ON - Omidyar Network

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Omidyar Network has invested time and talent in addition to capital. Their team provides strategic counsel to DonorsChoose.org that is candid, collaborative, and often dead-on.

— Charles Best, Founder and CEO, DonorsChoose.org

DonorsChoose.org is an online marketplace where teachers and individual donors connect and collaborate to bring U.S. public school students the resources they need to learn.

Why We Invested

DonorsChoose.org is an online marketplace that brings together teachers and citizen philanthropists under the common goal of helping children thrive in the classroom. It offers individual donors a transparent way to pool their resources to enhance curriculum in U.S. public schools.

The New York-based nonprofit bridges a critical gap in the classroom. Its innovative marketplace allows teachers to publicize their need for funds to enable classroom projects or allow the purchase of supplies. Teachers post online requests, such as funds for microscopes for a 7th grade science experiment or a field trip to the Supreme Court. Individual donors can support projects of their choice, and then follow the student's progress through photos and updates.

Impact

• More than $35 million raised from donors in 50 states since 2000
• More than $7 million worth of resources donated in the first half of 2009
• Funds have benefited more than 2.2 million students