For instance, we shared their great news that FastTrack Fundraising has increased the percentage the non-profits get to keep from their fundraisers. This is great news and should definitely help you make your decision about what kind of fundraisers to choose for your school.

Now, we have the opportunity to introduce you to the FastTrackFundraising team, by way of YouTube! Their creative team put together a terrific “behind-the-scenes” video that gives viewers a great insight into this company. I particularly like the part when the customer service lady is eating a cookie while talking on the telephone! I guess their cookies are just to delicious to put down!

The video is short- only three and a half minutes, and it will really give you a good insight into who you will be doing business with. It’s well worth the click.

It’s called “The USA Character Approved Awards” and our very own topic of school fundraising has landed right in the middle of this extraordinary promotion.

For a little background, here is their mission statement, as I found it on their website:

The Character Approved Awards honor the characters of the U.S.A. who are changing the face of American culture. Character Approved honorees are innovators in their field who influence our opinions, our style, and our view of the world. They surprise and inspire us with fresh ideas. They are celebrated by their peers. And they have an authentic style that’s all their own.

This year, in what they claim is their inaugural campaign, they have announced seven honorees, one each from the worlds of music, art, food, architecture, fashion, new media, and giving.

I spent a little time and looked at the write-ups on all of these individuals, but it was the honoree from the world of giving that jumped off the page for me.

His name is Charles Best, and he is the founder and director of an organization called DonorsChoose.org. This is a website that connects actual schools and classroom teachers with real donors, people who are looking to make a difference by making a financial contribuation that has a direct impact on the recipient.

As an example, here is a recent entry on the Donors Choose site:

 NURTURING FUTURE AUTHORS

“I teach first grade in a large, urban district. Over 90% of my students receive free or reduced lunch. My students live in a high need community. They would benefit from a wide variety of materials that make learning fun and accessible to all of them.

My first graders love to write. They are always authoring their own stories and writing notes to each other. I feel that they could be future authors and novelists. The materials requested would enhance their writing skills and continue to foster their natural affinity toward writing.

I am requesting a wide range of materials, from sentence builders to paragraph writing activities to story writing helpers. These materials will help my students learn the writing process. This will also help them becoming better writers.

Your generous donation will help my students hone the craft of writing. You will make it possible for my students to become better writers and future authors. Your gift would be greatly appreciated by not only me, but the eager writers in my classroom.

There is then an opportunity for a private citizen from anywhere in the world to make a secure donation directly for this classroom. Any amount can be given and the site actually keeps track of how close to the goal this request is getting. As of this post, the above class has received $270 of the $425 needed. Donors also have the chance to leave an encouraging message for the class to read.

This is really a visionary use of the Internet for the public good. I can definitely see why USA has decided to include Charles Best in their list of “Character Approved” honorees for this year.

Below is a video of the on-air commercial they are running, featuring Charles Best. Enjoy!

School founder Ron Clark told reporters “I was just excited to have the letter. But then a sheet of paper fell out on the floor and I picked it up and looked it was a check for $365,000 and I was just overwhelmed.”

They followed up their first hit with another, “Dear Obama” which surprisingly hits on some heavy issues.  This time the effort earned the students a trip to Washington DC for the inauguration.

Take home lessons in short… focus on great education for your students, be creative and innovative.  As Jim mentioned recently, great teaching can often be free.  Then don’t hide your great kids.  The Ron Clark Academy students sang their song at Atlanta events, got their videos on local TV and YouTube, which helped them go national.  This kind of publicity can be great for your school — for the students themselves and for getting funding!