9 Best Charities for School Supplies: Make A Positive Impact
Looking for the best charities for school supplies to truly make a difference?
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were approximately 56.6 million students enrolled in elementary, middle, and high schools in the United States in 2020. Unfortunately, not all families can afford to purchase the necessary school supplies for their children. This is where charities can make a significant difference by providing students with the tools they need to succeed in school. These charities not only help public schools but can also significantly help the fundraising efforts of charter schools receiving lesser state funding.
In this post, we will highlight the best charities for school supplies that are making a positive impact on the lives of students across the country.
9 Best Charities for School Supplies
1. The Kids in Need Foundation
The Kids in Need Foundation is a national non-profit organization that works to ensure every child in America has access to essential school supplies to succeed in school and beyond. The Kids in Need Foundation has donated over $1 billion in school supplies to students and teachers since its inception in 1995.
The foundation partners with local schools and non-profit organizations to provide backpacks filled with school supplies, including notebooks, pencils, and other essentials.
$1 donated provides $24 of supplies to teachers and students in under-resourced schools.
They also offer teacher grants as a way to help fundraise for teachers, allowing educators to purchase classroom supplies and materials that may be lacking in their school budgets and ones that they may have added to their classroom donation list. Their prime focus is on schools where more than 70% of the students enrolled are eligible for reduced-cost lunches or free lunches.
What makes this foundation the top charity for the donation of school supplies is that it is the only foundation that has a nationwide reach.
It also allows individuals and corporate and financial partners to donate school supplies for middle school, high school, elementary school, etc depending on their specific objective and campaign mission.
Click here to donate to Kids in Need Foundation – Best Charity for school supplies donation
2. DonorsChoose
DonorsChoose is an online charity platform that connects individual donors with public school teachers in need of classroom resources.
Teachers can create a project proposal for the supplies or resources they need, and donors can choose to support the project that resonates with them.
DonorsChoose has funded over 1.8 million classroom projects, providing over $1 billion in school supplies to students in need and more than 87% of the public schools in the USA are registered with them.
They have partners in the form of Amazon Business, Staples, Best Buy Education and more to allow seamless arrangements of all the needs right from colored copy paper to more sophisticated resources like lab equipment.
According to Donor’s Choose, 73% of the funding requests get fully funded within 4 months of being active on their website. Donor’s Choose has also earned a solid 4-star rating on Charity Navigator.
Click here to donate to Donors Choose – The best fundraising charity for school supplies
3. Operation Backpack
Operation Backpack is a program run by Volunteers of America that provides backpacks filled with essential school supplies to homeless and at-risk students in New York City.
The organization collects donations of new backpacks and school supplies and distributes them to local homeless shelters and social service agencies. According to Operation Backpack, homeless shelter students constantly change schools and deal with the associated stigma. The organization, thus, strives to at least protect these students from the disadvantage of entering a classroom with fewer supplies.
The organization allows you to directly make fund donations, donate school supplies directly or even start a fundraising team that comes together to raise larger donations for school children in need of school supplies. Since its inception in 2001, Operation Backpack has provided over 20,000 backpacks to children in need.
Donate to Operation Backpack – One of the best school backpack donation charities
4. AdoptAClassroom.org
AdoptAClassroom.org is a non-profit organization and a top choice for donors who want to ensure their contributions are making a real impact in classrooms across the country. The organization not only helps with school supplies but is also one of the best charities for school uniform donations.
Teachers can create a fundraising campaign to purchase essential school supplies and resources for their classrooms.
Donors can choose to support a specific teacher or school, and 100% of the donations go directly to the teachers to purchase the supplies they need.
AdoptAClassroom.org has an impressive track record of success in helping teachers and students across America. The organization has raised over $46 million to date and has supported more than 5.4 million students and over 300,000 teachers.
In addition, AdoptAClassroom.org has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, a respected organization that evaluates the financial health and accountability of non-profit organizations.
5. The Pencil Project
The Pencil Project is a non-profit organization that provides school supplies to children in developing countries. Its impact goes beyond the USA and helps out children in countries that are in genuine need of better school supplies and access to better school infrastructure.
The organization collects donations of new and gently used pencils, pens, notebooks, and other school supplies and distributes them to schools and students in need. The Pencil Project has donated over 17 million pencils to students, over 300,000 notebooks, 800,000 pens, and other essential school supplies to students in need in over 40 countries across the world.
The Pencil Project’s work has improved access to education and helped to break the cycle of poverty in many communities.
The organization has been recognized for its work with numerous awards, including the Top-Rated Nonprofit award from GreatNonprofits and the Seal of Excellence from GuideStar.
