A few months ago, I mentioned that I had donated to Donor's Choose, a non-profit that matches donors with teachers at schools in need of resources. It's a very neat website in that the teachers submit their projects (which are of course reviewed and approved by Donor's Choose), and the donors can browse and donate to a project that interests them because of the subject, location of the school, or the general need of the classroom. It's amazing what these teachers are doing and it's also eye opening to see just how many resources these schools are lacking.
The teachers send a thank you e-mail to all the donors, and sometimes even post photos of the students using the items purchased with the donations. It's really neat to see your donation at work.
If you fully fund a project, donate $100 or more, or complete the funding of a project (which can be any dollar amount), you receive a thank you package from the class. I completed the funding of a project on February 1, and this weekend, I received a package of thank you notes from the class.
While I don't donate to get something in return, it was so great to see the impact that this donation (mine and the others who funded the project) had on these students. It makes you realize that the little things do make a big difference. Every dollar counts.
For those of you curious, this is a tax deductible donation. It's a great way to give a small amount of money and be able to see a big impact.