November 5, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1HrJrQX. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Social Entrepreneur Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org, created what could be described as the first crowdfunding site, despite the fact that that term wouldn’t come into vogue for another decade. In 2000, Best launched the site to solve a clear problem. “Public school teachers spent an average of $485 of his/her own money to pay for school supplies, instructional materials and other classroom materials. Across the U.S., this adds up to $1.6 billion in out-of-pocket expenses for teachers (2013 National School Supply and Equipment Association Retail Market Awareness Study). Innovative approaches are needed to help public school classrooms,” he says. For the past six years, Chevron has been partnering with DonorsChoose.org to generate funds for teachers with its Fuel Your School program. A year ago, I covered the campaign for the first time. Last year, $7.1 million went to teachers in 22 communities, supporting 6,459 local public school projects impacting 715,145 students, according to Chevron. Blair Blackwell, Manager of Education and Corporate Programs at Chevron, explains, “From Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, 2015, Chevron’s Fuel Your School program will donate $1, up to a total of nearly $8.8 million, to help fund eligible classroom projects when consumers purchase 8 or more gallons of fuel at participating local Chevron and Texaco stations in 21 U.S. markets.” The program’s reach in 2015 could approach 1 million students. “Since its inception in 2010, Chevron’s Fuel Your School has helped fund more than 23,000 classroom projects at 4,433 schools in the U.S.,” Blackwell adds. Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1HrJrQX. Please consider whether a friend or colleague might benefit from this piece and, if so, share it.
#323: 'Fuel Your School' To Help Nearly 1M Students