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NetSquared enables social benefit organizations to leverage the tools of the social web.
DonorsChoose
URL:
www.donorschoose.org
Project Description:
DonorsChoose is a nonprofit organization which facilitates support for education in the American public school system. Teachers can submit school project proposals on the website in any of the following categories: math & science, literacy & history, arts & music, physical education, field trips, and more. Individual donors, called Citizen Philanthropists, select which projects to fund, either partially or in full.
Once a Citizen Philanthropist chooses a school project to support, DonorsChoose delivers the requested resources to the school. The teacher documents the funded education project using a disposable camera (also provided by DonorsChoose), and sends back the camera with hand-written thank you notes from the students involved. DonorsChoose develops the project photos and sends them with an expenditure report, a letter from the teacher, as well as the students' thank you notes to the donor(s).
Points of interest:
DonorsChoose provides an online platform for direct relationships between public education needs and donors who are interested in having the option to choose a project aligned to their interests. The organization also provides third-party vendor discounts and partnerships to help facilitate more education projects. Gift certificates and registries are also a snap to create through the website.
Finally, DonorsChoose offers a student grant-making program which encourages students to become more actively involved in the giving process. Students across the country collect donations, decide which other student projects to fund, and present their reasons to invited funders from the DonorsChoose community. This elevates the donor-student relationship to the next level by allowing students to participate on the philanthropic level!
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