CREATIVE FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY 1

Creative Ways to Fund Technology in the Classroom

Rob Schoonveld

Instructor: Dr. Kathleen Melton

21st Century Educational Leadership

EEND 680

4/09/17

St. Francis University

CREATIVE FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY 2

 Creative Ways to Fund Technology in the Classroom

Todays teachers are preparing the leaders of tomorrow. Classroom instruction,

engagement, and assessments should reflect a 21st century classroom as teachers equip their

students for the 21st century workplace. That said, technology must be current and cutting edge

within education to give our students the advantages they need to compete for jobs and careers.

This need for technology brings with it a hefty price tag per pupil. State funding in Illinois is

and has been in jeopardy over the last several years due to mismanagement. What can educators

do to ensure they are equipped with the very technology they need yet are unable to afford? In

this research paper we will discuss several creative ways to fund the classroom technology

necessary to ensure student growth, competence, and employment for years to come within the

workforce.

One of the most creative ways I have encountered for fundraising was the Tech Search

Party by Tim Smith as written by Dian Schaffhauser in The Journal (2014). Smith took birthday

party scavenger hunts to a new charitable level by adding an element of fundraising for public

school technology within his area schools. Teams of adults paid registration fees, sponsorships

from local businesses were added and business donations given all towards this tech cause.

Participant teams used clues to travel around the area business district (even waiting for tweet

hints on occasion from Smith) to solve clues related to local business locations. Once solved,

pictures of locations were taken and emailed to judges awaiting the winners

CREATIVE FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY 3

(Schaffhauser, 2014). Of course, businesses received exposure but the real winners were the

three area schools who used the funds for technology purchases.

From personal experience I can recommend Donors Choose as another creative way to

gain grant monies towards classroom needs such as technology (Schoonveld, 2016). To date,

Donors Choose has provided $675 in funding for classroom projects for my clubs. This website-

based funding page utilizes points to which participants can build their wish list of materials,

including technology and technology maintenance supplies, tell their story, and use social media/

email links to help advertise their cause (7 Ways To Get Funding And Grants For Technology In

Your Classroom, 2016). According to Schaffhauser, projects at or around $800 in value were

fully granted approximately 75% of the time (Schaffhauser, 2014). Successful projects would

continue to receive points to spend and created projects would necessitate the need to redeem

points once initiated. Even better, other sites with similar formats but more generous procedures

towards awards would be PledgeCents (Schaffhauser, 2014). Similar to Donors Choose,

projects are created, story needs are told, but funds are paid out even when projects are not fully

funded. Over funded projects have contingency items listed in the case of exceeding ones

funding goal. By contrast, under funded projects at Donors Choose would not be paid out to the

initiator of the grant (Schaffhauser, 2014).

Still another source of technology funding is the Meemic Foundation Grants (Meemic

Foundation Club, 2017). A newer insurance company to Illinois, Meemic seeks to combine

grant funding of education all the while benefitting from the new contacts and connections

CREATIVE FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY 4

within the awarded community thereby gaining name recognition (Meemic Foundation Club,

2017). Again, from personal experience, I have received close to $1,100 this past year for both

my classroom as well as the overall health of the school itself. This For Our School grant was

$500 for school supplies for our Title I students in need of such materials. Based on

conversations with the local Meemic Insurance representative, an equitable portion of the total

grant monies is reserved for Illinois applicants as well as Michigan applicants. Nearly 30% of

Michigan is insured through Meemic. Illinois, however, is a new sales territory for Meemic and

as such Illinois applicants are nearly guaranteed awards due to this imbalance in Midwest

coverage.

Often times, schools need to think outside the box in order to raise funds. Title I schools

are especially disenfranchised when it comes to acquiring funds from sales within its own needy

community (Williams, 2013). I remember at the beginning of my career watching soon-to-be

discouraged students race out the door of the school with a sales catalog in hand dreaming of the

top prize boom box and disco ball combo from the fundraiser pep rally. Gone are the days of

magazine subscriptions and overpriced gift wrap as many districts have replaced technology

funding with such things as auctioning off a rifle, poker tournaments, and even selling fertilize

from alpaca farms (Williams, 2013). It seems that the need for technology may in part feed itself

in that online fundraising, especially through educational foundations, can help with generating

funds from donors that previously would neither have been reached nor encountered

MONEY...16 Surprising Ways to Fund Technology, 2017). Corporate funding from such as

CREATIVE FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY 5

Target and its Red Card are ways entire communities can digitally give towards local schools

(Hertz, 2011). Beyond this, such corporations give matching grants to increase the tech funding

so needed in todays schools or even recognize individual teachers classroom technology desires

as Walmart does (MONEY...16 Surprising Ways to Fund Technology, 2017).

To conclude, digital citizenship for 21st century citizens and workers necessitates that

schools equip students with technology in the classroom. Never has the need for this been so

great and with it the ability to fund such projects. With many traditional methods of funding

being set aside for non-traditional ones such as online funding, corporate funding, or even local

event sponsorships such as the aforementioned scavenger hunt, schools have many creative ways

to bring technology into their students hands to prepare them for the 21st century classroom and

workplace. Success in technology funding truly determines success in equipping the leaders of

tomorrows workplace.

CREATIVE FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY 6

 References
7 Ways To Get Funding And Grants For Technology In Your Classroom. (2016, February 11).
Retrieved March 23, 2017, from
https://positivelearning.com/blog/2016/2/11/7-ways-to-get-funding-and-grants-for-techno
logy-in-your-classroom
Hertz, M. B. (2011, March 25). Fundraising and Grant Resources for Tech Integration. Retrieved
March 23, 2017, from
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/grants-fundraising-tech-integration-mary-beth-hertz
Meemic Foundation Club. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2017, from
https://www.meemic.com/the-meemic-foundation/the-foundation-club.aspx
MONEY...16 Surprising Ways to Fund Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2017, from
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3750588
Schaffhauser 02/12/14, D. (2014, February 12). 3 Ways To Raise Money for Tech in the
Classroom. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from
https://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/12/3-ways-to-raise-money-for-tech-in-the-classro
om.aspx
Schoonveld, R. (2016, December 22). Mr. Schoonveld (teacher). Retrieved March 23, 2017,
from https://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/4049467?projects=true
Williams, G. (2013, October 08). Low-income schools find new way to fundraise. Retrieved
March 23, 2017, from
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/8/low-income-schoolsfindanswertofundraisi
ngdilemma.html