People not only want to support public schools, but people warm to this idea of being a philanthropist, even if they might have only have $5 to spare.
I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil to paper - literally - and sketching out each screen of the web site and how it would work. Then I paid a programmer from Poland $1,500 to turn my sketches and common-sense rules into a functioning website.
If anything, we hope that DonorsChoose.org is going to be a prompt, a nudge in the side of the public school system to improve and to start delivering these materials and experiences that students need and to make it easier for teachers to innovate.
We think the ability to rattle off people you are grateful to and thankful to is often sort of a proxy for openness to learning from others.
Within a single school, teachers often encounter differences in poverty levels, parent involvement, and student readiness.
Access to sports is an important part of a well-rounded education, and it takes committed communities and companies like Dick's to make a real difference in kids' lives.
Donorschoose.org is the one place where somebody with $10 gets the same level of impact and feedback from the recipients that Bill Gates gets when he's making a million-dollar gift.
The most incredible businesses are started by entrepreneurs who relentlessly pursue their passion, but passion works best with a thoughtful, ambitious-yet-grounded business plan.
I'm not tech savvy at all.
We all remember special days at school, whether it was going on a field trip, doing a science experiment, or performing in a school play.
We evaluate all business decisions based on how we can best serve public school teachers and their students.
I was lucky enough to go to boarding school for my high school years, and I had all the resources that I possibly could needed - squash courts and every book you ever would have wanted, every art supply.
At DonorsChoose.org, we believe that teachers are unsung heroes.
