At DonorsChoose.org, we’ve seen how technology can change the relationship between donors and their beneficiaries.

Our effort grew out of a public high school in the Bronx where I taught history. During my first year of teaching, I saw the contrast between the resources I had as a high school student versus those available to my new students.

At my old high school, we went on field trips, we had graphing calculators, and we were given the supplies to do just about any art project. We did not want for anything.

Not so for my students in the Bronx. As their teacher, I saw first-hand that all schools are not created equal.

Together, we started DonorsChoose.org as a place where teachers could create classroom project requests that donors could choose to fund. We want everyone to experience the joy of giving, whether they contribute $1 or $1,000, so each donor receives photos of their project in action, thank yous from the classroom, and a cost report showing how each dollar was spent. We call it citizen philanthropy.

That was twelve years ago. As of today, donors have given more than $150 million to 320,000 projects that have fueled learning for 8 million students. We hope you’ll join us.

Season’s greetings from all of us at DonorsChoose.org!