If you have submitted a project and it has not been funded yet, please reach out to the DonorsChoose Help Center (Link) to determine why. If your project was over $1,000 or didn't meet other eligibility criteria, you will need to resubmit to get funded from CDE. Submit and review ASAP as funding is going quickly!
Starting on August 24, 2023, the Colorado Department of Education will award up to $1,000 in Federal COVID Relief funding to Colorado classroom teachers’ projects requesting resources to support students in response to COVID-19. Funding for eligible projects will be applied shortly after a project is approved. If you do not see funding from CDE applied to your project within 24 hours, submit a customer service ticket to DonorsChoose via the customer contact form.
Eligibility Information:
- Project requests can be made by anyone who meets all of the following criteria:
- Is employed full time by a Colorado school district, charter school, Bureau of Indian Affairs school or Head Start center.
- Spends at least three-quarters of their time directly interacting with PreK-12th grade Colorado public school students.
- Examples of qualifying positions include K-12 classroom Educator, PreK Educator, school librarian, school nurse, school psychologist, etc.
- A full list of eligibility criteria is available on the DonorsChoose website.
Project Request Details:
Only projects meeting all required criteria will be funded at a maximum of $1000.
- Each $1,000 project includes the cost of materials and applicable fees. To keep the project goal at $1,000 teachers should request around $800 in materials.
- Projects with a cost higher than $1,000 will not qualify for funding from CDE.
- Required project criteria:
- Project requests must come from a Colorado public school teacher or public charter teacher and serve students in grades PreK-12.
- The project goal must be strong, clearly stated and educationally appropriate for the students affected.
- Student benefits must be clear and apparent.
- Requested items must reasonably relate to the stated project goal.
- Student privacy is protected, with no identifying details about students or families provided.
- Materials requested must be for student use.
- Materials requested must be related to student recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Food, staff stipends, hiring for district positions, purchased services, capital equipment or professional development materials for the educator will not qualify for this funding.
- For a full list of project criteria, visit the DonorsChoose website.
- Create a teacher account on the DonorsChoose website, if you don’t already have one.
- Sign into your account.
- Submit a project on DonorsChoose using the campaign code COLORADO.
- Keep your total project goal under $1,000, that’s about $800 in materials after processing fees.
- When submitting your project request, describe how the supplies will help support student learning after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- If your project is approved, funding from CDE, of up to $1,000, will appear on your DonorsChoose project page. You’ll receive an email from DonorsChoose when the funding arrives.
- When you receive an email from DonorsChoose indicating your project has been funded, confirm your funded project using a district email address as soon as possible and before Sept. 30.
- Funding is expected to run out fast, so don't wait to confirm with your district email address.
- If you do not see funding from CDE applied to your project within 24 hours, submit a customer service ticket to DonorsChoose via the customer contact form.
- When you receive an email from DonorsChoose indicating your project has been funded, confirm your funded project using a district email address as soon as possible and before Sept. 30.
Questions & Answers
Which educators qualify; who is eligible?
All Colorado public school educators who teach students in PreK-12th grade are eligible for the program. For the purposes of this program, “Colorado educator” is defined as any full-time equivalent public-school employee who spends the majority of their time directly educating or counseling students. Read a more detailed list of eligibility requirements on the DonorsChoose website.
I already have a DonorsChoose account, do I need to make a new account to submit a project?
No. Only one DonorsChoose account per teacher is permitted. If you already have a DonorsChoose account sign in to that account before submitting your project.
What resources can educators request?
Educators can request classroom resources, including but not limited to supplies, technology and instructional materials.
Can a non-educator nominate an educator and/or project?
No. Funding through this partnership is intended to address the individual and specific need(s) of each educator and classroom. Educators must submit their own projects to participate in the program. See the CDE Communications toolkit if you'd like to share about this program on social media.
Can educators submit multiple projects for funding?
Each Colorado educator can only have one project funded through this funding opportunity. However, educators are encouraged to post additional projects to DonorsChoose and benefit from the community of donors.
For more information on if your project qualifies, visit the DonorsChoose Help Center or reach out to Matt Koziol - Koziol_m@cde.state.co.us