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 Partnershipsksmiley@donorschoose.org

Q&A

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