GoFundMe Expands Into Education, Launches National Contest To Get Chromebooks In Schools

9 high-need schools from around the country to participate in GoFundMe Chromebooks Challenge

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Mar 08, 2016, 09:00 ET

MENLO PARK, Calif., March 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- GoFundMe, the world's largest crowdfunding site, is kicking off a new effort to expand its footprint in education. The company is launching a fundraising contest to give 9 high-need schools the opportunity to win 100 Google Chromebooks. As part of the contest, GoFundMe is partnering with School Specialty, a leading national distributor of school supplies, furniture and learning resources, to provide complementary Bretford Chromebook Carts for secure storage and charging.

As part of its new focus on Education, GoFundMe has created a new education-specific portal as a resource for teachers, students, school administrators and parents who are looking to raise money for classroom supplies, technology, educational furniture, books, field trips, equipment, uniforms, instruments, competitions, college applications and tuition, PTA projects, and school fundraisers: http://www.gofundme.com/education

"There is a gap between resources and needs in education. GoFundMe allows teachers, parents, and school administrators to easily access their local communities to make up that gap," said GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon. "We have seen education fundraising grow rapidly on our platform in the last year, and we are focused on making GoFundMe the go-to place for education fundraising."

GoFundMe has seen dramatic growth in education fundraising on the platform. In 2010, 135 education campaigns raised $16,492 from 212 donors through the site. In the last year, the amount raised for education campaigns topped $60M from a sprawling 800,000 donations. To date, GoFundMe has facilitated over $100 million in donations for educational causes across 126,000 campaigns created by teachers, students, parents and community members.

In an effort to highlight how GoFundMe can be used for education fundraising, the Chromebook Challenge will unfold across 9 cities in America between March 8 and March 22, with one school participating in each city. From New York to San Francisco, schools will run GoFundMe campaigns to fund the purchase of Chromebooks for their students. In all of the participating schools, the vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and the need for additional resources is high. This contest will help these schools attract the support they need to provide their students with the best possible education.

GoFundMe will be matching donations raised through each separate campaign participating in the contest, up to $5,000 per school. Additionally, the campaign with the most Facebook shares will win 100 Chromebooks from GoFundMe for their school. In support, School Specialty will also award the winning school state-of-the-art Bretford Chromebook charging carts, which can hold up to 36 tablets at one time.

Participating cities and schools include: Manhattan Bridges in New York, Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, Martin Luther King in Philadelphia, Central High School in Phoenix, San Ysidro in San Diego, Overfelt High School in San Jose, International School in San Francisco, T.C. Howe in Indiana, and Reagan High School in Austin.