DonorsChoose

What DonorsChoose does

DonorsChoose is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit crowdfunding platform, founded in 2000 by a high school teacher in the Bronx and headquartered in New York City, that connects public school teachers across all 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C. with individual donors, corporations, and foundations funding specific classroom project requests for materials, supplies, technology, and experiences. Its core product is a self-serve cloud-based platform where teachers submit project requests, donors browse and fund them, and the platform provides transparent reporting on how each dollar was spent, including thank-you packages and impact letters from teachers and students. The platform is differentiated by integration with every major donor-advised fund provider (Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, BNY Mellon, National Philanthropic Trust), acceptance of cryptocurrency donations including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and — as of 2025/2026 — RLUSD stablecoin, alongside traditional vehicles such as monthly recurring giving, gift cards, account credits, stock donations, and IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions.

The organization's business model is a hybrid of pass-through crowdfunding and nonprofit fundraising. Donors give any amount to specific teacher projects (no minimum), with a suggested optional 15% contribution to support DonorsChoose operations that can be removed or reduced at the time of donation; gift cards expire six months after purchase and account credits remain active for 12 months, generating breakage economics. Revenue is complemented by direct unrestricted gifts to operations, corporate and foundation partnerships (notably a $15 million RLUSD grant from Ripple and a $6.2 million PNC package supporting nearly 1,000 classroom projects), and legacy/estate giving. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the donorschoose.org website, supported by SEO, email, social media, content marketing, and a partner center for corporations and foundations, with no traditional sales channel and no resellers.

DonorsChoose employs 101-250 people and is governed as an independent public charity with no parent company or controlling entity. It holds the highest possible ratings from Charity Watch, Charity Navigator, and GuideStar, was named a top-5 charitable giving platform by CNBC in 2026, and in 2025/2026 received recognition from The Giving Block for the Ripple partnership. Leadership includes founder Charles Best (founder and board member), Chairman Peter Bloom, Chief Technology Officer & EVP Product Oliver Hurst-Hiller, Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Katie Bisbee, and EVP of Marketing & Growth Abby Feuer.

Name

DonorsChoose

Legal name

DonorsChoose

Website

https://donorschoose.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

DonorsChoose is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit crowdfunding platform founded in 2000 that lets public school teachers across all 50 U.S. states request classroom materials and experiences funded directly by individual donors, donor-advised funds, corporations, and cryptocurrency contributors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Crowdfunding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fundraising & Annual Giving (EDALAOAB), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

Keywords

• Classroom crowdfunding
• Public school funding
• Teacher project grants
• Educational philanthropy
• Donor-advised giving

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Suggested Donation: Donors are encouraged to allocate 15% of their donation as a suggested contribution to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms. This allocation can be removed or reduced at time of donation. For donations to schools, classroom essentials lists, or specific causes, a portion is built into the donation amount to support operations.
2. Gift Cards: Gift cards purchased at donorschoose.org/gifts expire 6 months after purchase to encourage timely redemption toward projects. Revenue recognized upon redemption.
3. Account Credits: Credits purchased by donors for future use or received when projects don't reach full funding. Credits remain active for one year after purchase.
4. Direct Gifts to Operations: Unrestricted donations to support DonorsChoose operations, used at the organization's discretion to expand impact, engage teachers, and support ongoing operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DonorsChoose operates a 501(c)(3) nonprofit crowdfunding platform that enables public school teachers across the United States to post project requests for classroom materials such as books, pencils, and technology. Individual donors, corporations, and foundations browse the platform and fund specific projects with donations of any amount. The platform supports multiple giving mechanisms including one-time donations, monthly recurring giving, gift cards, account credits, donor-advised funds, cryptocurrency, stocks, and IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions.

