Organizational Behavior

DonorsChoose.org: An Online Charity Helps Public Education in America (A) “[F]irst graders in Cynthia Rosato’s English-as-a-second- language class at PS 169 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, ear- nestly sound out words from books they were deprived of just months ago. . . . For most of Rosato’s 18 years in teaching, books and other materials were appallingly out of reach.” Rosato recalls that over 600 children shared a limited number of books, and remembers that things “got to the point where if a kid lost a book, you wanted to cry.”1 Rosato’s woes are but the tip of the iceberg of the resource challenges facing the public education sys- tem in many communities in America.

“In Chicago, a high school social studies teacher needs 10 globes for hands-on geography lessons. Cost: $1,134. In Winston—Salem, NC, a first-grade teacher wants the technology to let her young readers listen to books on tape. Cost: $667. And in Flushing, NY, a fifth- grade teacher at Public School 165 is trying to scare up five beanbag chairs for her library. Cost: $189.”2

'How do these teachers acquire the materials and supplies to do the best job possible in educating their students? Charles Best, a young Internet entrepreneur and philanthropist, answers this question in a tangible way through DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit organiza- tion that he founded in 2000 at Wings Academy, a public charter high school in the Bronx, New York City, where he was a social studies teacher for five years.

Best observes, “[t]eachers spend an insane amount of their own money on supplies, but mostly we just saw our students going without the resources that they needed to learn.”3 In the first couple of years of its existence, Best invested most of his salary from Wings Academy in get- ting DonorsChoose up and running.4 Started as a means for getting supplies into public schools in low-income areas, Best says he “figured that there were people . . . who wanted to improve public schools but were skepti- cal about writing a check for $100 and not seeing where their money was going.”5

DonorsChoose.org initially focused only on public schools in New York City. However, the nonprofit re- ceived financial backing in 2004 that enabled it to be- gin a rapid expansion to Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and several cities in the Carolinas.6 Since then DonorsChoose has grown nationwide.7

“In a move that redefines traditional philanthropy, DonorsChoose uses the Internet to connect teachers directly to donors. Teachers who once spent their own money for supplies, or simply went without, can now turn to donor support to roll out creative lesson plans. Meanwhile, rather than writing checks blindly, donors of any scale can decide which projects they wish to sup- port. Like eBay . . . or Amazon.com, DonorsChoose

3,8eliminates the middleman. The DonorsChoose Web site has evolved into “a

clearinghouse for donation requests from individual teachers in underfunded public schools. Featured proj- ects have a specific ask, and donors can search the site for projects that resonate with them.”9 “The Web site reads like a ‘Dear Santa’ list from teacher-7 Educators submit a few paragraphs describing their i-‘.i.'3.‘1,$ by way of request. Projects range from as little as $49 (clip- boards) to several thousand dollars (laptop comput- ers).”10 For instance, after a one-time state grant expired, a kindergarten teacher in California was trying to raise funds to take her class to the Gallo Center for the Arts in nearby Modesto; her request for $663 was funded.“ A teacher in Mississippi, which has the highest obesity rate in America, asked for a Ping-Pong table as a tool to get students moving; another teacher elsewhere “requested books including R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series, which he thought his young readers (and especially the non- readers) would love.”12

According to the DonorsChoose.org Web site, this is how the program works:

“[P]ublic school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class.

“Then, you can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires you. Once a project reaches its funding goal, we deliver the materials to the school.

“You’ll get photos of your project taking place, a thank-you letter from the teacher, and a cost re- port showing how each dollar was spent. If you

give over $100, you’ll also receive hand—written thank-you letters from the students.

“At DonorsChoose.org, you can give as little as $1 and get the same level of choice, transpar- ency, and feedback that is traditionally reserved for someone who gives millions. We call it citizen philanthropy.” 13

In the early days, volunteers vetted the teachers’ requests and posted them for donors to browse.14 Today, requests are vetted by a hired staff. Once donors select a project, Do- norsChoose staff members—who are paid through grants and corporate sponsorship—purchase and deliver the mate- rials to the requesting teachers. Thus, 100 percent of the proj- ect donors’ contribution goes to the designated project.”

The DonorsChoose Web site enables teachers, stu- dents, and schools to alert parents, friends, families, and businesses about the individual projects that teachers need help funding. The philanthropically minded can go the Web site, read about the project and its funding needs, and contribute if they want.16

As an innovative and well-managed nonprofit orga- nization, which enjoys considerable respect in the Amer- ican business community as well as in other segments of American society, DonorsChoose is committed to an am- bitious mission and vision. Its mission: “DonorsChoose. org engages the public in public schools by giving people a simple, accountable and personal way to address ed- ucational inequity.” Its Vision: “We envision a nation where children in every community have the tools and experiences needed for an excellent education.”17

The DonorsChoose mission is supported by a strat- egy of “harness[ing] the Internet to connect teachers with donors.”18 Charles Best’s long-term hope is that people who become involved with DonorsChoose will realize the magnitude of public school underfunding and, as a result, “will become grass-roots advocates for steering more resources to schools.”19

Is the future that Charles Best wants to create through DonorsChoose.org achievable? Or is it a pipe dream?

Discussion Questions

1. What lessons about leading people and managing organizations are provided by DonorsChoose.org and its founder and CEO, Charles Best?

. What do you like about DonorsChoose.org? What do you dislike about DonorsChoose.org? Explain your answer.

. What challenges did DonorsChoose face as a start- up organization?

. What challenges does DonorsChoose face in today’s environment? How do the challenges that you discussed in questions 3 and 4 relate to the management challenges—globalization; leading a diverse work- force; and ethics, character, and personal integrity— that are discussed in the text?

. DonorsChoose describes its mission as follows: “DonorsChoose.org engages the public in public schools by giving people a simple, accountable and personal way to address educational inequity.” Its vision is articulated as follows: “We envision a na- tion where children in every community have the tools and experiences needed for an excellent edu— cation.” How does this mission and vision guide DonorsChoose in addressing the challenges that you discussed in the preceding three questions? What particular aspects of DonorsChoose.org would other organizations—nonprofit or for-profit organi- zations—do well to emulate? Explain your answer.

SOURCE: This case was written by Michael K. McCuddy, The Louis S. and Mary L. Morgal Chair of Christian Business Ethics and Professor of Man- agement, College of Business Administration, Valparaiso University.