To contribute, you can either donate USD 200 which helps ship a drum of school supplies to a developing country, buy pencils and other school supplies on Amazon and send it to the Project, buy their book or work with them in other meaningful ways.
6. Crayons to Computers
Crayons to Computers is a non-profit organization that provides school supplies, books, and other educational resources to children in low-income schools in Ohio. The organization works with teachers to create customized shopping experiences where they can select the supplies their students need for free.
Since 1997, Crayons to Computers has distributed over $200 million worth of school supplies to over 1.4 million students.
In 2020 alone, the organization provided more than $21 million worth of school supplies to over 120,000 students in the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton areas.
With over 1,000 partner schools, Crayons to Computers ensures that every child has access to the supplies they need to succeed in the classroom.
The organization has received recognition for its impact, including being named a Top-Rated Nonprofit by GreatNonprofits and receiving the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.
The organization accepts donations of computers as well as in-kind donations. Monetary donations, donor-advised funds, qualified charitable distributions as well as stock gifts are welcome.
Donate to Crayons to Computers – the best non-profit free school supply organization.
7. School on Wheels
School on Wheels is a non-profit organization that provides free tutoring, educational resources, and school supplies to children experiencing homelessness in California, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Tennessee.
The organization’s backpack program provides students with a backpack filled with essential school supplies, including notebooks, pencils, and other materials.
School on Wheels has received recognition for its impact, including being named the 2020 Nonprofit of the Year by the Nonprofit Alliance of Monterey County.
The organization’s backpack program has distributed over 33,000 backpacks filled with school supplies since 2010, ensuring that students experiencing homelessness have the tools they need to succeed in school.
Donate to School on Wheels here
8. Project Night Night
Project Night Night is a non-profit organization that provides comfort items, including blankets, books, and stuffed animals, to homeless children across the United States.
In addition to these items, Project Night Night also provides children with a tote bag filled with school supplies, including pencils, notebooks, and crayons. The organization has distributed over 400,000 Night Night Packages to children in need since its inception in 2005.
Project Night Night has been recognized for its impact, including receiving a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and a Bronze rating by Guidestar.
The organization’s Night Night Packages have a significant impact on the children who receive them, with 93% of parents reporting that their child sleeps better with the comfort items provided by Project Night Night.
Contribute to Project Night Night here either in cash or in kind
9. The Education Partnership
The Education Partnership is a non-profit organization that provides school supplies and educational resources to low-income schools in Pennsylvania.
The organization collects donations of new and gently used school supplies and distributes them to schools and students in need. In addition to school supplies, The Education Partnership also offers educational programming, including a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) program, to help students develop 21st-century skills.
Since its inception in 2009, The Education Partnership has distributed over $20 million in school supplies and resources to students and teachers.
The Education Partnership’s impact on education in Pennsylvania has been significant.
The organization has distributed over $10 million in school supplies to schools and students in need since 2014, and its educational programming has reached over 50,000 students.
With a focus on providing equitable access to educational resources and promoting sustainability, The Education Partnership is an excellent choice for anyone looking to support school supplies and educational resources in Pennsylvania.
The Education Partnership states that a donation of USD 25 combined with the backing of its generous partners helps provide school supplies to a student for an entire year.
Donate to The Education Partnership here
In addition to the above, you can also consider donating to Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), Teach For America, Scholarship America, Pratham USA, NYC Outward Bound Schools, and Street School.
School Supply Donations: Ancillary Issues and Impact Opportunities
Bridging Digital Divide
With the shift to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, access to technology and internet connectivity has become essential for academic success. However, many students from low-income families or rural areas lack access to these resources.
You could work with organizations trying to bridge the digital divide such as the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, which advocates for affordable broadband access and digital literacy training, and EveryoneOn, which provides low-cost internet and devices to low-income families.
Training Volunteers for Schools-related campaigns
Many of the charities mentioned in this article rely on volunteers to distribute school supplies and organize fundraising events. Volunteering with a charity is a great way to support their mission and give back to your community.
Some charities may require specific skills or training, such as tutoring or event planning, while others may need help with simple tasks like packing and organizing supplies.
Some organizations that offer volunteer opportunities include Big Brothers Big Sisters, which matches adult volunteers with children in need of mentorship, and City Year, which recruits AmeriCorps members to serve in schools across the United States.
Empowering Corporate Social Responsibility
Many companies and corporations have launched initiatives to support education and provide school supplies to students in need.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs can be a powerful way for companies to give back to their communities and create a positive social impact.
Some companies with notable CSR programs include Target, which donates 5% of its profits to support education and provides school supplies to teachers and students in need, and TOMS, which donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased.
Save for later
