Citizen Philanthropy

Update: FUNDED!!! Fully fricking funded!!! The Leonard R Flynn Elementary School project to plan, do and review has been fully funded! I don't know if its because of my readers, but it sure can't be coincidence! I shall take credit for it nonetheless! hahahaha! We've got the power people! If anyone comes across a project they are particularly interested in helping, post it!!!! Or send it to me, and I'll post it.

I was slow on the uptake this year and didn't get a chance to send a Christmas carepackage to the troops in Iraq. Poo.
Soo... I've opted to help someone in need online instead.
.. Crate & Barrel sent a gift certificate to use at the innovative DonorsChoose.Org. If you haven't heard of it yet, its a website where teachers pitch to you ideas for project and materials and experiences their students need to learn, such as: improving vocabulary with a class set of dictionaries ($150); discouraging teen pregnancy with “Baby-Think-It-Over” dolls ($500); taking students to Washington, D.C. to see the Supreme Court consider a case ($2,000). There's a lot more accountability here than what goes on in a Hollywood production thats for sure!

You can search proposals by areas of interest, learn about classroom needs, and choose to fund the project she/he finds most compelling. Donors receive a feedback package of photographs, student thank-you notes, a teacher impact letter, and an expenditure report showing that their gift was spent as directed.

Their Mission: "DonorsChoose improves public education by engaging citizens in an online marketplace where teachers describe specific educational projects for their classrooms and individuals can choose which projects to fund. We envision a country where students in every community have the resources they need to learn."

DonorsChoose.org received a surprise shoutout yesterday morning during the CBS Early Show. President Bill Clinton was speaking with Harry Smith about the importance of charitable giving, and he cited DonorsChoose.org as an example of a non-profit that harnesses the power of the internet to enable ordinary citizens to have an impact. BOOYAH! At DonorsChoose you can be a philanthropist for just Ten Bucks. Citizen philanthropy at work!

I used my Gift Certificate and contributed additional funds to a school in the Mission District of San Francisco, learning puzzles, etc, that future classes can use too. And I know where my money is going! .. They are close readers! If you feel you'd like to give, they could get their project funded and completed!! Or find something that is close to YOUR home, and better yet, YOUR heart.