Crowdfunding best practices

Transcription

1 Crowdfunding best practices Helping your educators get the classroom resources they need PPT (May 18)

2 Horace Mann s commitment Partnerships Partner with national and state associations to support and recognize contributions of educators Sponsor DonorsChoose.org to help teachers fund out-ofpocket classroom expenses 2

3 About Horace Mann Founded in 1945, Horace Mann is the largest financial services company focused on providing America s school teachers and employees with affordable auto, home and life insurance, as well as retirement solutions. 3

4 This is a school fundraiser 4

5 This is also a school fundraiser Every single teacher on a crowdfunding site just got their wishes fulfilled By AJ Willingham, CNN (CNN) When it comes to educating America s children, how much of a difference could $29 million make? Could it send a second grader on a school trip to the museum, or provide updated equipment to a class of budding scientists? It can. In fact, it can do it 35,647 times. 5

6 How to know which crowdfunding sites to trust How can school district leaders leverage additional funding that crowdfunding sites offer while making sure they re maintaining existing internal controls and student protections? Factors to consider Financial accountability Ownership of materials and supplies Safety and privacy 6

7 Financial accountability Materials, not cash Trust the sites that purchase and send resources directly to verified schools, instead of depositing cash into teachers personal bank accounts. Transparency at every step Make sure the sites publicly display details about every item funded and provide clear explanations of overhead costs. Capturing impact The sites should require teachers to report on how the resources were used in the classroom and how students benefit. 7

8 Controls over materials and supplies School ownership of funded materials While teachers should be given discretion over the use of funded resources, crowdfunding sites should designate that the school, rather than the teacher, ultimately owns the funded resources. District visibility and reporting Reputable crowdfunding sites notify principals when items are being shipped to schools and provide lineby-line reporting of every item to districts upon request. 8

9 Safety and privacy Student protection Trusted crowdfunding sites used by teachers should have mechanisms for protecting student privacy, as well as a privacy policy tailored to the unique needs of students in public schools. 9

10 Questions to ask yourself Does the site meet all the criteria we just covered? Is the site focused on K-12 education? Is the site run by a nonprofit organization? Does the site connect teachers to donors from beyond their network and to funding from companies and foundations? 10

11 Smart crowdfunding guidance Provide clarity to teachers on the types of technology, devices and platforms the district will support Encourage teachers to leverage crowdfunding to support strategic district priorities Help teachers seek out the websites that you know to be trustworthy 11

12 How DonorsChoose.org works Teachers at verified schools request specific items. DonorsChoose.org vets every single project that teachers post. Donors, corporations, and foundations contribute to these requests. DonorsChoose.org orders the items and ships them to the school. DonorsChoose.org notifies the school in advance of every shipment. Every district can be set up with automated reporting and technology guidelines 12

13 Impact to date Project Funding $734,000,000 Students helped 29,900,000 Teachers with projects funded 455,000 Projects funded 1,200,000 Schools participating 79,600 Supporters 3,400,000 Find up-to-the-minute stats at donorschoose.org/impact 13

14 Case studies 14

15 Chico Unified School District Project Funding $275,468 Projects funded 622 Students helped 18,660 Teachers with projects funded 283 Schools participating 24 Supporters 2,101 15

16 Redding School District Project Funding $7,676 Projects funded 18 Students helped 540 Teachers with projects funded 13 Schools participating 7 Supporters 46 16

17 How Horace Mann helps Horace Mann representatives around the country have brought the DonorsChoose.org story to the schools they serve. Horace Mann and our representatives have donated more than $4 million since More than 44,000 projects funded, impacting more than 1.5 million students. Schools served by Horace Mann representatives have received more than $250 million in funding to date. 17

18 $60,000 DonorsChoose.org Fall into Funding Sweepstakes Now through Nov. 30, Horace Mann is giving away up to $60,000 in DonorsChoose.org funding. Administrators, principals and teachers are all eligible to win! 40 winners will receive up to $250 in DonorsChoose.org funding o 10 winners per month, now through November 10 grand-prize winners will receive up to $5,000 in DonorsChose.org funding o Winners will be announced in December There will be 50 winners. One of them could easily be you! 18

19 Q&A 19

20 Information about how Horace Mann can help Jack Danielson, Regional Executive, Northern California Brenda Truelove, Regional Executive, Southern California Information about crowdfunding DonorsChoose.org/administrators 20