On August 9th, all live, approved projects received a 50% boost. That meant a $20 donation became a $30 donation. 

Here was how teachers qualified for the back-to-school boost:

• Had a live, approved project on our site by August 9th at 7:00 AM ET.
• If you had a live, approved project on DonorsChoose, you were all set! If you had multiple projects live on the site, all of your projects were eligible for the boost.
• Standard, Special Request, and Professional Development projects all qualified for this boost.

What donations received the boost?

Donations made between 7AM ET August 9th and 3AM ET August 10th were eligible for the boost. 

• Eligible donations were boosted by 50%, meaning a $20 donation became a $30 donation, or a $100 donation became a $150 donation.
• Credit card, PayPal, account credit, and gift card donations to live projects were eligible for this boost. Donations via check and donor-advised fund were not matched due to processing time.
• Donations made during friends and family pre-funding were only boosted if the project was approved on August 9th. 

How long did the back-to-school boost last?

Donations made to an eligible live, approved project between 7AM ET August 9th and 3AM ET August were boosted by 50%.

With thanks to Bill Gates 

Bill Gates is proud to join other contributors this school year to support teachers and school communities during this vital time. Teachers and students deserve the best learning experiences and opportunities possible, and together we can make it happen.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know that my project qualified and donations were matched? 

Your donations received during the eligible time will have an additional donor comment beneath them from Bill Gates bearing the Back to School Boost logo.  

What if I had a different match offer?

Some projects qualified for other match offers; in that case, those projects received the match for which they were qualified, instead of the one-day-only boost. During the one-day boost, all other match offers were at least equivalent to the one-day match offer.