The Ultimate Guide to DonorsChoose for Teachers (2026)

Free for verified U.S. public school staff — verification takes a few days, so start there.

If you have ever paid for your own copy paper, flexible seating, or novel sets, DonorsChoose is probably the fastest way to stop doing that. It is the largest classroom crowdfunding platform in the United States, it is free for teachers, and a well-built first project can be funded in under two weeks.

This guide is the full walkthrough: who qualifies, what you can and cannot ask for, how to build your first project screen by screen, how the money actually moves, and the specific habits that separate funded projects from ones that stall at 40 percent. It is written by educators who have run these projects, not copied from the platform's help center.

Short version: get verified with your school email, keep your first project small and specific, write like you are talking to a parent at conferences, launch during a match offer, and email twenty real people on day one.

Table of contents

• What is DonorsChoose?
• Who is eligible to apply?
• What can teachers request?
• What cannot be requested?
• Step by step: creating your first project
• How the funding process works
• Tips to increase your chances of getting funded
• Common mistakes teachers make
• DonorsChoose statistics teachers should know
• Frequently asked questions
• Helpful links and official resources
• What to explore next on Teacher Resource Haven

What is DonorsChoose?

DonorsChoose is a nonprofit crowdfunding platform where U.S. public school teachers post specific classroom needs and donors fund them. It was founded in 2000 by a Bronx public high school history teacher who wanted his colleagues' classroom wish lists to reach people willing to pay for them.

The mechanic that makes it different from general crowdfunding is that teachers never touch the money. You choose materials from vendor catalogs built into the site. When your project reaches its goal, DonorsChoose buys the items and ships them to your school. That structure is why donors trust it, why districts generally allow it, and why the catalog rules exist.

A project has four parts: a title, a short essay about your students and the need, a cart of materials, and a total that includes shipping, fees, and the vendor's costs. Donors browse or follow a direct link, give any amount, and the project funds when the total is met.

How DonorsChoose is different from grants

A grant is judged once, by a reviewer, against a rubric, on a deadline. Crowdfunding is judged continuously, by dozens of strangers, in about twelve seconds each. Grants reward thoroughness. Crowdfunding rewards clarity and promotion. You need both skills, and they are not the same skill — our guide on how to write a winning grant application covers the other half.

Who is eligible to apply?

DonorsChoose is limited to U.S. PreK-12 public schools, including public charter schools. In general you are eligible if you:

• Work at an eligible U.S. public school that DonorsChoose has in its database
• Are a full-time staff member who works directly with students
• Have a school-issued email address you can receive verification at
• Are requesting materials that will be used with your own students

Eligibility is not limited to classroom teachers. Librarians, counselors, instructional coaches, special education staff, specialists, and other student-facing school employees are commonly approved. Substitute teachers, parents, volunteers, and private school staff generally are not.

Getting verified

You sign up with your school email, select your school from the list, and describe your role. DonorsChoose confirms your position with the school, which can take a few days. Start this before you need the materials — verification is the step that most often delays a first project.

If your school is not in the database, or your role sits in an unusual category, contact DonorsChoose support rather than guessing. They add schools and review edge cases routinely.

What can teachers request?

Anything that goes to your students, from a vendor DonorsChoose works with. The most common categories:

• Classroom supplies: paper, pencils, markers, folders, bins, lab consumables, art materials
• Books: classroom libraries, novel sets, decodables, leveled readers, nonfiction
• Technology: headphones, tablets, document cameras, calculators, robotics kits, charging carts
• Furniture and seating: rugs, wobble stools, standing desks, storage
• Manipulatives and instruments: math tools, science kits, band and orchestra instruments, PE equipment
• Field trips and visitors: admission, transportation, and guest experiences arranged through approved partners
• Professional development: approved workshops and trainings, subject to current program availability

A few practical notes. Choose the least expensive acceptable vendor option — donors notice cost consciousness, and it lowers your total. Check that anything technological is compatible with your district's systems before you request it, because a funded item your IT department will not support is a dead end.

What cannot be requested?

The restrictions are consistent and worth reading before you build a cart:

• Cash, gift cards, or reimbursement for items you already bought
• Anything for personal use — teacher wardrobe, home office equipment, personal devices
• Food and drink for staff, and food generally outside narrow instructional uses
• Items purchased outside the platform's vendor catalog
• Ongoing costs your school cannot sustain, such as subscriptions with no renewal plan
• Anything your district or school policy prohibits, including devices IT will not support
• Materials for adults rather than students, outside approved professional development

Restrictions and vendor lists change, so confirm the current list on the DonorsChoose site before you finalize a project. When something is not allowed, it is often available free elsewhere — check our free classroom materials search first.

