Grassroots Philanthropy in Schools

DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers post classroom project requests on the site and donors browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires them most. In this audio interview with Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Ashkon Jafari, founder Charles Best talks about how he started the organization and what some of its challenges have been along the way. He also discusses the organization’s use of cross-sector collaborations, initiatives it is currently working on, and the impact it is having on America’s young people.


A cross-sector initiative aims to develop 21st-century skills in secondary school students—highlights from a recent survey.
Public and private schools are failing to give children in India a good education—we need an alternative approach.
Engaging communities of learners in massively open online courses to use their knowledge—and numbers—for good.
One of 16 special essays on how the field of social innovation has evolved and what challenges remain ahead.




