You're on track to get doubled donations (and unlock a reward for the colleague who referred you). Keep up the great work!
Take credit for your charitable giving! Check out your tax receipts
Donate
To use your $50 gift card credits, find a project to fund and we'll automatically apply your credits at checkout. Find a classroom project
Menu
Skip to main content

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Your school email address was successfully verified.

Trust & Transparency

DonorsChoose was founded on the belief that people would donate to public school classrooms if they could see exactly where their money was going. From vetting every project request to sending resources instead of cash, financial transparency and accountability are core to our model.

$155.67 Million

Total Operating Expenses

  • 92%

    Program services

  • 2%

    General and administrative

  • 6%

    Fundraising

In the 2022–23 school year, more than $140 million directly supported America's public schools.

On DonorsChoose, you choose the classroom project you want to support. You support the projects that inspire you, and our team purchases and ships the educator-requested resources directly to the classroom, propelling us towards our mission of giving every student in every community a great education. The efficiency of your donation is a top priority for our team.

  • Program services: 92% The overwhelming majority of our expenses go toward classroom materials like books, art supplies, science equipment, and other resources for students. Program services also include postage for student thank-you letters, coordinating the delivery of materials, building deeper connections with school districts, and improving the DonorsChoose teacher experience.
  • General and administrative: 2% We're dedicated to running a lean, teacher- and student-focused organization, which is why we keep administrative costs at just 2% of our expenses.
  • Fundraising: 6% We believe supporting teachers and students is our nation's collective responsibility. Unlike other organizations, we generate most funding from outside teachers' personal networks of friends and family, inspiring individuals, foundations, and companies to support public schools. As a result, 83% of donations on DonorsChoose come from funders who've never met the teacher they're giving to.
Highest Rating

Better Business Bureau
Highest Rating

Charity Watch
Highest Rating

Charity Navigator
Highest Rating

Guidestar

Behind the Project

When people give to a classroom project, we suggest a 15% optional donation to DonorsChoose. Donors can reduce or remove this donation (although 84% keep it as is), while partners keep it intact.

In addition to supporting our general operations, this 15% optional donation enables us to help teachers succeed.

Teacher Outreach

Our team works hard to introduce DonorsChoose to teachers across the country, so that educators in every classroom in America know where to turn when looking for extra classroom resources.

Funding Projects from First Time Teachers

Your donation to DonorsChoose allows us to set first-time teachers up for success by offering things like the Friends & Family Code, which doubles donations to first-time teacher projects for the first week.

Maintaining Our Site

Our Product and Engineering team works under the hood every day to keep our site best-in-class, giving teachers and donors a great experience.

See Where Every Dollar Goes

Every classroom project request on DonorsChoose features a line item breakdown of each requested resource, necessary processing costs, and the suggested donation to DonorsChoose.

Example Project Request

Wobble Chairs for Wiggle Kids

“Help me give my students wobble chairs that allow them to wiggle and learn at the same time.”
Ms. Walker's profile photo Ms. Walker

Project Breakdown

Hover over the icons to learn more about each line.

Materials Cost Quantity Total
CR122BU - Wobble Chair - Blue $59.99 12 $719.88

Materials cost This is a subtotal of the cost of requested resources listed above.

$719.88

Vendor shipping charges If our vendors charge shipping fees, they're listed here.

FREE

Sales tax Every state has different rules regarding the tax-exempt status of nonprofits, so requested resources may still incur a sales tax despite our organization's general IRS tax exempt status.

$50.39

3rd party payment processing fee This 1.5% payment processing fee represents the weighted average of fees DonorsChoose incurs across various payment methods through which donations are placed.

Credit cards and PayPal donations incur a charge of about 2.5%, check donations incur nominal handling and processing charges, and large grants to fund classroom projects received via wire transfer typically do not incur fees. Because all transactions in the US must be charged the same fee regardless of payment form, we've set a standard 1.5% processing fee.

$10.80

Fulfillment labor & materials DonorsChoose provides end-to-end integrity by vetting each project before posting it, purchasing and coordinating delivery of the materials, and processing thank-you letters and photos from the classroom.

$30.00

Total project cost The total project cost is the sum of materials and fees listed above, and must be met to bring this project to life.

$811.07

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms This 15% optional allocation, which donors can opt out of or reduce during checkout, goes towards the work we do to engaging new audiences, maintaining our site, and funding projects from first time teachers and those working in low-income communities, along with supporting our general operations.

Our efficiency and transparency have earned DonorsChoose the top 4-star rating from Charity Navigator.

$143.13

Total project goal The total project goal is the amount we hope to reach and includes the 15% donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms. If donors opt out of that 15% donation, the total project goal will recalculate to reflect the reduced donation to DonorsChoose.

$954.20

Donations toward project cost

-$80.75

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$14.25

Match offer toward project cost

-$730.32

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$128.88

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available. We work with more than 20 vendors, who are dedicated to providing teachers best-in-class resources, product discounts, availability, shipping, and exceptional customer service. When teachers request funding for learning experiences, like a field trip or a professional development conference, we vet those experiences to ensure teachers are getting the best value.

See classroom projects

All projects are hand-screened before they appear on our site, and once projects are funded, we deliver resources, not cash, directly to teachers. Because of these transparency measures and more, organizations like the AASA and NAESP have named us the PreK-12 crowdfunding platform of choice.

Tools for District Administrators

Financial & Tax

Annual Reports

Regulatory Filings

Corporate Governance

Supporting teachers and students since 2000

DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America create classroom project requests, and you can give any amount to the project that inspires you.

We've earned the highest possible ratings from Better Business Bureau, Charity Watch, Charity Navigator, and Guidestar.