Free stuff for teachers!

I am a huge fan of the website www.donorschoose.org. I came across it this past summer and saw that it was a place where teachers could write proposals to get materials for their classrooms. I thought it was a long shot, but I decided to write a proposal to try to get a class set of dictionaries. With shipping and thirty $30 dollar dictionaries, the total cost of the proposal was over $900. I was very skeptical, but I thought, "What do I have to lose?" I'm glad I went through with it, because my proposal was funded within FOUR days. Before school started I had 30 brand new hard cover dictionaries.

With new found confidence, I submitted another proposal for around 50 books to add to my classroom library. Again, I thought I only got lucky once, but within a month and a half, my second proposal (worth over $500) was funded. I now have submitted a third proposal to get more books to add to my library. My students LOVED the new books that were added after my second proposal was funded.

The great part is that these people don't even know me, yet they spend hundreds of dollars to help teachers get the supplies they want/need for their classrooms. All donations are anonymous, and in a world full of hate, crime, and violence, it is quite touching to know that there are good people out there who don't want any recognition for their charity!

After getting two proposals funded, I think I've discovered some tips for people who would like to get their own proposals funded:
1) Write a detailed (but not boring) proposal. Make sure the donor would know where his/her money would be going, and make sure you explain what the materials would be used for.
2) Make it personal! Provide background for your readers! For instance, when I wrote the proposal for my dictionaries, I gave an example of receiving answers such as "IDK" (short for I don't know) on quizzes and tests. I stressed that because we live in such a technological world, students are used to text messaging and chatting online. As a result, they don't know how to spell, because they no longer take the time to use something as simple as a dictionary. By giving such personal examples from my classroom, I allow the donors to see that such materials truly are needed.
3) WRITE WELL! If you're not a talented writer, have someone proofread it. Make sure it's free of grammatical errors and misspellings.