Charitable Donation Trends for K-12: Secondary Schools Lag Behind Primary

People are most likely to donate money to pre-K to grade 5 literacy projects at schools close to home, according to information released by Looker and DonorsChoose.org.

DonorsChoose.org is an online charity to help schools raise money. The group enlisted the help of Looker, a data discovery and business intelligence company, to analyze its data. The results of the analysis are called the Giving Index, which includes information about $60.2 million in donations made by 340,000 donors to 130,000 school projects during 2013.

The Giving Index revealed that donors gave more money to lower grades than higher grades.

Donations by grade levels:

  • Pre-K to grade two funding projects received $20.6 million in donations;
  • Grades 3 to 5 received $17.6 million;
  • Grades 6 to 8 received $10.8 million; and
  • Grades 9 to 12 received $11.4 million.

The index also found that the majority of projects requesting funding for the lower grades were related to literacy, whereas projects for higher grades were related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects.

Number of funding requests for literacy and STEM projects by grade level:

  • For pre-K to grade 2, there were 27,821 funding requests for literacy projects compared to 9.651 requests for STEM projects;
  • For grades 3 to 5, there were 18,409 funding requests for literacy projects compared to 11,742 requests for STEM projects;
  • For grades 6 to 8, there were 7,492 funding requests for literacy projects compared to 7,546 requests for STEM projects;
  • For grades 9 to 12, there were 4,578 funding requests for literacy projects compared to 5,972 requests for STEM projects.

The majority of funding requests were for literacy projects, a category that included purchasing books, and "classroom libraries were the most funded projects of 2013," according to information provided by Looker.

The Giving Index also found that people were more likely to donate to projects at local schools, with 50 percent of donors giving to projects at schools within 25 miles of their home.

The top 5 cities requesting donations for schools were Chicago, with the most requests, followed by Houston, Los Angeles, Brooklyn and Bronx. However, the top 5 cities receiving donations for schools were Manhattan, with the most donations, followed by Brooklyn, Chicago, San Francisco and Oklahoma City.

DonorsChoose.org is making 100 percent of its anonymized data through Looker available to approved researchers, journalists and citizens. According to the organizations, people will be able to "access, explore, visualize and share insights on 20+ million records of DonorsChoose.org marketplace data, which will be combined with data on public educations." Anybody interested in viewing the data can request access through the DonorsChoose.org site.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • classroom scene with students gathered around a laptop showing a virtual tour interface

    Discovery Education Announces Spring Lineup of Free Virtual Field Trips

    This Spring, Discovery Education is collaborating with partners such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, National Science Foundation, NBA, and more to present a series of free virtual field trips for K-12 students.

  • glowing padlock shape integrated into a network of interconnected neon-blue lines and digital nodes, set against a soft, blurred geometric background

    3 in 4 Administrators Expect a Security Incident to Impact Their School This Year

    In an annual survey from education identity platform Clever, 74% of administrators admitted that they believe a security incident is likely to impact their school system in the coming year. That's up from 71% who said the same last year.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • pattern of icons for math and reading, including a pi symbol, calculator, and open book

    HMH Launches Personalized Path Solution

    Adaptive learning company HMH has introduced HMH Personalized Path, a K-8 ELA and math product that combines intervention curriculum, adaptive practice, and assessment for students of all achievement levels.