DonorsChoose vs Milaap

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.

Milaap is a fundraising and donation service for medical emergencies and causes such as memorials, education, social causes, sports and animal care. It is available on the web, Android and iOS, and fundraisers can be started online or through a WhatsApp assistant. The assistant supports English, Hindi, Hinglish and regional languages and accepts voice notes and documents. Milaap says fundraiser setup takes less than 10 minutes. Its app supports fundraiser creation, withdrawal requests, progress tracking, team fundraising, campaign sharing, donations and updates. Milaap says it charges zero platform fees; payment processing charges apply, with a voluntary tipping model. INR withdrawals are available within 24 hours, while foreign-currency withdrawals take five working days. Withdrawal requires documents such as government ID and bank account details for KYC verification. The app listing says data is encrypted in transit and users can request deletion, while noting that personal and app-use information may be collected and location and device or other IDs may be shared with third parties. Milaap offers a free fundraiser plan at free.