Charitable giving

Bridging the Back-to-School Funding Gap with AdoptAClassroom.org

July 30, 2024  |  Laura P.
Classroom at Maxfield Elementary in St. Paul, MN

Parents everywhere are finding it difficult to afford all the classroom supplies their children need amid rising costs for basic needs like groceries, fuel, and housing. This puts increased pressure on teachers to make sure their classrooms are ready when school starts. Educators, whose average salary is approximately $69,000 in the U.S., are spending their own money – roughly $860 a year (see the graph, below) – on basic school supplies, instructional materials, and other classroom necessities for their students. Given increased costs and inadequate funding for public education in some states, the problem of classroom underfunding continues to grow. This is where AdoptAClassroom.org® steps in to bridge the gap.

results from AdoptAClassroom.org teacher survey

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Bridging the Funding Gap

AdoptAClassroom.org believes every child deserves the tools and materials they need to learn and thrive in school. Since 1998, AdoptAClassroom.org has raised $73 million and equipped 7 million students across the U.S. The 501(c)(3) organization holds the highest 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and the highest transparency rating offered by Candid/Guidestar.

 

Before and after pictures of the same classroom, showing how much money and effort goes into getting ready for back-to-school
A study in contrast:
(L) A classroom before the teacher spends money, and (R) the same classroom after the teacher spends money.

Images courtesy of AdoptAClassroom.org.

 

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Ways to Give

 

Charitable Giving with Porte

At Porte®, we strive to be a force for good in our communities by supporting charitable organizations like AdoptAClassroom.org. With our #DoorToChange program, everyday purchases you make with the Porte Debit Card contribute to a charity of your choice. All you have to do is select one of the available charities in the Porte app, and we donate to that charity at no additional cost to you.1

Porte has partnered with AdoptAClassroom.org for the past two years. You can spend with confidence knowing that your money goes the extra mile!

 

Visit AdoptAClassroom.org

Strong schools make stronger communities. On the AdoptAClassroom.org website, you can give where it’s needed most, directly to a classroom, or to a targeted fund as follows:

  • Support AdoptAClassroom.org with a general donation that will enable the nonprofit to direct resources to where they are needed most.
  • Search for schools and teachers and give directly to their classroom page.
  • Select a Spotlight Fund to support classroom grants for specific school subjects or areas of greater need. Examples include: Art Fund, Social-Emotional Wellness Fund, and STEM Fund, among others.

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Inspiring Stories

In AdoptAClassroom.org’s 2023 Annual Report, you’ll find inspiring stories of how AdoptAClassroom.org makes a difference for teachers and students by:

  • Enabling one school community to memorialize an 8-year-old student who died of cancer with an obstacle course for the gymnasium;
  • Providing funding to support the school community at King Kamehameha III Elementary School, which was destroyed by the 2023 Maui Wildfires;
  • Helping teachers get what they need to create calm in the classroom when students are feeling stressed; and
  • Championing the needs of special education students, English language learners, and students who need a boost due to social or economic challenges.

“As a donor to AdoptAClassroom.org, you enable teachers to do their best work for their students by giving them access to exactly what they say they need, when they need it – whether that’s off-the-shelf educational products, supplies to create their own classroom materials, or access to learning from other educators,” Executive Director Ann Ruhr Pifer explained in the report.

She added, “And your gift really matters to teachers. In fact, 90% of teachers said AdoptAClassroom.org funds influenced their decision to keep teaching.”

 

This blog is not intended to provide any tax, legal, financial planning, insurance, accounting, investment, or any other kind of professional advice or services. To make sure that any information or suggestions in this blog fit your particular circumstances, you should consult with an appropriate tax or legal professional before taking action based on any suggestions or information that we provide.

 

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