Step by step: creating your first project

1. Create and verify your account

Sign up with your school email, choose your school, and describe your role. Wait for verification before you invest time in writing.

2. Pick one specific need

One need, one project. "Headphones so my second graders can hear their reading app" is a project. "Classroom supplies" is a wish list, and wish lists do not fund.

3. Build the cart

Search the built-in vendor catalogs and add exactly what you need. Check quantity, model, and compatibility. Watch the running total — it will include shipping, sales tax where applicable, and the fulfillment costs that let DonorsChoose deliver to your school.

4. Write the title

The title is what a scrolling stranger sees first. Name the item, name the students, imply the outcome.

• Weak: "Supplies Needed for My Class"
• Strong: "Headphones So My Second Graders Can Finally Hear Their Books"

5. Write the essay

Three short paragraphs is plenty. Who your students are, what the materials will do, and what changes. Details beat adjectives — see the tips section below for the full structure.

6. Add a photo

Use a real photo of your actual room, ideally the corner you are trying to fix. Follow your district's photo release policy exactly; hands, desks, and empty spaces work fine when faces are not permitted.

7. Submit for review

DonorsChoose screens projects before they go live, usually within a few days. They may ask you to adjust the cart or clarify wording. Respond quickly — the clock on your four-month window starts once you are live.

8. Launch and promote on purpose

The project is not finished when it posts. The seven-day promotion plan below is the part that actually funds it.

How the funding process works

1. Your project goes live and stays open for roughly four months.
2. Donors give any amount. Some come from your own network, some from strangers browsing, some from corporate and foundation partners funding whole categories of projects.
3. Match offers can double gifts during specific windows, often using a code donors enter at checkout.
4. When the goal is met, the project closes and DonorsChoose orders the materials from the vendors.
5. Materials ship to your school, usually addressed to you at the school office. Delivery timelines depend on the vendor.
6. You confirm receipt and submit thank-yous — photos of the materials in use plus a note describing the impact. This is required before your next project.
7. If a project does not fully fund, donors are asked to redirect their gifts to another project, so their money still reaches a classroom. You can rebuild and repost a smaller version.

That last point is the reason to keep projects small. A project that expires at 70 percent funded gives you nothing but a lesson.

Tips to increase your chances of getting funded

Create smaller projects

Request size is the strongest predictor of funding. Projects in the low hundreds fund at dramatically higher rates than projects approaching four figures, because a small total feels reachable to the first donor and to you when you are asking.

Split a big need into a sequence. Four funded projects of $200 beat one stalled project of $800 — and each one leaves you with a donor list, a completed thank-you package, and a track record.

Write a compelling project description

Donors fund a picture, not a plea. Use three paragraphs:

1. Who your students are. One vivid, specific detail. Not "my students face many challenges," but "twenty-three fourth graders who ask to stay in at recess to keep reading."
2. What the materials do. Describe the actual classroom moment the items create — the small group that finally has enough headphones, the lab that runs with real equipment.
3. What changes. State the concrete difference plainly, in one or two sentences.

Skip pity framing, all caps, exclamation points, and long lists of hardships. Write the way you would talk to a parent at conferences: warm, specific, matter-of-fact.

Use donation match campaigns

Matches are the highest-leverage mechanic on the platform. A partner doubles qualifying donations, which means the same twenty emails raise twice as much.

• Check the DonorsChoose match offers page before you launch, not after
• Time your launch to open just before or during a match window
• Read the eligibility rules — many matches target specific subjects, grade bands, states, or school poverty levels
• Put the match in every ask: "your $25 becomes $50" outperforms a plain request every time
• Back-to-school and end-of-calendar-year periods reliably bring the most match activity

Share your project with family and your school community

Most funded projects are funded by people the teacher knows. Run a deliberate seven-day push:

• Day 1: A personal email to twenty individuals — family, former colleagues, your own former teachers. Personal email beats social media by a wide margin.
• Day 2: Post to your personal social accounts with the classroom photo.
• Day 3: Ask your school's family newsletter or communication app to include the link.
• Day 4: Ask three friends to reshare rather than donate. Reach compounds.
• Day 5: Local businesses you actually patronize, with a short and specific ask.
• Day 6: Alumni groups, faith communities, hobby groups, and professional networks.
• Day 7: Thank early donors publicly. Social proof drives the second wave.

A page at 30 percent looks stalled; a page at 60 percent looks nearly there. The early push is what moves you across that line.

Time it around the school calendar

August and September carry back-to-school attention and the largest match activity. December brings end-of-year giving. Late spring is the slowest stretch. Plan the projects you care most about for the two strong windows, and see our monthly grant and deadline calendar to line crowdfunding up with grant cycles.

