Featured / Mar 13, 2023
5 Simple Tips to Create an Engaging S...
Creating an effective classroom or school newsletter is an important way to communicate with your school community…
5 min read
There is no doubt about how much teachers are paying for classroom supplies with their own money. In fact, according to USAtoday the average cost spent per classroom is just shy of $500 (and from what we hear, this is a low-ball estimate)! Thankfully, there are a plethora of funding resources available for teachers and we’re about to share some of those options with you.
Funding Tip: It is essential that funding requests, applications and other paperwork be submitted prior to shopping for your classroom supplies. Take a look at all application due dates and deadlines. Are they due at the beginning of the school year? At the end of the school year? Consider this: spending your own money upfront only to find out that a grant or a donation has come through for supplies you have already purchased is not ideal.
Finding Donations
There are a lot of people out there that are willing to step up and help fill in the financial gaps for education. For example, the source donorschoose.org is one that allows viewers to donate to help fund teacher projects. Good news: 73% of projects posted to donorschoose.org get fully funded!
Funding Tip: Want to get your project fully funded on donorschoose.org? Be specific in your purpose, project details and student needs; keep funds lower than $1,000; use social media to spread the word and be grammatically correct. Click this link to see more tips!
Another donation resource is adoptaclassroom.org. Donors can choose a classroom or they can donate to the classroom with the highest needs. Adoptaclassroom can also raise donations through fundraisers, like Yiran did.
Over $36 million has been raised for teachers on adoptaclassroom.org!
In a previous post, we discussed making a supply list for the school year. Teachers can take that list, submit it to classwish.org, and donors can choose to fund and supply those resources for you. Classwish is available to all schools and teachers.
More than 16,000 companies will match employees’ donations!
If you’re still interested in conducting research on classroom funding alternatives, be sure to check out sutori.com! This link has a ton of financial resources available to teachers to help get what they need for their classrooms.
Applying for Grants
Just like students can apply for scholarship money in college, teachers can also apply for grants and awards to help provide funds for their classrooms. Teach.com has a whole list of grants for teachers. The NEAnot only offers grants to teachers, but they also have resources to help teachers write successful grants. When it comes to writing grants, it is important to stay positive and keep trying. Not all grants will be honored, some will be ignored, but knowing that what you are doing is paving the way to make a significant difference in your students’ lives is worth the time and effort – especially if both you and your students’ passions lie in the content of the grant.
Crowdfunding
Similar to adoptaclassroom.org or donorschoose.org, another resource to help supply funds is one called gofund.me. GoFundMe is not specific to the classroom, but it does the same thing: “free fundraising for the people and causes you care about.” Another crowdfunding resources is Indiegogo.com. This resource essentially allows its users to ask for funds to help financially support a “groundbreaking project.” There are some really amazing projects and ideas that people have created and these projects have been fully funded through this crowdfunding resource!
Earning Supplies with ClassTag Rewards
ClassTag is a collaborative app for parents and teachers that has recently launched a Rewards program. ClassTag rewards has more than $3 million in free classroom supplies and exclusive discounts available to teachers nationwide.
ClassTag was created with three basic premises in mind:
1. Promoting teacher and parent engagement
2. Helping teachers with the cost of setting up and maintaining a classroom
3. Saving teachers precious time
How ClassTag Rewards Works
ClassTag has partnered with the top education brands to offer items such as popular EdTech, gift cards, cleaning products, literacy apps, science kits, and more. Each item in ClassTag Rewards has been selected and vetted by teachers.
Funding Tip: Looking at a particular subscription for your teaching year? Check out ClassTag rewards first! ClassTag Rewards offers extended free-trials or premium versions of everything from behavior management to reading literacy software.
More Support for Amazing Teachers
That’s the goal! The ClassTag Rewards Tab has plenty of options, so you can create an amazing classroom while reducing your out-of-pocket expenses.
Keep your eye out throughout the year for different Rewards offers, as ClassTag will be featuring different brands and adding more and more partnerships. Don’t be scared to spend those ClassTag Coins! After all, they are free and easy to earn by doing the things you are already doing on a daily basis.
We are so thankful for all of the selfless, generous donors that want to support, provide for, and work with teachers. Should grants, scholarships or donations not work out in your favor, there are ways in which teachers can reduce their expenses by recycling, exchanging, or even creating, with DIY and popular “teacher hacks.”
