DonorsChoose vs Goteo

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.

Goteo is a crowdfunding platform for projects with social, cultural, educational, or environmental impact. Individuals and organizations can seek funding or practical collaboration for work made, produced, or distributed under free and open terms. Projects must use free or open licenses and contribute to shared knowledge or the commons. A standard campaign has two 40-day rounds, with an all-or-nothing minimum goal in the first. Campaigns describe collective returns alongside individual rewards. Contributors may offer skills, materials, infrastructure, or help with tasks instead of money. Goteo and a community of experts review registered projects and may advise on promotion, licensing, and collective returns. Backers can pay by card, PayPal when enabled by the promoter, or Goteo Virtual Purse. Its API is currently read-only, supports GET, OPTIONS, and HEAD, and offers Basic and OAuth authentication with documented rate limits. The free campaign plan is free when the minimum goal is not reached; successful projects retain 10% of funds raised.