time. Each simple activity got me a gift code that I could then apply to my project. By combining my gift codes with 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 match offers, I was able to maximize the gift code money. Many gift code offers have a second way of earning gift codes, which brings me to my third point...
Spread the Word
Spread the word to your coworkers, friends, new teachers, etc. Donors Choose has a great referral program. If you help a friend get started with Donors Choose and they sign up using your referral link, you can get $25 of credits to use however you'd like. At certain times throughout the year, Donors Choose will also offer extra incentives for new teachers. January 12th-18th, 2020 Donors Choose is giving new teachers who sign up using a referral link a $50 kickoff donation when they submit their first project. This can be an awesome way to earn some extra "free money" for your first project.
And that second way of earning gift codes? Most of the gift code offers also state that you can earn extra gift codes by referring other teachers to the available gift code offer. By letting other teachers in my building know that they could get a free $100 by completing a simple survey, I was able to rack up even more money towards my projects.
Happy Birthday to You
Make sure that you have your birthday listed in your account. Donors Choose will give you a one day only boost on any posted project on your birthday. This means that if you have any gift codes or account credits, you can use them on your birthday to get more bang for your buck. $50 in account credits can turn into $100 towards your project thanks to a 1-to-1 boost offer on your birthday.
Save Your Gift Codes
As I have mentioned, Donors Choose gives you a boost on donations, including ones you make to your own project using gift codes, on your birthday. There are also multiple other days throughout the year that they will run campaigns boosting donations to every project or projects meeting certain criteria. Save your gift codes that you get from match offer activities or referrals until you can get a boost on using them.
Many gift codes are only good for a couple of months, however you can extend them to a year by using them to purchase account credits. Account credits remain attached to your Donors Choose account, waiting for you to use, for a full calendar year. To add your gift codes to your account and turn them into account credits, all you have to do is go to DonorsChoose.org/credits, type in the amount on the gift code, and at checkout, click on "Apply a gift or promo code." Then, you can wait for a boost and use the account credits towards your project.
Ready to Get Started?
I hope that you feel more comfortable with how to use Donors Choose to get your students more of the resources they need and the items that would make your life easier. If you are ready to get started and post your first project, click here to go to Donors Choose!
I have been able to get 5 projects fully funded on Donors Choose, and the majority of the money has not come from my family, friends, or my own pocket. So, how did I secure funding for my projects? Here are some tips that could help you fund your first, or next, project.
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| Best emails ever! |
Always Keep a Project Posted
My biggest tip for you is to simply post a project and keep it posted. You don't need to then send it out to anybody or post it to social media, but it is important that it is live on the site. Why? Every so often, companies or other donors will come along and fund projects on the site. My very first project was for a set of two iPads and Osmo game systems that I could use in math and reading centers. It was coming up on the last couple of weeks before the project expired and I was sure that it would go unfunded. I woke up one morning to an email that my project was fully funded! How? A company named Ripple had made a HUGE donation and fully funded every project that was live on the Donors Choose website. Now, this doesn't happen all the time, obviously. However, if there are items that are not a pressing need for you but you would love to have, it can't hurt to put a project up requesting them and keep it up until it expires.
 |
| Students using the iPad and Osmo we got thanks to a huge donation from Ripple. |
Check for Match Offers
What is a match offer on Donors Choose? Well, there are two different kinds. They are all listed on Donors Choose under "Tools and Resources" on your project page.
The first and most common you will find is a percentage or x-to-one match offer. Usually, to receive this kind of match offer, your project has to meet certain requirements. For example, at the time of writing this post, there is a one-to-one match offer on team sports projects. Any project that requests resources for team sports materials and uses the match offer code provided gets 1-to-1 donations. That means that a $50 donation gets matched and becomes a $100 donation. These kinds of match offers can be helpful if you do want to donate to your own project or know of family or friends who will donate.
The second type, and kind I have found most helpful, is a gift code offer. Gift codes are credits that you can apply to your own projects. If you consistently check the match offer page, you will find new gift code offers pop up from time to time. I currently have over $300 in gift codes waiting for me to apply them to a project. Two of my projects have been fully funded using gift codes that I have gotten from checking for gift code offers. How do you get the gift codes? There are a variety of activities that you may have to do. In the past, I've taught coding lessons to my class, had them play an internet safety game, implemented a financial literacy lesson into our science and social studies curriculum, and downloaded an app that gave me a digital fitness assessment. Many of these were incredibly simple to complete and did not take too much time. Each simple activity got me a gift code that I could then apply to my project. By combining my gift codes with 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 match offers, I was able to maximize the gift code money. Many gift code offers have a second way of earning gift codes, which brings me to my third point...
 |
| Everything we needed for a space themed room transformation was obtained using Donors Choose gift code from match offers! |
Spread the Word
Spread the word to your coworkers, friends, new teachers, etc. Donors Choose has a great referral program. If you help a friend get started with Donors Choose and they sign up using your referral link, you can get $25 of credits to use however you'd like. At certain times throughout the year, Donors Choose will also offer extra incentives for new teachers. January 12th-18th, 2020 Donors Choose is giving new teachers who sign up using a referral link a $50 kickoff donation when they submit their first project. This can be an awesome way to earn some extra "free money" for your first project.
And that second way of earning gift codes? Most of the gift code offers also state that you can earn extra gift codes by referring other teachers to the available gift code offer. By letting other teachers in my building know that they could get a free $100 by completing a simple survey, I was able to rack up even more money towards my projects.
Happy Birthday to You
Make sure that you have your birthday listed in your account. Donors Choose will give you a one day only boost on any posted project on your birthday. This means that if you have any gift codes or account credits, you can use them on your birthday to get more bang for your buck. $50 in account credits can turn into $100 towards your project thanks to a 1-to-1 boost offer on your birthday.
Save Your Gift Codes
As I have mentioned, Donors Choose gives you a boost on donations, including ones you make to your own project using gift codes, on your birthday. There are also multiple other days throughout the year that they will run campaigns boosting donations to every project or projects meeting certain criteria. Save your gift codes that you get from match offer activities or referrals until you can get a boost on using them.
Many gift codes are only good for a couple of months, however you can extend them to a year by using them to purchase account credits. Account credits remain attached to your Donors Choose account, waiting for you to use, for a full calendar year. To add your gift codes to your account and turn them into account credits, all you have to do is go to DonorsChoose.org/credits, type in the amount on the gift code, and at checkout, click on "Apply a gift or promo code." Then, you can wait for a boost and use the account credits towards your project.
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| All of this flexible seating was obtained by saving gift codes until I had a match offer that would boost donations. |
Ready to Get Started?
I hope that you feel more comfortable with how to use Donors Choose to get your students more of the resources they need and the items that would make your life easier. If you are ready to get started and post your first project, click here to go to Donors Choose!
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