Google, Bloomberg, Xiaomi, Dropbox, Netflix, Airbnb, Nike, Zipdial… DonorsChoose.org?
You read that right. DonorsChoose has become a staple among the annual list of most innovative companies compiled by Fast Company, and this year the site has muscled into the top 10.
DonorsChoose.org is a donation-based crowdfunding platform that seeks to drive funding to teachers and, eventually, their students. It is a model that has been lauded for its ability to step in and fill the gaps left in public funding for education in the United States.
“We are humbled and honored to be featured alongside some of the world’s most admired companies,” said DonorsChoose Founder and CEO Charles Best, a former teacher. “When DonorsChoose.org grew out of my Bronx classroom in 2000, crowdfunding wasn’t yet a word, and the only teachers using our site were my colleagues. We never dreamed that more than a million people would give $225 million to classroom projects reaching more than 10 million students—and we certainly never imagined that we would one day be listed alongside companies like Google, Apple, and Twitter as one of ‘the most innovative companies in the world.'”