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PINE TREE MIDDLE SCHOOL PTA

GRANT AWARDS

WE ARE COMMITTED: 

Pine Tree Middle School PTA is committed to making a difference in student education.  One of the ways we accomplish this is by offering grants each year for teachers to use for materials and instructional experiences. We are supported by wonderful volunteers who raise awareness and funds that directly impact students and learning.  This year we raised over $17,000 through our membership drive and fundraiser.  Our Teacher Grant allocation is $8,500 dollars and represents approximately 47% of our budget.  We believe in funding grants that will help our students learn and grow in their quest for knowledge.

WHY DONORSCHOOSE?
This year the PTA is asking teachers to submit their grant proposals through the DonorChoose website.  DonorsChoose is a not-for-profit website where teachers from our district and all over the nation (really from only 12 regions) submit project proposals. This provides our teachers with a larger funding base at a national level.  These ideas become a classroom reality when concerned individuals from all over the United States choose projects to fund. 

 

PINE TREE ISD CHALLENGE PAGE:

Vickie Echols, Pine Tree ISD Grant Writer, has set up our Pine Tree Challenge Page tracking Pine Tree grants.  This can be viewed by going on the Pine Tree website (ptisd.org) and clicking on the Grants To Teachers link on the left hand side of the web page.  This Challenge page links Pine Tree to the DonorsChoose website that tracks our grants. 

 

CURRENT STATISTICS:

As of 1-28-2007, Pine Tree’s grant statistics through DonorsChoose is as follows:

·        42 proposals have been submitted

·        11 have been fully funded

·        7 have been partially funded

·        Amount funded to Pine Tree school district is over $6,000.

Currently, Pine Tree 5/6 campus has 6 proposals on the DonorsChoose website.

          DonorChoose impact in Texas as of January 24, 2007:

·        $448,129 to 20,678 students, from donors in 45 states.

            DonorChoose impact overall as of January 24, 2007:

·        $10,716,647 has been donated to 507,892 students in need, as of January 24, 2007!

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HOW DO I SUBMIT MY PROPOSAL ON DONORSCHOOSE?

DonorsChoose performs a good deal of work to ensure the integrity of its philanthropic marketplace. Here's how it works:

1.    Public school teachers create student project proposals at DonorsChoose.org. This consists of writing a one page essay and listing the exact resource(s) needed.

2.    DonorsChoose volunteers screen each project proposal before posting to the website. Volunteers verify that the teacher and project meet our eligibility requirements (see below), emailing follow-up questions to the teacher if anything is unclear.

3.    Concerned individuals fund the student projects of their choice—in whole or in part—and are emailed immediate email gift acknowledgments from DonorsChoose which can be used for tax deduction purposes.
DonorsChoose emails the school principal, alerting him/her to the funded project.

4.    Within the next week, DonorsChoose forwards the donor an    "e-thank-you" from the teacher, which notes the date by which the donor can expect his/her full feedback package.

5.    DonorsChoose purchases the student materials and ships items directly to the school along with a disposable camera, guidelines for preparing feedback packages, and a stamped envelope in which to enclose the feedback.

6.    Students experience the project that the donor made possible! The teacher photographs the students participating in the project and writes an impact letter to the donor. Students write their own thank-you notes. This feedback is then mailed to DonorsChoose headquarters.

7.    DonorsChoose develops the photos, compiles the letter and thank-you notes, and prints an expenditure report detailing the purchase of student materials. This feedback is mailed to the donor(s) who completed the project or made a partial contribution of $100 or more.

NOTE:  DonorChoose Eligibility Requirements: 

  1. Submissions at DonorsChoose must meet two criteria:
    All requested resources must be used by students or directly provide a student experience.
  2. The proposal cannot foster discrimination or proselytize a religious or political viewpoint.