DonorsChoose vs LaunchGood

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.

LaunchGood is a crowdfunding platform for Muslims raising money for causes, community projects, and creative ideas. Campaign types include flash campaigns, pre-sales, technology, education, nonprofits, arts, and fundraising dinners. A fundraiser sets a goal, chooses a settlement currency, adds details, and submits the campaign for review before it goes live. Supported currencies are USD, AUD, CAD, SGD, NZD, GBP, EUR, and MYR. Organizations can group campaigns on customizable community pages, invite supporters to fundraise, and download campaign and donor reports. The dashboard includes fundraiser and donation views, influencer tracking, payout details, and report downloads. Donors can set up recurring giving through plans such as Daily Givers and Friday Givers, or use a Giving List to schedule donations to selected fundraisers. The free plan has no platform fee; card processing costs 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. Review is required for every fundraiser, and most reviews take 1 to 6 hours, though some take 24 to 48 hours or longer. Fundraising and payouts depend on supported countries and eligibility checks.