RFirst, here's some of their tips:
To boost your chances of being funded, be sure to:
Choose materials that total between $100 and $400. (The lower the project cost, the greater chance it will be funded!)
Submit projects as soon as possible to prepare for lessons later in the year.
Submit more than one project at a time.
I would definitely recommend starting as small as possible. You only start with three points, which is three projects between 100 and 400, or one project between 100 and 400 and one between 400 and 800. Get some book sets, or art supplies, etc, something that you can get for 100-200 dollars. Completing a one point project gets you 3 points back, for 2 points profit, and once you get some points saved up you can afford to take more risks. Plus, the cheaper it is the faster it gets funded because there's less to fund.
I originally found out about DonorsChoose at a workshop on grant writing. The two best pieces of advice I got for grant writing in general, and they apply to DonorsChoose, are these:
1. Put your materials under a "big idea" umbrella. People want to give causes and ideas, not things. Yes, you want a Smartboard, but what are you going to do with it? The example she gave us was a teacher who got a SmartBoard by saying that it would allow her students, who never got out of their own neighborhood, to visit every National Park virtually. She didn't want a SmartBoard, she wanted to take her students on a tour of the National Parks. Everyone wants a SmartBoard, but people donate to teachers who show they have great things in mind for the stuff they are getting. I asked for a projector because my school has a BrainPop account that I couldn't use, and I showed how my students would be more interested in learning if they could watch the videos. That only accounts for 10% of my projector's use, but it gave potential donors a vision of what the projector could do.
2. Don't be proud. If there's any time to acknowledge your flaws, it's when you're asking for money. You WANT to look as pitiful as possible. In a high-poverty area? Play it up. District closing schools because of funding? Play it up. Parents not involved and leaving the parenting up to you? PLAY IT UP. You don't have to lie, just mention everything that sucks about your students' situation, and how hard your kids are working despite their situation, and how this donation would mean the world to them because it would be the best thing that's happened to them all year. It just might be. Also, keep all of this student focused. Don't say, "My life is horrible because of the district," say, "My students lack so many opportunities because of our lack of funds."
Another way to help yourself out is to look at the fund matching opportunities in your state, which are available from a link on the main page. Right now in Arizona there's a group matching funding for any project focused around nutrition, from class gardens to refrigerators for healthy snacks. That cuts the amount of funding you need in half.
Publicize the HECK out of your project. Email family and friends, and ask them to forward it to everyone they know, whether they themselves can donate or not. DonorsChoose connects with Facebook, and will automatically send status updates when you post projects, get donations, etc. This is a great way to get people in. My science kits were wholly funded by two acquaintances from the city I moved away from who I kind of knew from group activities, but who apparently are both computer engineers who love science, and got my kits for me, along with matched funding from CenturyLink.
I'd say about half of my funding comes from friends, family, or people who my friends and family know. The other half has come from random people who liked my projects because I wrote them well.
Once you start getting donations, thank every single donor, even with just one sentence saying "Thanks!" Make them know you are paying attention, are involved, and care. That will bring them back. That couple that bought the science kits now have a standing monthly automatic donation to my projects. That happened because I was on top of expressing gratitude.
Finally, get your students involved! This is a great way to teach persuasive writing. Explain to them that they can ask for stuff for the class, but they'll need to convince people to give them money, so it has to be stuff people would want to give money for. My students automatically went: "WE SHOULD GET IPODS!" To which I said, "Ok, if you can justify it. What do you want them for?" "GAMES!" "Would YOU just give someone your own money so they could play games on an iPod?" ".....No....ohhhh...maybe we could get books?" "Sounds good!"
Then you can have them write the essay with you. And if the essay says, "We" instead of "my students" it has even more power. Plus, they have to write thank you letters, so that's another writing standard you can hit by making it part of class and not just your own thing.
That went on longer than I thought it would, so hopefully it's not so long you skipped most of it. If you have more questions feel free to ask.
WBT Intern
2011-2012
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