How to use Donors Choose for Speech Therapy Materials

With budget cuts getting worse and worse each school year, teachers are tasked with finding creative ways to obtain the resources they need for their students to be successful. Despite low salaries, teachers are notorious for spending their own money on classroom materials. In addition, teachers have become quite thrifty, and do whatever it takes to earn classroom donations, from collecting box tops and coke tops to writing grants for funding. Donors Choose is a fantastic organization for educators to write grants for classroom materials that donors around the country can find and help to fund. I have been blessed time and time again with funded projects from Donors Choose. Below, I have detailed how to use Donors Choose for Speech Therapy materials.

Getting Started:

Create an account on Donors Choose. You need an active school email address for this. Only educators who currently work in a school are eligible for Donors Choose projects at this time. Upload a picture of yourself or your classroom, and fill out the requested information. Make certain you do not upload pictures of students without permission.
Write your first project. Follow the prompting on the website, and write your first project draft. You will need to tell about your students and your classroom. For instance, include whether or not you are in a high-poverty area, what areas you teach, and how many students your project will help.
Go Shopping! Donors Choose will prompt you to choose available websites to “shop” for your materials. Approved websites include Amazon, Best Buy, Lakeshore Learning, and many more. You can also choose materials that are not on these sites, but there is a little more involved with getting those approved. In addition to classroom materials or supplies, you can also get funding for field trips, hygiene supplies, coats for your students, and more.
Explain why you need these items. This is the heart of your project, so explain why your students need these items to be successful. For example, go into detail about the areas your students struggle with and why these materials can promote student growth and success. Explain how you will use them in your classroom, and be specific!
Submit your project for approval. Donors Choose will review your project and let you know within a day or two if it has been posted. Occasionally, they may ask you for additional information about your project.

My “Extra Tip:

Projects that stay in the $200-300 range have a greater chance of being fully funded. While I sometimes do bigger projects for more expensive items (laptop, ipad, etc.), most of my projects are smaller. Sometimes, I split the projects up into multiple projects in order to keep the cost lower. So instead of writing one project for an entire classroom of flexible seating, I might write 2-3 smaller projects for specific sets of flexible seating materials.

How to Get Your Project Funded:

Get to work on promoting your project! Now that your project has been approved, you can work on getting it funded. Donors Choose sends out great emails with tips on how to help.
I always donate to my projects within the first few days, although this is not required. I think it helps other donors to see that you believe in your students and really need the materials enough to donate some of your own money to them.
Send out the link to parents (make sure your district approves of this practice first), and family members. My grandma loves helping me, and my family members that own their own businesses are happy to make a tax deductible donation.
Post on social media. You never know when an individual or business is looking for a tax deductible organization to help!
Use the affiliate link below, and Donors Choose will match your donations for the first week. This is also a fantastic way to get a jump start on your project!

After It’s Funded, Now What?

Once your project is funded, get ready to receive your materials! Once funded, Donors Choose will order your materials and send them directly to your school. As a note, Donors Choose requires that the items you receive stay at your school. Should you choose to leave your school, the items remain their for your students to continue to use.
Submit your thank you package. Once you are notified that your project has been funded, Donors Choose will let you know when your thank you package is due. They usually give you about 3 months after funding to complete your thank you package. Depending on the donors, you may be required to send in student thank you letters. You’ll also be required to write an impact letter detailing how the materials have made a difference in your classroom and submit 6 photos of your materials or your students using the materials (again, with parent permission only).
Write a new project! I try to always have a live project listed, as there are always things my students can use. Even if it’s nothing more exciting than laminating sheets, those are laminating sheets that you don’t have to buy with your own money month after month.

As a Wrap Up:

If you are an educator, consider starting a project for materials you really need for your classroom. You can also look at other projects in your area of the country or your subject area and donate to other teachers needing help. I’ve successfully had 13 different projects completed for books, classroom supplies, laminating sheets, speech materials, a student laptop, a printer, a student computer, and more! You can check out my page here: Mrs. Smith’s Speechies

If you’re interested in starting a Donors Choose project for your classroom, click the affiliate link below to get started, and Donors Choose will match all donations to your project for the first week!!

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED WITH YOUR FIRST PROJECT
ON DONORS CHOOSE!

I hope this helped you learn how to use Donors Choose for speech therapy materials. Have you used Donors Choose for your classroom?