Which Crowd Funding Option Is Best for Teachers?

Updated on September 10, 2015
A.V. asks from Silver Spring, MD
5 answers

Our teachers would like to use Raz-Kids. Last year they paid out of pocket and it doesn't look likely that it will be any different this year. Donors Choose doesn't handle software. Do you know of a good option to fund this for teachers, either individually or as a school? Our PTA is small and we don't have the spare to fully fund all the teachers so we are looking at outside options. Have you used anything successfully for apps or online software for your school?

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So What Happened?

Yes, we are looking for ways to fund this particular online program for teachers at our school.

We do have some ideas like getting companies to sponsor a classroom, but the logistics of promoting them after are still something we need to decide on. We also have a silent auction fundraiser at the end of the year and many small businesses locally already donate to that for us. Our direct donations to the PTA are already earmarked for other needs in the school - we are very small and trying to think outside the usual parameters for this request. One reason I was thinking of a Donor's Choose type site is that everything is handled very above-board and people can see that the funds are going to that teacher. It is also something where people all over the world donate through that system, not just people associated with the school. Something online would be easier for far-flung family members to contribute to - I often request a charitable donation in lieu of a birthday gift. I'm looking for good experiences with any site.

I'll look into Razoo. It is not the same - Raz Kids is a particular online reading program. We are a small Title 1 school, and while our parents are very involved, there's only so much they can do monetarily. We went to direct donations a few years ago because it wasn't worth the aggravation of dealing with and losing money to the fundraising company (wrapping paper, pizza, etc.).

More Answers

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C.S.

answers from Miami on

I don't usually do crowd funding sites - most of them take about 10% or more as their fee.

Our elementary school does an adopt a classroom program. We have local businesses adopt a classroom for $250.00 and then the company is mentioned four times in our quarterly newsletter along with a link to the businesses website. We are a very small public urban elementary but have managed to get each class (two classes per grade, K-5) adopted twice plus the specials (media, Spanish, art, PE and music). The parents are very enthusiastic about this program - some of them are small business owners who participate and others take it to their employer. Every type of business imaginable is represented: cleaning service, lawn service, cake pop company, a handyman, Chinese restaurant, and my company - a financial services firm.

Good luck - would be happy to send more info if you want to private message me your email address.
C.

4 moms found this helpful

W.W.

answers from Washington DC on

Why not just ask families to donate "X" amount? Why do they have to do it on-line? While i LOVE the on-line ability - I don't mind a once a year request for money for the school - i'd MUCH rather do a one time request than bombard parents every three months for something.

https://www.pta.org/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1328

I don't know if Razoo and Raz-Kids are one in the same
https://pta.razoo.com/

https://fundraising.myevent.com/group-fundraising.htm

I would also go to your local stores to see if they will donate anything. Staples and Office Depot LOVE to donate in our community. If we give them a specific list? They can sometimes do that. It all depends upon when you get them in the year.

Good luck!

3 moms found this helpful

J.S.

answers from St. Louis on

I am not familiar with anything you are saying but are you trying to find a platform for people to send donations to?

3 moms found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Boston on

Does your school use PayPal K-12? It's a PayPal program dedicated to schools where they waive their $30 per month PayPal Professional fee and reduce their transaction fee to the non-profit rate. They also set up and host a web store for you, and you can imbed a link into your school's website, send it via e-mail, share it on Facebook, etc. PayPal accepts credit/debit card payments as well as payments from PayPal accounts. I like it because the fees are much lower than those for GoFundMe (9%) or DonorsChoose (whose fee structure is so convoluted I can't figure it out). The set up is a bit longer, but it's good for more than one project and you can use it to process field trip payments, direct donations, etc.

Another option might be that if a group of parents wants to sponsor a class, perhaps one could buy a license directly and have the other parents pay them back. That could work on a class-by-class basis.

3 moms found this helpful
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R.K.

answers from Boston on

Perhaps Adopt-a-Classroom on-line.

1 mom found this helpful
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