At DonorsChoose, we hold ourselves to the highest standard when it comes to ensuring end-to-end integrity, transparency, and accountability for our donors and teachers. Our 4 star Charity Navigator rating speaks to our commitment to these values, and our dedicated Trust & Safety team works to identify, reduce, and prevent behavior that is contrary to our mission and purpose.
Here’s how we do it:
- We use a third-party school data provider to build a database of public schools, and all teachers must register under an existing public school. Teachers can request to add new schools and campuses to our site, and our team of school eligibility experts first vets each school before adding it to our database.
- Colleagues and/or principals are notified about newly posted and fully funded projects at their school, and are encouraged to contact our team if they believe a donation should not be made for any reason.
- By default, materials for a fully funded project are shipped to verified school addresses. If a teacher elects to use our flexible shipping option, they must verify their school or district email address before confirming their funding. In either case, tracking information is provided to teachers to secure delivery. We fulfill every order for the exact items the teacher requested, or reimburse on receipt of an invoice, to guarantee that we account for every cent.
- Teachers are required to submit 2 photographs of the project in action as part of their thank you package. This helps demonstrate to donors that the exact items they helped fund are used as intended in the classroom.
Outside of these measures, our Trust & Safety team investigates any reports where someone is suspected of misusing the website or project-funded materials. Although these situations are rare, our team works with teachers, administrators, and community members to investigate, clarify, and respond to issues as they arise.
How do I report an incident to the Trust & Safety team?
If you suspect that someone is misusing the website or donated materials, we encourage you to email safety@donorschoose.org with any information you may have. Our team will follow up with the appropriate parties, and we will be sure to keep your report confidential.