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[No Funding Remains] The Governor and Colorado Department of Education are awarding up to $1,000 to new projects from Colorado teachers

Update September 24th: Funding for this offer is no longer available.

Previous updates

Update Sep 21st at 9AM MST: Given the popular demand of the first round of grants, the Governor is dedicating an additional $6.7 million in federal Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funding to support the needs of hardworking Colorado teachers. Post a new project today!

Update Sep 4th at 10:06PM MST/12:06AM ET: Funding for this opportunity is no longer available. 

Update Sep 1st at 11am ET: Funding for this opportunity is running low. Submitted projects are still eligible, but funding may run out before they're approved.

5:30pm ET: The campaign code for this funding opportunity has been closed. New projects will no longer be able to add the code or receive this funding. 

Update Aug 29: Scholastic and Time for Kids items are no longer eligible for this funding opportunity.

Starting on September 21st, 2023, Governor Jared Polis & Colorado Department of Education will award up to $1,000 in Federal COVID Relief funding to Colorado classroom teachers’ projects requesting resources to support students in response to COVID-19. Funding for eligible projects will be applied shortly after a project is approved.

How to qualify:

  • If you don’t already have one, create a teacher account at www.donorschoose.org/teachers. Then return to this page to follow the rest of these instructions. Do not create a duplicate account.
  • Sign into your account.
  • Teach PreK-12 in an Colorado public school.
  • Create a new project on or after 9AM MST September 21st, 2023 and before September 29th, 2023.
  • On the “HI” page while creating your project, enter the campaign code COLORADO by clicking "Enter a campaign code."
      • Where to enter the campaign code:

  • Request resources to support students’ social, emotional, and mental well-being as well as the impacts of interrupted academic learning as a result of COVID-19.
    • Keep in mind that your $1,000 grant includes the materials cost, applicable taxes and fees, shipping costs, and other processing costs. To keep your total project goal at $1,000 you should request around $800 in materials; you will see the project’s total goal update as you shop. 
      Click here for an example Keep your total project goal under $1,000

  • In your project essay, make sure to describe how the resources you’re requesting will help your students through pandemic-impacted learning.

Create your project

What won’t qualify:

  • Projects posted before September 21st, 2023 or after September 29th.
  • Projects with a total goal over $1,000 (this includes all fees)
  • Any items that include a subscription component
  • Materials from Scholastic, Time for Kids, or Teachers Pay Teachers gift cards
  • Resources categorized as "Food, Clothing, & Hygiene"
    • This means any items like food/snacks, clothing, first aid kits, hand sanitizer, deodorant, tissues, air fresheners, irons, cleaning supplies, or other non-COVID learning response related resources.
  • Projects within the subject area "Warmth, Care, & Hunger"
  • Professional Development, special requests, and virtual trip and visitor projects
  • Capital improvements to school building(s)
  • Salaries or bonuses

How you’ll receive funding:

If your project meets the above criteria, you’ll receive $1,000 in funding as soon as your project is reviewed by our team and posted on our site, while funds last. 

With thanks to the Colorado Department of Education

Gov. Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Education are proud to support Colorado teachers and their incredible work responding to the impacts of COVID-19 on student learning. These funds are part of a federal relief package and allowable uses of the funds include:

  • Academic materials that students need to recover from learning loss
  • Social-emotional or mental health support materials to help with the impact of COVID-19 on student mental health

All participating teachers should comply with any applicable local laws and school district policies when creating their DonorsChoose projects for this partnership.

The initial $11M project was wholly funded by the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, ALN 84.425D, through the Colorado Department of Education.

Additional funding for this project included $6.7M from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds, ALN 84.425C & R, through the Colorado Governor's Office and $400,000 from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, ALN 84.425D, through the Colorado Department of Education.

FAQs 

1. Which educators qualify; who is eligible? All Colorado public school educators who teach students in Pre-K – 12th grade are eligible for the program. Educators who previously received a donation on a project when this opportunity was first available are eligible for a second donation on a new project with this second opportunity. For the purposes of this program, “Colorado educator” is defined as any full-time equivalent public-school employee who spends the majority of their time directly educating or counseling students. Read more at this link. Only one DonorsChoose account per teacher is permitted.
2. What resources can educators request? Educators can request classroom resources, including but not limited to supplies, technology, and instructional materials.
3. Can a non-educator nominate an educator and/or project? No. Funding through this partnership is intended to address the individual and specific need(s) of each educator and classroom. Educators must submit their own projects to participate in the program.
4. Can educators submit multiple projects for funding? For this second round of funding, each Colorado educator can only have one project funded. Educators who previously received a donation on a project when this opportunity was first available are eligible for a second donation on a new project with this second opportunity. Projects posted before September 21st are not eligible for funding. It must be a new project. If a teacher has multiple projects available, the project posted first will receive the donation. Educators are encouraged to post additional projects to DonorsChoose and benefit from our community of donors.
5. What is a thank-you package? After your project has been fully funded and you’ve received all of your materials, you’ll be prompted to upload a short essay and some photos showing the impact your materials had in your classroom.
6. What happens if my project's total goal is over $1,000? Your project will not receive the donation from Governor Jared Polis & the Colorado Department of Education.
7. What resources are considered as “Food, Clothing, and Hygiene”? These are items like food/snacks, clothing, first aid kits, deodorant, tissues, air fresheners, irons, and cleaning supplies. These items are not eligible for this funding opportunity.
8. What is considered a “Warmth, Care, and Hunger” project? This category is for projects designed to help you request the essentials your students need in and out of the classroom. Projects in this category aren’t tied to classroom lessons or specific learning objectives. This subject area is not eligible for this funding opportunity. You can read more about this subject area in our Warmth, Care, and Hunger Help Center article.

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