Case Study - DONORSCHOOSE.ORG
Charles Best demonstrates the social entrepreneurship process through his nonprofit organization, DonorsChoose.org. At just the age of 24, Charles Best was a high school history teacher in an economically depressed area of the Bronx. He experienced what most teachers deal with in these deprived districts: a lack of educational material in the classroom. Quickly noticing the direct impact it was having on students, as well as teachers like himself, he thought about ways in which he could solve this problem. Searching for a way to deal with the unmet needs of students and their teachers, he also thought about individual donors and their demand to choose where their money goes and how it is spent.
The opportunity to create a program that benefited students and teachers, as well as benefited frustrated donors, led Charles Best to develop an enterprise concept. He first established the mission:
DonorsChoose.org is dedicated to addressing the scarcity and inequitable distribution of learning materials and experiences in our public schools. We believe this inequity is rooted in the following factors:
1. Shortages of learning materials prevent thorough, engaging instruction.
2. Top-down distribution of materials stifles our best teachers and discourages them from developing solutions for their students.
3. Small, directed contributions have gone untapped as a source of funding.
DonorsChoose.org will improve public education by engaging citizens in an online marketplace where teachers describe and individuals can fund specific student projects. We envision a nation where students in every community have the resources they need to learn.
To accomplish this mission, a Web site was created as a way to provide students and teachers in need with educational material that otherwise would not be provided. Through this Web site, teachers can submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn and excel in the classroom. Potential donors can browse the Web site and choose a project of interest to fund. A feature of the Web site is that these donors can search for specific regions, schools projects, or dollar amounts to fund. Additionally, after a project is funded, and the students receive and use their materials, donors receive letters and photographs from the students and teachers showing how their gift was used.
Charles Best determined that the initial resources he would need to get this enterprise started would be financial resources to establish a Web site and for administrative costs, as well as human resources, or teachers to submit proposal.
Charles was determined to make a difference in the classroom, as well as create a new model for giving, so he sacrificed much of his own time and resource. Paying out of his own pocket, he financed the initial administrative costs and the funding of early proposals. He even gave up his apartment and moved back in with his parents to save expenses. Charles said, "My dad was an inspiration to me growing up because of his values and character. He was a corporate lawyer, but he encouraged roe to do whatever it was that I'd most enjoy, not to care about money. He sonata teachers in his school to submit proposals, and then one by one, additional schools began to join, and in 2000. DonorsChoose.org was born.
Over the past eight years, DonorsChoose.org has continued to grow in terms of the amount of funding received, as well as the amount of support given to classroom projects and the areas in which the funding is distributed. The impact has been measured in various ways. As of May 23, 2007, $12,646,212 has been given to 565,062 students from donors in 50 states. These donors include 27,438 individuals who have made 58.978 donations to the student projects. This generosity has encouraged 24,315 teachers in 6,880 public schools to submit 55,225 project proposals for their students. Of these proposed projects, 26,303 have been funded.
The venture has a goal lo be able "to serve all schools in the United States. After this goal is attained, DonorsChoose.org can attain stable service equilibrium, or it may integrate into another venue. According to Jonathan Alter Newsweek, "The idea melds social justice, the Internet, and market principle Right now the mission is inner city education, but there is no reason it could not be extended to other areas of philanthropy.
1. How does DonorsChoose.org measure success? How else might it do so?
2. Can you recommend any additional end goals for Mr. Best?
3. What are the limitations of having an Internet-Based nonprofit organization? What are ways to overcome these obstacles?