Update: As of October 26, 2024 no funding remains for this opportunity.
Update: As of 10/23/24, funds for this opportunity are running low. Submit your project today for the best chance to get a $750 donation!
--
Starting October 14th, 2024 at 6am HT, the Hawai’i State Department of Education will apply up to $750 (including shipping, taxes, & fees) toward Hawai’i projects requesting resources to support students in response to COVID-19. The donation will be made to eligible projects shortly after they are reviewed, screened, and approved by our team of volunteer and staff screeners, which typically can take between 1 to 5 business days.
How to qualify:
-
- Teach PreK-12 in a Hawai’i public school.
- Submit a new project after October 14th, 2024 at 6am HT (12pm ET).
- On the “HI” page while creating your project, enter the campaign code “HAWAII” by clicking "Apply a campaign code." You will not be able to enter this campaign code until October 14th. Projects without the campaign code will not be eligible for funding.
-
Answer the included prompts from the Hawai’i State Department of Education:
- How has COVID-19 impacted learning for your students? How will the requested resources directly relate to helping students to continue their social-emotional or academic learning in light of COVID-19?
- Request around $550 in materials cost to keep your total project goal under $750. The one-time donation from the Hawai’i State Department of Education covers your project’s combined cost of materials, shipping, applicable taxes and fees, and the suggested donation to DonorsChoose. (View the screenshot in our Frequently Asked Questions to see example cost breakdowns.)
- Request resources to support students’ social, emotional, and mental well-being as well as the impacts of interrupted learning as a result of COVID-19. Your project must only request resources that will be used directly by students, or have a direct student benefit. Need inspiration? See this article for guidance on what resources are eligible. In your project essay, make sure to describe how the resources you’re requesting will help your students through pandemic-impacted learning.
What won’t qualify:
- Professional development, Special Request, and Virtual Trip & Visitor projects are not eligible.
- Teachers Pay Teachers items are not eligible.
- Resources that will not be directly used by students. Examples: Snacks and beverages for school staff, furniture for teachers, resources for parent engagement.
Note: Projects requesting gift cards (outside of Teachers Pay Teachers gift cards, which are not eligible) need to be reviewed by our small team of staff screeners. Based on the anticipated speed of funding, we recommend that you do not include any gift cards in your project for the best chance at receiving funding.
Additional information:
We encourage you to shop from our vendors with free shipping to Hawai'i:
- Shop CDW-G, Grainger, TIME for Kids, or Ward’s Science for free shipping.
- Shop Best Buy Education except for appliances and large TVs.
If you’re creating a project for tech resources, be sure to review technology guidelines for Hawai'i school districts before shopping.
Note some items may not be available for shipping to Hawai'i, such as aerosol cans.
- When shopping on Amazon Business, you’ll see an alert in red when you click into an item indicating it cannot be delivered to your location in Hawai'i. If you want to shop for large/oversized furniture, be sure to use the Amazon Business portal to transfer items to your project—check the Frequently Asked Questions section for more guidance. See examples below:
- When shopping for products from Best Buy Education, please keep in mind appliances and large displays 55” and larger are only able to ship to Oahu. Smaller items will ship standard to all Hawaiian Islands.
- Shop CDW-G for large displays that are 55”+.
Frequently Asked Questions:
A successful application of the campaign code during project creation will create a new banner on your project page. You will also see a success message after applying it and receive an email stating that your project has the campaign code applied.
With a total project goal under $750, your project will be fully funded by the Hawai’i donation. This equates to about $550 in materials. Below are some project examples that would be fully funded if they were to receive the one-time donation:
-
“Complete Our Classroom With Supplies”
- Materials cost of $526.95, and total project goal of $691.81
-
“Coding Adventures Await”
- Materials cost of $537.00, and total project goal of $704.34
-
“Bringing AI to Life with Graphic Designs”
- Materials cost of $558.82, and total project goal of $731.52
You’ll see a processing fee, fulfillment fee, and a suggested donation on your DonorsChoose project in addition to your $550 for materials. The Hawai’i State Department of Education will donate up to $750 to each project to cover these additional fees, including the suggested donation.
Projects totaling more than $750 in fees, suggested donation, and resources will not receive the Hawai’i one-time donation. The suggested donation cannot be removed from your project.
No. Projects that have already been approved will not qualify. The only way to receive this funding is to create and submit a new project.
Educators can request classroom resources, including but not limited to supplies, technology, and instructional materials. Check out our list of commonly requested items. Resources that will primarily benefit teachers, parents, or other school staff members are not eligible.
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.
Each Hawai'i educator can only have one project funded through this Hawai'i State Department of Education funding opportunity. Only one DonorsChoose account per teacher is permitted. Do not create additional accounts.
If your project has not received any donations, you can make any edits you’d like by returning your project to a draft status. You can do this by heading over to the Projects section of your account and clicking on the "Return project to draft" button underneath your project title. Once your project is in draft status, you can make any edits and resubmit it. Then, it will be re-screened by our team and re-posted if eligible. Read more about editing your project.
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.
The Amazon Business portal is best for large and oversized furniture, because the portal can more effectively identify which items may have more shipping fees or restrictions based on your location.
To access the Amazon Business portal, complete the following steps:
- Go to your project’s “WHAT” step — where you normally shop
- Scroll to the bottom of the page
- Click “Show additional vendor sites”
- Click on the Amazon Business link
- On the next page, click on “Start shopping on Amazon” to proceed to their portal
- Cart your desired items
- Navigate to your cart checkout page
- Click on “Submit these items for approval”
If you submitted your project without the campaign code, you can still add it. Return your project to draft within your teacher account, then add the campaign code and resubmit.
(Refer to Question 7 above for more details on returning your project to draft so you can add the campaign code.)
If your project’s total goal is higher than $750, then your project will not receive the one-time donation. You must edit your project and lower the total project goal.
Here are some project examples that would not receive the one-time donation because their total goal is higher than $750:
- Presenting Knowledge Creatively - Total Project Goal = $999.51
- Student Library Creativity and Beautification - Total Project Goal = $927.54
(Refer to Question 7 above for more details on editing your project to reduce the total goal.)
With thanks to Hawai‘i State Department of Education and Marc and Lynne Benioff