Blog

It’s been such a busy week, but I wanted to say thank you to all the bloggers who either came to or covered Tuesday’s event, where we announced the $4.1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. I know some of you still have posts to publish, so please send us links and we will update the post. Also, a special thank you to all the Facebookers, MySpacers, LiveJournalers, and everyone else who helped spread the message.

And now… The Blogger Roundup.

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The Innovative Educator

Gates Foundation & Stephen Colbert Team Up to Support Teachers Looking to Fund Innovative Educational Ideas that Prepare Kids for College Success
“At a classroom level when I was a teacher, library media specialist, staff developer, and literacy coach one of my favorite and most effective ways I found to support the innovative practices I was trying to implement was DonorsChoose.org. “

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GothamSchools

At a City School, Stephen Colbert Earnestly Reports on a New Grant
“The comedian Stephen Colbert took time out from his regular ranting to conduct a polite, earnest interview at a Manhattan high school this morning, in an appearance meant to announce a new “citizen philanthropy” project by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.”

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No Fact Zone

Stephen Colbert, DonorsChoose.org, and the Gates Foundation: a news and photo recap
“Here’s a roundup of what the news outlets had to say.”

VIDEO: Stephen Colbert speaks with Donors Choose, the Gates Foundation and Manhattan Bridges High School
“Let’s make sure The WØRD is “College-Ready” for all of these worthy students!”

Covering Stephen Colbert at the DonorsChoose.org and Gates Foundation event
“Stephen Colbert made his big appearance immediately afterward, high-fiving the students seated on the risers set up on stage behind his desk, which was adorned with a cup of pencils, a shiny red apple and a “Mr. Colbert” nameplate.”

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Content Matters

Stephen Colbert, Gates Foundation Team to Support Donors Choose (including video interview with Charles Best)
“Donors Choose blends the concept of micro-donations with transparency, control and accountability. It’s an amazing model and it’s a model for individual philanthropy.”

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This Week in Education

MEDIA: Colbert Does DonorsChoose (Again)
“What’s the world coming to? Apparently, the regular stream of education types on the Colbert Report aren’t all just due to the influence of super-producer Emily Lazar, who’s also the wife of Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter. Colbert himself is involved.”

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DetentionSlip.org

DonorsChoose, Stephen Colbert & Gates Foundation join forces to promote college readiness
“I spoke with another blogger who was in the press section, and he told me DonorsChoose is very addictive. You donate a hundred bucks, and then you get this packet of photos and thank you letters from the kids you’ve helped.”

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The Examiner

DonorsChoose.org and Gates Foundation Event
“Members of the Colbert Nation know how charitable Stephen is, but it’s great to see him attending events like this and continuing to promote something he really believes in.”

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Walt Ribeiro

Stephen Colbert at Donors Choose NYC event
“I learned the other day that Colbert is a board member and supporter of DonorsChoose.org – where he mentioned that he had found out about it through Craig Newmark. Basically, the story mentioned that Craig made a donation in the name of his Presidential Campaign. All in all it was a blast. Enjoy the videos!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-tDu66G2t4

Stephen Colbert at the DonorsChoose.org education panel at New York’s Manhattan Bridges High School in which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a grant of $4.1 million to the non-profit DonorsChoose.org. Colbert, a board member and supporter of the charity, explained how this online organization allows teachers to request needed funding from individual donors for classroom projects not covered by school budgets.

“Double Your Impact” program to fund 50 percent of teachers’ classroom projects aimed at promoting college readiness

NEW YORK, April 21, 2009 — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and DonorsChoose.org, the online charity that connects individual “citizen philanthropists” with classrooms in need, today announced a landmark grant that enables DonorsChoose.org to fund up to 50 percent of the cost of individual classroom projects developed by teachers to promote college-readiness among students in high-need and underserved urban and rural public schools.

TV personality Stephen Colbert, a DonorsChoose.org board member, moderated the event where the announcement was made.  “Double Your Impact” will be funded with a $4.1 million investment from the Gates Foundation and is expected to support more than 17,000 classroom projects, touching more than 300,000 students across the nation.  By enabling DonorsChoose.org to contribute half of the required dollars, the grant helps to incentivize individual “citizen philanthropists” to donate and accelerate the process of fully funding projects.  DonorsChoose.org enables teachers to describe specific educational projects for their classrooms and individuals to choose which projects to fund. This approach has been effective in funding projects in high-need and underserved schools.

“Teachers across the country are creating classroom projects and lessons that engage kids in creative and innovative ways.  Generous citizen philanthropists, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s invaluable support, are making sure they have the materials needed to spark the passion for learning,” said Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org.  “This grant helps us drive attention and contributions to projects aimed at preparing kids to succeed in college.”

“DonorsChoose.org supports teachers in a truly powerful way—engaging the public in support of teachers and the innovative energy they bring to the classroom,” said Vicki L. Phillips, director of education at the Gates Foundation.  “We hope this partnership will give citizen donors an added incentive to support projects that empower public school teachers to help prepare students to graduate ready to succeed in college and beyond.”

Today’s event was held at Manhattan Bridges High School in New York City, which has benefited from three teacher-submitted projects funded through the “Double Your Impact” initiative.  Manhattan Bridges serves new immigrants and English Language Learners – historically academically-challenged demographics – and has consistently posted graduation rates significantly higher than the city average, in part due to its tailored programming for students.

“DonorsChoose.org allows people from all walks of life to help specific classrooms directly,” said Stephen Colbert.  “As I endeavor to protect our children from bears, DonorsChoose.org is protecting public school kids from classrooms that lack the materials necessary to rigorously prepare them for college.”

While many organizations raise funds for basic school supplies, the DonorsChoose.org model supports specific classroom projects that are submitted and designed by any public school teacher in the U.S. to further defined educational goals.  Under the “Double Your Impact” initiative, the requests eligible for 50 percent funding from DonorsChoose.org through the grant from the Gates Foundation are those that promote college-readiness.  Such projects include student trips to college campuses as well as classroom books, SAT/ACT preparation materials, and other resources that strengthen the learning experience.

“DonorsChoose.org has helped provide the additional materials, such as college essay prep books, that can help teachers like me create programs that are targeted to the unique needs of our students and get them really excited about learning,” said Elizabeth Smith, a teacher at Manhattan Bridges High School.  “My goal is to create opportunities for my students to learn in innovative, inspiring ways.  This has made all the difference in what our students believe they can achieve.”

DonorsChoose.org
Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit website where public school teachers describe specific educational projects for their students, and donors can choose the projects they want to support.  After completing a project, the donor hears back from the classroom they supported in the form of photographs and student thank-you letters.

To date, 88,000 public and charter school teachers have used the site to secure funding for $30.3 million in books, art supplies, technology, and other resources that their students need to learn. Through www.DonorsChoose.org, individuals from all walks of life have helped 1.8 million students from low-income families.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. Learn more at www.gatesfoundation.org.

For broadcast-quality sound bites and footage from today’s event and information about the foundation’s work, please visit www.gatesfoundation.org/press-room/Pages/news-market.aspx.

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DonorsChoose.org contact:
Jeremy Robinson-Leon
Phone: (o) 212.784.5702 (c) 978.621.2569
Email: Jeremy@GroupGordon.com

Gates Foundation contact:
Phone: 206.709.3400
Email: media@gatesfoundation.org