Atlanta Public Schools (APS) announced Sept. 26 a new partnership with the national nonprofit DonorsChoose.org aimed at taking crowdfunding education to the next level.

As one of 10 inaugural school district members of the DonorsChoose.org District Partnership Program, APS teachers and principals can tap deeper into the organization’s network of 3.5 million donors to support classroom projects, varying from books to laptops and other tools to enhance learning.

Additionally, APS gets a more streamlined process that aligns the donations with APS strategy and operations.

As part of today’s national announcement, DonorsChoose.org plans to provide $250,000 in matching donations for their 10 inaugural school district partners.

Since 2014, support through Donors Choose has generated $5.4 million for nearly 7,000 projects across APS, connecting teachers and classrooms with some 15,533 donors, 63 percent of whom live outside of Georgia.

“Atlanta Public Schools is grateful to have such a significant partnership with DonorsChoose.org,” said APS Superintendent Meria J. Carstarphen. “To date, the millions of dollars raised by our teachers by caring community members and organizations have helped transform classrooms and has provided thousands of APS students with engaging lessons that have enriched their learning experiences.”

Carstarphen shared the DonorsChoose.org announcement today with elementary school students at Deerwood Academy, where 12 teachers currently have projects in need of funding. Carstarphen read the book Winning by Giving by Nancy Kelly Allen to students who then talked about the feelings donors get when they give.

As a member of the DonorsChoose.org District Partnership Program, APS will be able to fully support teachers in the use of the platform, monitor all donated materials, and principals will be notified each time a project is funded. They will also receive early notification when there are new “match” funding opportunities.

“We’re thrilled to have Atlanta Public Schools as an inaugural member of the DonorsChoose.org District Partnership Program,” said Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org. “Through the hard work and innovation of Atlanta Public Schools teachers and administrators, the district has raised $5.4 million towards classroom materials from donors across the country.

“I can’t wait to see how the DonorsChoose.org community can support these educators even more through our partnership,” he added.

Founded in 2000 by a Bronx history teacher, DonorsChoose.org has raised over $875 million for America’s classrooms. Teachers come to DonorsChoose.org to request the materials and experiences they need most for their classrooms, and donors give to the projects that inspire them.

To date, 3.9 million people and partners have funded 1.5 million projects on the site, reaching 35 million students and making DonorsChoose.org the leading platform for supporting U.S. public schools.

This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.

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