DonorsChoose review
A specialized, managed fundraising platform for U.S. public-school classrooms.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
DonorsChoose is a nonprofit crowdfunding platform for public-school teachers in the United States. Eligible teachers create requests for classroom materials, experiences, and supplies, while donors fund projects directly or support teachers, schools, and thematic Giving Pages. It is designed for schools and education-focused fundraising teams that want project screening, resource purchasing, and delivery handled within the platform rather than managed independently.
Teacher project posting is free. Donations use a transaction-based model and incur project-related costs; donors may also choose an optional 15% allocation to DonorsChoose. The funding workflow is all-or-nothing, so a classroom project proceeds after its target is reached. Once funded, DonorsChoose purchases approved resources through an integrated catalog with more than 20 vendors and ships them to teachers. Monthly recurring donations, branded Giving Pages with custom URLs, donation tracking, and impact reporting support both individual projects and broader campaigns.
The platform’s strongest fit is education-specific fundraising where fulfillment and accountability matter as much as collecting donations. Giving Pages and the DonorsChoose API add campaign statistics and referral tracking for organizations coordinating donor outreach. The tradeoff is its narrow focus: it serves eligible U.S. public-school classroom projects rather than general nonprofit campaigns, and its all-or-nothing structure may not suit fundraisers that need flexible partial disbursements. Schools seeking managed classroom fundraising should consider DonorsChoose; organizations outside that model should choose a broader crowdfunding platform.
DonorsChoose pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free teacher-created project requests
- Screening, purchasing, and direct fulfillment of resources
- Recurring donations, Giving Pages, and campaign statistics
- Where it doesn't
- Limited to eligible public-school teachers in the United States
- All-or-nothing funding may delay partially funded projects
- Focused on education rather than broad nonprofit campaigns
DonorsChoose fact sheet, pricing and score →
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