Finish your thank-you package well

Photos of students using the materials, a specific note about what changed, and a fast turnaround. Donors who receive a real thank-you fund your next project — this is how teachers build a repeat donor base instead of restarting from zero every time.

Common mistakes teachers make

• Asking for too much on the first project. Credibility compounds; start small.
• Vague titles and generic essays. "Classroom Supplies Needed" is invisible in a feed.
• Posting and waiting. Projects that are not promoted almost never fund.
• Ignoring match windows. Same effort, half the money.
• Stock photos or no photo. A real, imperfect classroom photo outperforms a polished stock image.
• Forgetting shipping and fees when planning what you can realistically raise.
• Requesting technology IT will not support. Confirm compatibility before you build the cart.
• Skipping or delaying thank-yous. It blocks your next project and burns your donor list.
• Crowdfunding something available free. Check free programs first — you keep your social capital for the things nobody gives away.
• Only asking for money. Asking for shares costs your network nothing and reaches people you cannot.

DonorsChoose statistics teachers should know

These are the publicly reported figures worth knowing before you post. Numbers move, so confirm the current ones on the organization's own impact page before you cite them anywhere.

• DonorsChoose was founded in 2000 by a public high school teacher in the Bronx, making it one of the longest-running education crowdfunding nonprofits in the country.
• It is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which is why donations are tax-deductible for donors — a useful line when you ask local businesses.
• The platform has channeled more than a billion dollars in materials to public school classrooms across its history.
• Millions of projects have been funded, and the organization reports reaching the large majority of U.S. public schools.
• Every funded project results in materials shipped to the school, not cash to the teacher — worth stating explicitly when a skeptical donor asks how the money is used.
• Projects run on roughly a four-month window, and unfunded projects have their donations redirected rather than refunded by default.

The two numbers that matter most for your own planning are not on any impact page: your request total and the number of people you personally ask. Those are the ones you control.

Frequently asked questions

Is DonorsChoose free for teachers?

Yes. Creating an account and posting a project costs you nothing. The nonprofit is supported by donors, partners, and an optional donation donors can add at checkout to cover processing and fulfillment.

Who is eligible to use DonorsChoose?

Full-time staff who work directly with students at eligible U.S. PreK-12 public schools, including public charters. You verify with your school email and DonorsChoose confirms your role with the school.

How long does a project stay live?

About four months. If it does not fully fund, donors are asked to redirect their gifts to another classroom so the money still gets used.

Does the money go to me?

No. DonorsChoose buys the materials from its vendors and ships them to your school. No cash passes through your hands, which is exactly why the vendor catalog rules exist.

What size project is most likely to fund?

Smaller ones. First projects in the low hundreds of dollars fund far more reliably than requests near a thousand, and a funded project gives you the donor list and credibility for a bigger ask later.

What is a match and how do I use one?

A partner doubles donations to qualifying projects, often through a code donors enter at checkout. Check the match offers page before launching, confirm your project qualifies, and lead your ask with it.

Can I request anything I want?

No. Requests must be student-facing materials from approved vendors. Cash, gift cards, personal items, staff food, and anything your district prohibits are out.

Do I have to do anything after my project funds?

Yes — confirm delivery and submit a thank-you package with photos and a note about the impact. It is required before your next project and it is the best donor-retention tool you have.

Should I use DonorsChoose or apply for grants?

Both, in this order: free programs first, grants second, crowdfunding for the remaining gap. Crowdfunding spends goodwill, so save it for what the other two will not cover.

Can parents and my principal donate?

Yes, anyone can. Most teachers fund their projects largely through their own school community, which is why twenty personal emails beat one public post.

Helpful links and official resources

• DonorsChoose home — browse live projects and start an account
• Teacher sign-up and eligibility — start verification with your school email
• Help center — current rules on vendors, restrictions, and shipping
• Match offers — active doubling campaigns and their eligibility rules
• Impact and statistics — the organization's own current numbers

Always confirm rules and figures on the official pages above; policies and vendor lists change from year to year.

What to explore next on Teacher Resource Haven

Crowdfunding should be your third move, not your first. Work down this list in order:

• Free classroom materials — programs that ship physical supplies to teachers at no cost
• Free teacher stores — donation-supported stores where educators shop for free
• Teacher grants and funding search — open grants with eligibility, amounts, and deadlines
• DonorsChoose: tips to get your project funded — the condensed tactical version of this guide
• How to write a winning grant application — the grant-side skill set
• Best teacher grants in 2026 — the grants worth your application time this year
• Back-to-school funding checklist — what to line up before the first day

Before you crowdfund anything, search it free first. Run your exact need through the Teacher Resource Haven search — thousands of teachers find the item they were about to fundraise for already being given away. Whatever is left over is exactly what DonorsChoose is for.