DonorsChoose: Teaming Up with Teachers
Ilana L. Goldman (MBA ’02) always knew that she wanted to work in the public sector. But she didn’t expect to find herself back on the HBS campus just eighteen months after graduation talking about her new job.
Goldman is vice president of DonorsChoose, a New York City start-up philanthropy that has the potential to become a national powerhouse. The organization is getting assistance from the HBS Partners of 63, a group of more than eighty members of the Class of 1963 who support a variety of educational initiatives. Members of the Partners are contributing their time, advice, and money to help expand DonorsChoose from coast to coast. The Partners invited Goldman to give them a briefing about DonorsChoose during the October reunion weekend.
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| Ellis, Goldman, Blakely, and Linsalata. Photo by Stuart Cahill |
DonorsChoose is unique among philanthropies in that every dollar goes to the chosen project. In response to an online request, 97 percent of donors opt to add 15 percent to their contribution to help cover the organization’s administrative expenses. Praised for its simplicity and effectiveness, the organization has been hailed as an innovative model for citizen philanthropy.
Goldman arrived on the scene just after the organization’s founder, 28-year-old Charles Best, appeared last June on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Afterward, so many viewers logged on to the organization’s Web site that it crashed. Once the site was back up, seven hundred New York City teachers posted new project proposals and eight hundred individuals from 48 states funded teacher requests, demonstrating the power of microfunding via the Internet. The concept packed such appeal that 150 requests from across the country poured in to expand Donors-Choose beyond its New York City base.
Now what? The first order of business, says Goldman, is to figure out how to turn a New York CityÐbased nonprofit start-up into a sustainable national organization. With plans to expand next year into North Carolina, Chicago, and Denver, the organization’s leaders see management of its rapid growth as a major challenge. “We need to apply business principles to a public-sector enterprise,” says Goldman. This is an area where the Partners can help. Members Charles Ellis, Gary Blakely, and Ralph Linsalata, among others, advise Goldman on shaping expansion strategy.
As of early October, 2,426 teachers from 722 New York City schools had submitted 3,454 proposals for student projects. Citizens in fifty states have funded 1,590 of those proposals, channeling $777,967 worth of resources to more than 31,000 students.
The model is appealing both to citizen philanthropists and to family foundations. Says Goldman: “Many family foundations have told us that we are the answer to their prayers because we bring interesting, high-impact projects to their doorsteps, while vetting the teachers, projects, and feedback so that they know their funds were spent well.”
As DonorsChoose continues to grow, Goldman sees her HBS ties as a powerful resource for the organization. “The relationships that come out of HBS are truly amazing,” adds Goldman. “The Partners of 63 will be critical to DonorsChoose as we expand nationwide. Their expertise is invaluable.”
Goldman also calls upon classmates and HBS professors for advice. In fact, Associate Professor Frances Frei decided to write a case on DonorsChoose after a recent consultation with Goldman. “That’s a process I know will raise the bar for our operations,” says Goldman.
For more information, contact Ilana Goldman at ilana@donorschoose.org.
