Crowdfunding best practices
Helping your educators get the classroom resources they need
PPT-00213 (May 18)
Partnerships
• Partner with national and state associations to support and
recognize contributions of educators
• Sponsor DonorsChoose.org to help teachers fund out-of-
pocket classroom expenses
Horace Mann’s commitment
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About Horace Mann
Founded in 1945, Horace Mann is the largest financial services company
focused on providing America’s school teachers and employees with
affordable auto, home and life insurance, as well as retirement solutions.
This is a school fundraiser
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This is also a school fundraiser
Every single teacher on a
crowdfunding site just got
their wishes fulfilled
By AJ Willingham, CNN
(CNN) When it comes to
educating America’s children,
how much of a difference could
$29 million make? Could it send
a second grader on a school trip
to the museum, or provide
updated equipment to a class of
budding scientists? It can. In fact,
it can do it 35,647 times.
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How to know which crowdfunding sites to trust
How can school district leaders
leverage additional funding that
crowdfunding sites offer —
while making sure they’re
maintaining existing internal
controls and student
protections?
Factors to consider
• Financial accountability
• Ownership of materials and
supplies
• Safety and privacy
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Financial accountability
• Materials, not cash Trust the sites that purchase and send
resources directly to verified schools,
instead of depositing cash into
teachers’ personal bank accounts.
• Transparency at every step Make sure the sites publicly display
details about every item funded and
provide clear explanations of
overhead costs.
• Capturing impact The sites should require teachers to
report on how the resources were
used in the classroom and how
students benefit.
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Controls over materials and supplies
• School ownership of funded
materialsWhile teachers should be given
discretion over the use of funded
resources, crowdfunding sites should
designate that the school, rather than
the teacher, ultimately owns the
funded resources.
• District visibility and
reportingReputable crowdfunding sites notify
principals when items are being
shipped to schools and provide line-
by-line reporting of every item to
districts upon request.
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Safety and privacy
• Student protectionTrusted crowdfunding sites used by
teachers should have mechanisms for
protecting student privacy, as well as
a privacy policy tailored to the unique
needs of students in public schools.
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Questions to ask yourself
• Does the site meet all the
criteria we just covered?
• Is the site focused on K-12
education?
• Is the site run by a nonprofit
organization?
• Does the site connect
teachers to donors from
beyond their network and
to funding from
companies and
foundations?
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Smart crowdfunding guidance
• Provide clarity to teachers
on the types of technology,
devices and platforms the
district will support
• Encourage teachers to
leverage crowdfunding to
support strategic district
priorities
• Help teachers seek out the
websites that you know to
be trustworthy
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How DonorsChoose.org Got Started
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How it works
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How DonorsChoose.org Works
Our current impact to date is always available at www.donorschoose.org/impact
Project funding
$795,000,000Projects funded
1,350,000
Students helped
32,700,000Schools participating
80,000
Teachers funded
490,000Supporters
3,600,000
75% of all funding comes
from individuals who’ve
never met the teacher
they’re supporting
Why We’re the Leading
Crowdfunding Site
for K–12 Education continued
Our dedication to efficacy and transparency has earned us
the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator, America's
largest independent charity evaluator, for
13 years straight. This achievement is held by fewer than 1%
of nonprofits.
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Alignment
with your
District
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We stand ready to
ensure you are
always aware of
how educators in
your district are
using
DonorsChoose.org.
1To see the impact of
DonorsChoose.org in your district, sign
up here for a free impact report. You
can also opt to receive regular
reporting on all the projects posted
and/or funded in your district, including
line-item breakdowns of every material
delivered.
DonorsChoose.org/districtcontrols
2Whenever any of your teachers creates
a request for computers or tablets, we’ll
remind them of your district's
technology requirements. Read more
about the capabilities and fill out this
form to display your district’s technology
guidelines in the DonorsChoose.org
project creation flow.
DonorsChoose.org/districtcontrols
3When a project request is posted,
DonorsChoose.org can email your
team, allowing administrators to reach
out to teachers directly if revisions are
needed with plenty of time to make
changes before the project appears on
our site. Subscribe for updates.
DonorsChoose.org/districtcontrols
DonorsChoose.org/districtcontrols
4 Every district needs a policy to make
sure your teachers are only using the
crowdfunding platforms that are safe,
accountable, and approved by the
district. You can find a two-part
comprehensive model policy here.
Superintendent, Philadelphia Public Schools, PA25
District Spotlight
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Kris BlackburnControllerSouth Washington County Schools
South Washington County Schools
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Project funding
$229,000Projects funded
267
Percent from donors outside MN
40%Schools participating
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Teachers with projects funded
181Supporters
803
Saint Paul Public Schools
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Project funding
$1,160,000Projects funded
2,176
Percent from donors outside MN
44%Schools participating
67
Teachers with projects funded
795Supporters
6,698
How Horace Mann helps
• Horace Mann representatives
around the country have
brought the DonorsChoose.org
story to the schools they serve.
• Horace Mann and our
representatives have donated
more than $4 million since
2011. More than 44,000
projects funded, impacting
more than 1.5 million students.
• Schools served by Horace
Mann representatives have
received more than $250
million in funding to date.
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DonorsChoose.org/administrators
DonorsChoose.org/districtcontrols
Principal DirectorAdvocacy and Public [email protected]
Q&A
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