DonorsChoose vs FreeFunder

DonorsChoose connects donors with public school teachers requesting classroom resources. Teachers submit supply or project requests, donors contribute, and DonorsChoose orders and ships funded goods to verified teachers. Teachers can sign up and post projects for free. Classroom Essentials offers curated basic supplies with no minimum, shipping items as funding arrives. Classroom Projects use a catalog of more than 1 million products from over 20 teacher-favorite stores, including Lakeshore, Amazon, and Staples. These projects require a $100 minimum and can remain posted for up to four months; if the goal is missed, donors may redirect contributions to the teacher’s next project. Submissions are reviewed before posting, typically within five business days. Eligibility covers full-time educators at public or public charter schools working directly with students, subject to detailed rules. DonorsChoose says it vets requests, reviews student privacy, and requires permission for student photos. Teachers provide donors a thank-you package with two project photos.

FreeFunder is a web service for creating personal crowdfunding campaigns for medical bills, funeral costs, personal projects and other personal causes. Campaign owners start with a short form describing the amount sought and the reason for fundraising. They can customize pages with color schemes, formatted text, pictures and tables, then share campaigns or embed them on another website. Team members can receive read-only or read-write access. Owners can post updates and email them to followers, and keyword-based text-to-donate supports offline events and promotions. FreeFunder says it charges no platform fee and relies on voluntary donations. Card donations through Stripe incur a 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee deducted from each donation. Venmo, PayPal and Cash App gifts can be recorded on the page and can avoid processing fees. Donations go to a separate Stripe account for the owner or beneficiary and then to a bank account. Campaigns cannot offer rewards or investment opportunities.