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Our nation’s public schools face once in a generation challenges — from the impact of COVID-19 on student learning and mental health, to politically driven battles over curriculum and civil rights, to the growing teacher shortage. In the face of these heightened stakes, we must work together to give every student the learning environment they need to thrive.
For the past 22 years, the ǿմý community has proven that when teachers, administrators, companies, foundations, and members of the public come together with the shared mission of education equity, we can make a measurable difference in the lives of students. That’s one of the biggest reasons I joined ǿմý this year: I can think of no other organization better positioned to drive meaningful change and improvements in education in the years ahead.
This school year was our most impactful to date; funders brought more projects to life and supported more teachers than ever before. Over the coming year, we’ll continue to spotlight Equity Focus Schools, elevate teacher voices, and fill classrooms with resources that support student achievement and teacher retention. I’m honored to be leading ǿմý into this chapter, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish next year.
Sincerely,
Alix Guerrier, ǿմý CEO
As students returned to in-person learning, teachers turned to ǿմý more than ever to equip their classrooms. Students at nearly half of America's public schools received materials and learning resources through ǿմý this school year.
Through our new project map, we’ve made it even easier for donors to find and support classroom projects by location. Explore projects from teachers down the street, in your hometown, or in school districts with the greatest need.
View map
“These books will be such a great addition to my library. The students will be so happy that I have new titles in the language they are learning in school. Thank you again!”
Mrs. Diaz, WA Improving Our Spanish
In September, we made it easier for our community to identify Equity Focus Schools, where most students are Black, Latino, and Native American and from low income households. These schools, which make up 30% of all US public schools, are historically underfunded due to racial and economic inequity.
59%
Of all classroom funding went to Equity Focus Schools
Experts, partners, and peer organizations rallied to learn from teachers and support their needs in building a more just and equitable education system.
See John Legend in conversation with teachers Jamel Holmes and Antonio Griffin
In the largest-ever US survey centering male teachers of color, 5,000 ǿմý teachers shared their classroom experiences. Black male educators’ responses stood out, highlighting the impact they have in their schools, the unique responsibilities they shoulder, and how we can better recruit and retain these educators.
See John Legend in conversation with teachers Jamel Holmes and Antonio Griffin
“Adding ‘Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You’ to our 8th grade Social Studies curriculum will provide representation in the content and will put us on the right path to meet the need for equality and racial justice.”
Ms. Lauher, PA "Learn From the Past to Stamp Out Racism Now"
Inspired by The Allstate Foundation’s desire to support inclusive classrooms at scale, we launched a new project category: Racial Justice & Representation. Since we launched this category in August, 32,000 donors have given to such projects, bringing more than 9,000 of them to life.
Robert F. Smith, Vista Equity Partners, and PowerSchool gave $1.3 million to bring to life 2,161 projects in six southern communities where more than half of Black Americans live and work.
"One of the biggest mantras that I instill in my students is to tell your story and tell it well; to not let anyone else take hold of the pen or the lens or whatever tool they use."
Mr. Williams, VA Shaping the Next Generation Through Digital Storytelling
Ten partners and five philanthropists joined forces with our community of supporters, doubling donations to projects from Black teachers, projects from schools where a majority of students are Black, and projects requesting resources that uplift Black narratives. In one day, 4,273 projects were funded in our first ǿմý-wide Black History Month funding initiative.
Our donors powered us to order and ship 5.5 million resources to students and teachers across all 50 states and Washington D.C. this school year. We’ve made it even easier for teachers to request resources created by people of color and classroom favorites through our
2.5M
Books
201,385
Pieces of Classroom Furniture
11,415
Calculators
66,482
Musical Instruments
Inspired by research that shows ǿմý projects lead to measurable gains in academic achievement and teacher retention, six state departments of education used our platform to fund teacher-requested resources. Learn how we deploy COVID-relief and other state funding at record speed.
$12 million, supporting
1 in 4 Arizona teachers
funded in 2 weeks
“Teachers know their students’ academic needs better than anyone and can design tailored projects.”
Kathy Hoffman
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
$12 million, supporting
1 in 2 Utah teachers
funded in 2 weeks
“The partnership has been an efficient, effective, and transparent way to help our educators during the pandemic.”
