Charles Best

“At DonorsChoose.org, we believe that classroom teachers often know their students better than anybody else in the system and that their front-line experience gives them a special kind of wisdom.”

“The most incredible businesses are started by entrepreneurs who relentlessly pursue their passion, but passion works best with a thoughtful, ambitious-yet-grounded business plan.”

“I've been a fan of bass fishing for as long as I can remember.”

“Students can't dream big when classrooms lack books, microscopes, and robotics kits - or even paper, pencils, and paste.”

“Learning is a critical part of our mission and organizational culture.”

“DonorsChoose was conceived at a Bronx public high school where I taught social studies for five years. In the teachers' lunch room, my colleagues and I often lamented a problem that drained learning from students and creativity from teachers: a lack of funding for essential materials and for the activities that bring subject matter to life.”

“After 14 years of running DonorsChoose.org as someone who had never written a line of code, I did do a three-month night school course. After all these years, I could at least speak some of the same vocabulary and have a first-hand appreciation for what my colleagues on the engineering team are doing.”

“DonorsChoose enables teachers not just to go public with learning needs in classrooms but also to unleash their imaginations about the best ideas to help students learn.”

“We think there's nothing like sunlight to mobilize and energize citizens to demand change of their elected officials.”

“I get my share of 'cold' requests via LinkedIn from people who are launching non-profit or for-profit ventures and who request a meeting to get my input or help. I wish I could say yes to all of them, but given limited bandwidth, I say yes to the subset who've written a compelling description of their work and who are underrepresented.”

“I'd listened to my colleagues in the teachers' lunchroom. I could tell they were passionate, fired-up people who had great ideas for strategies and projects to help kids learn better. They just didn't have the resources. I was frustrated, but I also knew it was a frustration felt by teachers all over the city.”

“A really large number of teachers contact us offline testifying how valuable iPads are for their students.”

“At DonorsChoose.org, we've seen what technology can do for a classroom. We make it easy for teachers to request the materials they need most for their classrooms and for donors to make a meaningful contribution to education.”

“Our brains are designed to solve some of our most complex problems when we're distracted by routine habits.”

“We want to use our site to galvanize people to give but also to take important steps toward real change.”

“Committed teachers know their students' needs better than anyone in the system. Traditionally, however, teachers have little control over the purchase of student materials.”

“Within a single school, teachers often encounter differences in poverty levels, parent involvement, and student readiness.”

“My colleagues and I were always having the same conversation in the teachers lunchroom about books we wanted our students to read, a field trip we knew would really bring a subject matter to life... And most of us would go into our own pockets to buy just paper and pencils.”

“No matter the circumstances, teachers show up each day ready to give their students every opportunity possible, and they never give up.”

“Arianna Huffington is one of the greatest champions of this idea - that anyone can make a difference.”