Product overview

DonorsChoose is a teacher-founded 501(c)(3) nonprofit crowdfunding platform that enables public school teachers across America to request materials and experiences for their classrooms. The platform operates as a unified system centered on classroom project funding, supplemented by multiple giving mechanisms including monthly giving, gift cards, account credits, donor-advised fund integration, cryptocurrency donations, stock donations, and IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions. Corporate and foundation partnership programs allow larger funders to make direct impact, while the School Directory provides state-by-state visibility into educational institutions using the platform. The core value proposition is connecting donors directly with specific classroom needs, providing transparency on fund usage, and supporting under-resourced schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Classroom Project Funding Platform Core crowdfunding platform where public school teachers create project requests for classroom materials and experiences, and individual donors can browse, select, and fund specific classroom projects with donations of any amount.
• Monthly Giving Program Subscription-style recurring donation program allowing donors to set up monthly contributions at a self-specified dollar amount, providing teachers with consistent year-round support through account credits usable over 12 months.
• Gift Cards Standalone gift card products that purchasers can give to recipients, who redeem them toward classroom projects requesting funding on the platform. Gift cards expire 6 months after purchase.
• Account Credits Pre-purchased credits that donors can buy now and draw from later to fund classroom projects over a 12-month period, enabling year-round giving through a single contribution.
• Corporate and Foundation Partnerships Programs enabling corporations and foundations to make large-scale direct impact in education by funding classroom projects through the platform, including matching gift programs and large grants.

Quantifiable outcome

• 48,108 classroom projects funded across all 50 U.S. states through Ripple partnership
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Teach For AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 May 2026Part of Ripple's $25 million education commitment with $10 million allocation to Teach For America for stipends for 2,300 new teachers reaching 141,600 students and financial literacy resources to 270,600 students.
• PNC Financial Services GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026PNC announced $6.2 million grant to Sesame Workshop and fully funded nearly 1,000 classroom projects through its PNC Grow Up Great program, supporting outdoor and play-based learning initiatives for early childhood education.
• Sesame WorkshopcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026PNC's $6.2 million grant to Sesame Workshop supports outdoor and play-based learning initiatives with new digital resources, classroom support tools, and community engagement efforts.
• W. Kamau BellminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 13 October 2025TV host and comedian collaborated with friends to provide $25,000 each for essential supplies to public school students and teachers, funded by winnings from Celebrity Jeopardy!
• Fidelity CharitablecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor donor-advised fund provider integrated with DonorsChoose DAF Giving Hub for seamless charitable giving.
• Vanguard CharitablecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor donor-advised fund provider integrated with DonorsChoose DAF Giving Hub for seamless charitable giving.
• Schwab CharitablecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor donor-advised fund provider integrated with DonorsChoose DAF Giving Hub for seamless charitable giving.
• BNY MelloncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor donor-advised fund provider integrated with DonorsChoose DAF Giving Hub for seamless charitable giving.
• National Philanthropic TrustcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor donor-advised fund provider integrated with DonorsChoose DAF Giving Hub for seamless charitable giving.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AdoptAClassroom.org: National nonprofit that lets donors directly fund classroom supplies and materials for PreK-12 teachers — a direct functional peer to DonorsChoose's classroom project funding model.
• GlobalGiving: Global crowdfunding nonprofit marketplace connecting donors to vetted charitable projects; comparable to DonorsChoose in platform mechanics, project posting, and donor transparency.
• Fundly: Crowdfunding platform popular with nonprofits and schools for project- and campaign-based fundraising; competes for the same donor and school fundraising budgets as DonorsChoose.
• The Giving Block: Nonprofit-focused platform specializing in cryptocurrency and stock donations for charities; a peer to DonorsChoose on the digital-asset and stock donation rails that DonorsChoose also supports.

Broad incumbents

• GoFundMe: Largest consumer crowdfunding platform with a substantial teacher, classroom, and school fundraising category; overlaps with DonorsChoose's grassroots teacher funding use case, but covers a much broader set of causes.
• Khan Academy: Large education nonprofit delivering free instructional content and supported by major philanthropic funding; competes for a share of education-philanthropy dollars and donor mindshare targeting K-12 outcomes.
• Room to Read: International education nonprofit focused on literacy and gender equality; competes for corporate and foundation education-philanthropy budgets alongside DonorsChoose's K-12 classroom funding.

Emerging players

• Pledge (Pledge.co): Corporate philanthropy and workplace giving platform connecting employees and companies to nonprofits; an emerging alternative to DonorsChoose's corporate partnership programs.
• GiveDirectly: Nonprofit that routes donations directly to recipients, including education-focused cash transfers; an adjacent model emphasizing unrestricted direct giving versus DonorsChoose's project-based model.

Others

• Network for Good: Donor-advised giving and fundraising platform serving nonprofits with donation forms, DAF integrations, and CRM; an ecosystem enabler comparable to DonorsChoose's DAF Giving Hub and online giving infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/donorschoose
• Facebookfacebook.com/info
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/donorschoose

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DonorsChoose