Sydnee Dickson
Utah Superintendent of Public Instruction
$6 million, supporting
1 in 6 Oklahoma teachers
funded in 1 weeks
“Thousands of teachers have had their wish lists fulfilled with supplies for customized learning projects that have a direct and meaningful impact on students.”
Joy Hofmeister
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction
$8 million, supporting
1 in 2 Nevada teachers
funded in 8 weeks
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to show appreciation for our educators by investing in their classrooms and providing them with the resources they need.”
Jhone Ebert
Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction
$1.5 million, supporting
1 in 2 Hawai'i teachers
funded in 3 weeks
“Through ǿմý, we were able to directly provide the materials that our Hawai’i teachers selected for students returning for in-person learning.”
Keith Hayashi
Interim Superintendent State of Hawai’i
$1.3 million, supporting
1 in 5 Delaware teachers
funded in 6 weeks
“ǿմý made it easy for my office to safely fund 1,600+ individual classroom requests across the state of Delaware — all without any complex procurement forms or collecting of receipts.”
Matt Meyer
County Executive New Castle, Delaware
Inspired by research that shows ǿմý projects lead to measurable gains in academic achievement and teacher retention, six state departments of education used our platform to fund teacher-requested resources. Learn how we deploy COVID-relief and other state funding at record speed.
$14 million, supporting
1 in 4 Arizona teachers
funded in 2 weeks
“Teachers know their students’ academic needs better than anyone and can design tailored projects.”
Kathy Hoffman
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
$12 million, supporting
1 in 2 Utah teachers
funded in 2 weeks
“The partnership has been an efficient, effective, and transparent way to help our educators during the pandemic.”
Sydnee Dickson
Utah Superintendent of Public Instruction
$6 million, supporting
1 in 6 Oklahoma teachers
funded in 1 week
“Thousands of teachers have had their wish lists fulfilled with supplies for customized learning projects that have a direct and meaningful impact on students.”
Joy Hofmeister
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction
$8 million, supporting
1 in 2 Nevada teachers
funded in 8 weeks
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to show appreciation for our educators by investing in their classrooms and providing them with the resources they need.”
Jhone Ebert
Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction
$1.5 million, supporting
1 in 5 Hawai'i teachers
funded in 3 weeks
“Through ǿմý, we were able to directly provide the materials that our Hawai’i teachers selected for students returning for in-person learning.”
Keith Hayashi
Interim Superintendent State of Hawai’i
$1.3 million, supporting
1 in 5 Delaware teachers
funded in 6 weeks
“ǿմý made it easy for my office to safely fund 1,600+ individual classroom requests across the state of Delaware — all without any complex procurement forms or collecting of receipts.”
Matt Meyer
County Executive New Castle, Delaware
We partner with 600+ public school districts across all 50 states. Through our free District Partnership Program, administrators get benefits like early notification of funding opportunities and custom reporting.
Our partner community is vital to the impact that we're able to make. This year, 96 partners showed up in record numbers, giving more than $100 million.
“This year has not been normal for anyone, and I want to be able to give my students the basic supplies to use in our classroom.”
Mrs. Diaz
Texas
One of 12,587 projects brought to life by the Gates Ventures Back-to-School Match
“The actions and vivid illustrations in these leveled books allow for all levels of readers to become confident readers.”
Ms. La-Mui
“Exciting Super Hero Leveled Books”
New Jersey
One of 6,115 projects brought to life by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation Books Match
“When students have all the supplies they need, they are committed to expressing their ideas!”
Mrs. Espinoza
“Basics! Basics! Basics Needed!”
California
One of 4,957 projects brought to life by the Valhalla Foundation Early Childhood Education Match
“With the help of a greenhouse, we can learn to grow a bigger variety of plants and share our learning with the community”
Ms. Champion
Colorado
One of 9,358 projects brought to life by the SONIC Drive-In Teacher Appreciation Week Match
As part of our commitment to flexibility, all ǿմý staff now have the option to work from our office or remotely. We adopted new procedures to make sure our office experience is safe and healthy during COVID-19.
12
New roles added this year
16
Staff with 10+ years at ǿմý
