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The PNC Foundation is partnering with DonorsChoose—an online nonprofit that allows individuals to fund classroom projects and teacher requests for resources and materials—to help early childhood educators obtain quality resources and experiences for students in public pre-K, public charter, and Head Start classrooms.

By committing to match “dollar-for-dollar” any DonorsChoose donations that support pre-k and Head Start projects, the foundation hopes to encourage others to fund child care and early childhood education.

The duration of the match is undetermined and subject to restrictions and a maximum dollar amount.

DonorsChoose Educator & Project Eligibility

Who can participate?

Pre-K teachers in every state, subject area, and grade level can use DonorsChoose. If you are an educator at a public school, public charter school, or Head Start program, are employed full-time by a school or district, and work directly with students at least 75% of the time, you are eligible to post projects.

What is eligible for funding?

You can request anything you need to enrich your students’ experience at school. Sports equipment? A classroom library? Furniture? Musical instruments? DonorsChoose can help. If you can imagine it, you can post a classroom project request for it.

How does it work?

The process is simple:

1. Create your project in DonorsChoose.
2. Receive donations from friends, family, and supporters through the DonorsChoose website.
3. Receive your request. DonorsChoose orders everything for you and ships it straight to you or your school.

How long does it take?

The average project takes about 25 minutes to create and submit. Once your project is funded, DonorsChoose takes care of the rest.

Participate in the Match

To utilize the match from the PNC Foundation and better fund your pre-k or Head Start classroom project, add it to the DonorsChoose website by following the step-by-step instructions on the “How it Works” page.

Results from Past Partnerships Between the PNC Foundation & DonorsChoose

Previously, the PNC Foundation flash funded almost $2 million dollars in requests from 3,054 pre-k teachers across 30 states through DonorsChoose. As a result, almost 89,000 pre-k and Head Start students and their early educators received support for materials and projects. Throughout greater Pittsburgh, 126 pre-k teacher requests were fully funded.

Learn More

PNC’s support of DonorsChoose coincides with the launch of this year’s “Great Month” at PNC—an annual celebration held each April to raise awareness of PNC Grow Up Great® and the importance of high-quality early childhood education. Launched in 2004, the $500 million, bilingual initiative supports programs, resources, and experiences that help to prepare children from birth through age five for success in school and life.

To learn more about PNC’s partnership with DonorsChoose and how to participate, visit the PNC Bank website or view the flyer.