Updated November 20th: This funding opportunity is no longer available. Funding ran out over the weekend on Saturday at 6:21 PM HST.
Updated November 17th:
- 11AM HST: The campaign code is no longer available for new projects. Our team is working with teachers who have submitted projects — though, due to demand, not all currently submitted projects will receive the donation.
- 6AM HST: Funding is running low for this opportunity. Submit your project soon!
- Correction: Projects with a total project goal over $1,000 will not receive the Hawai'i donation. A few lines had indicated that projects with a total project goal over $1,000 will require more donations.
Starting November 14th, 2023, the Hawai’i State Department of Education will apply up to $1000 (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 November 14th, 2023.
- 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 November 14th. Projects without the campaign code will not be eligible for funding.
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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 $750 in materials cost to keep your total project goal under $1,000 (view the screenshot in our Frequently Asked Questions to see the cost breakdown). 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. Any projects with a total project goal higher than $1,000 will not receive the Hawai'i donation.
- 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, Lakeshore, TIME for Kids, or Ward’s Science for free shipping.
- When shopping on DonorsChoose, Amazon Business items have free shipping. When shopping on Amazon Business, some of those items may have shipping costs when they’re transferred to your DonorsChoose project – which will raise your project’s cost.
- 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, consider these shipping restrictions to Hawai'i:
- 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. See examples below:
- When shopping on Best Buy Education: 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.
With a total project goal under $1000, your project will be fully funded by the Hawai’i donation. This equates to about $750 in materials. Below are some project examples from the previous Hawai’i donation campaign that were fully funded immediately:
You’ll see a processing fee, fulfillment fee, and a suggested donation on your DonorsChoose project in addition to your $750 for materials. The Hawai’i State Department of Education will donate up to $1,000 to each project to cover these additional fees, including the suggested donation.
Projects totaling more than $1,000 in fees, suggested donation, and resources will not receive the one-time donation. The suggested donation cannot be removed from your project; however, if your project requires additional donations, your subsequent donors can opt out of contributing to the suggested donation.
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 is approved on our site AND 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.