Everyone is always talking about Donor’s Choose and I’m here to tell you about PledgeCents!
First of all, don’t get me wrong…. I love Donor’s Choose. Over the past 5 years, I’ve had over 30 projects funded with Donor’s Choose. I’m extremely grateful for the wonderful site and all the donors who have helped my classroom over the years. But, this post is not about Donor’s Choose.
Let me start with a little story, because we all love stories. Two years ago I was teaching 4th grade for the first time and was super bummed when I found out my school did not typically go on field trips to St. Augustine. This is a very common field trip for many 4th graders in Florida, as the social studies curriculum in 4th is tied to Florida history. The one field trip I remember the most in my K-12 education is St. Augustine. I have so many vivid memories of this trip. It is the one trip my parents chaperoned each year for my brothers and I – it’s that much fun. When I was asked to teach 4th grade again as team leader, I KNEW I was going to make this trip happen for my students. I work at a very high poverty school in Orlando, so not only did I want to plan the trip, but I wanted to make sure all kids could afford it.
Planning a field trip on Donor’s Choose was complicated, and I didn’t want to deal with it (just being honest) PledgeCents was (and still is) fairly new, but I decided to give them a try. I was immediately impressed because one of the co-owners CALLED ME to verify my project and answer any questions I had. How often does an owner of a business CALL YOU to offer support? Never.
One reason I absolutely loved PledgeCents platform is you were able to obtain all funds raised, even if you did not raise the total amount you set out to. This meant that I would be able to use any money raised for my field trip, even if I didn’t raise the entire amount. When you submit a project, they specifically ask you what you will do in this situation.
With PledgeCents, I was able to raise $235 for our field trip. We didn’t reach our goal, but I was able to completely pay for 5 students to attend and have some money to cut the cost of a few other students admission fees. We had the BEST time on the trip.
