The Essential Fundraising Guide for K-12 Schools (A 1-Hour Book With More Than 350 Links)
Stan Levenson
Author Bio
Stan Levenson has been involved in K-12 fundraising for more than forty years. One of the foremost K-12 fundraising writers in America, he is known throughout the world as an author of books and articles on fundraising, as a fundraising guru, as a teacher, and as a storyteller extraordinaire. He has been interviewed on radio and television, online, and in the press, and has been quoted in newspapers and magazines across the nation including the front page of USA Today, Scholastic Administrator, Family Circle Magazine, The American School Board Journal, Interactive Educator, the Gotham Gazette and others. He holds a B.S. degree from the State University of New York at Oswego; an M.A. degree from U.C.L.A.; and a Ph.D. degree from United States International University (now Alliant International University) in San Diego. Levenson resides in San Diego and is available for Radio/ T.V. interviews and speaking engagements upon request.
Description
Stan Levenson’s much anticipated new book The Essential Fundraising Guide for K-12 Schools (A 1-Hour Book With More Than 350 Links) launched today by Ocean Parkway Press on Amazon.com. The book is designed to bring fresh, new cutting-edge ideas to help close the funding gap that exists in today’s K-12 schools. The ideas presented aren’t traditional fundraising tactics like cookie sales, pizza sales, and car washes, but rather ideas to direct the flow of money into classrooms, schools, and school districts on a continuing basis. The more than 350 electronic links will save readers time, energy, and money and will keep them informed of the latest approaches and innovations in fundraising in the USA today. Levenson says, “Whether you are a classroom teacher, parent, principal, volunteer, school foundation member, school superintendent, school board member, or a school foundation board member, you should find the book helpful and enlightening, and best of all it shouldn’t take more than an hour to read.”
Testimonials
Testimonials have been pouring in. “There is likely no one in the country who knows more about fundraising for public schools than Stan Levenson. He puts 40 years of hands-on experience into a remarkable book. There’s nothing else like it. It takes you by the hand and leads you through every step in a school’s fundraising program. It is fail-proof in building a successful design that ensures you of raising a great deal of money.” Jerold Panas, Best Selling Author and Founding Partner of Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners.
“The Essential Fundraising Guide for K-12 Schools is a great resource for the first-time and veteran fundraiser alike. Whether you’re looking for donors to fund a classroom project, or launching a capital campaign to build a new facility, Stan offers dozens of practical tips and know-how to make the most of your efforts.” Charles Best, CEO DonorsChoose.org
Book excerpt
Chapter 1
Grants for Teachers and Schools
K-12 classroom teachers are busy people. They need all the help they can get. I know this as a fact. I’ve been there, done that. My wife has been a teacher for many years. My daughter-in-law is a teacher. It’s a daunting task! Good teachers are constantly dipping into their wallets to pay for paper, pencils, pens, computers and other necessities not available in today’s schools. How can classroom teachers find funding for some of the basic necessities they need in their classrooms today? Also, how can classroom teachers find monies for some of the things that have been eliminated at their schools like music, art, P.E., foreign languages, and field trips? You’ve come to the right place! This chapter will lead you in the right direction and alleviate some of the budget strains that you face each and every day. Take a look below and feast your eyes on sites like DonorsChoose.org, Grants Alert, Education World Grants Center, The Foundation Center, eSchool News, and others.
DonorsChoose.org
In 2000, Charles Best, a New York City public school teacher, spent a lot of time in the teacher’s lunchroom, talking with his fellow teachers about the books they wanted their students to read, the art projects they wanted them to engage in, and the field trips they wanted their students to take. They didn’t have the funding to do these things, so Best founded DonorsChoose.org out of his classroom. In 2007, this nonprofit organization expanded to serve every public school teacher in the United States , and today it is one of the most successful fundraising programs in the country.
How it works: Public school teachers from every corner of America post short classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry-writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. Individuals can browse through the requests and give any amount online to the project that inspires them. Once a project reaches its funding goal, DonorsChoose.org sends the materials to the school. All donors hear back from the classroom they supported with thank-you notes and photos. At DonorsChoose.org, anyone can give as little as $1 and get the same level of choice, transparency, and feedback that is traditionally reserved for someone who gives millions. They call it “citizen philanthropy.”
I became aware of DonorsChoose.org when they first started operating in New York City in 2000. Their motto was “Teachers Ask, You Choose.” This approach appealed to me so much that I personally became involved as a donor. The first project I funded was a second-grade reading project in the Bronx. They took my personal info and money online with my credit card. It was as simple as paying for almost anything online. The staff provided the classroom teacher with my name and also purchased the materials for her to implement the project. I got immediate positive feedback from the teacher and the kids, as they were in touch with me via the DonorsChoose.org website and thanked me profusely. I was also able to communicate with the kids via the teacher online. As a follow-up, I received wonderful thank-you notes with photos from the kids in the mail. I became so excited about DonorsChoose.org that I started mentioning it in my writings and talks and was hopeful that the idea would spread across the country. I continue
to fund projects and encourage others to do so as well.
Since 2000, the DonorsChoose.org community of more than 800,000 donors has channeled more than $105 million into classrooms in need and benefitted approximately 6.2 million students. K-12 public schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including public charter schools, have been funded. You can be funded too! Below is the info you need to get started right now. You won’t be sorry!
Get Started Right Now with DonorsChoose.org
http://www.donorschoose.org/teachers