Similar Sites to www.DonorsChoose.org

Most of you know about www.DonorsChoose.org by now (and if you don't, read my last post already!) and many of us use it successfully.  But did you know that there are similar sites to Donors Choose that are also hooking up teachers with benefactors?  These sites are not as simple or straightforward as Donors Choose, but they are useful and it seems that people get funded off of them.  Since pretty much every Cheaper Teacher and her mother is on Donors Choose, I wonder if using these sites gives you a better chance of getting funding, as there seem to be less projects for donors to choose from.

Anyway, here are some sites that might interest you:

  

(1) www.ILoveSchools.com is like the low-budget version of Donors Choose.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  Instead of having to use the e-School Mall like at Donors Choose, this website allows you to write a brief blurb about something you want to buy for your classroom and give a price estimate.  Donors can then either go out and buy (or order) the items for you from wherever they want or they can offer you some cash towards your project.  The drawback, however, is that the teacher and the donor have to meet up to give/get the materials/money.  Creepy?  Yes.  But probably less creepy than getting free stuff off of Craigslist!  I signed up but found it a lot harder to write my proposals on this site than I did on Donors Choose because it's so freeform.  I'm also not sure how many donors know about this site, so I'm not sure if my projects will be funded.  The good news?  In addition to being able to ask for whatever you want without limits, you can also list up to 100 requests at a time, which gives you a lot more possibilities than Donors Choose's points system.  (Additional note: It is worth noting that the site navigation is terrible, but seems to be undergoing maintenance.)

(2)  www.AdoptAClassroom.org is a reverse Donors Choose in that you sign up and make a profile, but then don't request anything.  Donors choose you based on what/where you teach and can give you a donation.  You then use this money to shop for whatever you want through their system (it's similar to the e-School Mall, except that it has different vendors).  I thought this was kind of strange, but I also see the appeal.  What if I need something for my classroom, don't get Donors Choose funding and then break down and buy it?  I have to remove the posting and start from scratch.  In this instance, you get the money and can spend it whenever/however you want, which means I can save money towards a big purchase, or I can spend it on a recent need, or I can just impulse shop on their sites.  I looked through their vendors and it's way easier to "shop" on this site than in the e-School Mall, which makes me crazy with its lack of pictures for the searchable vendors.  I actually don't know if I expect to get anything off this site, but I figured I'd join and blog about it.... there are testimonials, so I guess some Cheaper Teachers out there are getting money.  It can't hurt to put yourself out there, even if it seems hopeless.  :-)

I'm sure there are other sites like this, and I plan to keep searching for them.  If anyone out there knows of any, please let us know!