Video by Three Pillars Media of Lincoln. Post-production by Evolve of Des Moines.
It didn’t take much time teaching at an underfunded New York high school for Charles Best to realize the severity of the disparity between opportunities enjoyed by students at different schools in the U.S. “When I started teaching in the Bronx,” Best said, “I saw firsthand that all schools are not created equal.”
Best and his fellow teachers would chat in the lunchroom about things they longed to offer their students but lacked the funds to provide. Those conversations marked the genesis of DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit organization Best founded to provide a simple, personal and accountable way for people to address educational inequity.
Thanks to our sponsor
Best spoke on May 11 at Big Omaha 2012 about DonorsChoose. The organization’s growth, Best said, is indicative of a larger shift that’s occurring. “There’s a big change underway in how long you have to wait and who you have to know and how lucky you have to be to bring a new idea to life,” he said. “There’s a new kind of marketplace where gatekeepers do not stand in your way.
“This new kind of marketplace pushes intelligence and decision-making out to the edge.”
Check out the video above, the fourth in the Big Omaha 2012 Video Series presented by Microsoft BizSpark, to hear Best discuss how DonorsChoose got its start, how it took off and how he wants “to push intelligence and decision-making out to you today.”
Read our recap: “Charles Best: ‘Push intelligence out to the edge’ “
About Charles Best
Charles Best is an entrepreneur and founder of DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit organization which provides a simple, personal, and accountable way for people to address educational inequity. At DonorsChoose.org, public school teachers post classroom project requests, and donors can pick the projects they want to support. Every donor then gets photographs and thank- you letters from the classroom he or she chose to help. Recognition of DonorsChoose.org includes the Amazon.com Nonprofit Innovation Award, selection by Ashoka, and election by the TechCrunch community as the website “most likely to make the world a better place.” Fortune Magazine has twice featured Charles in the “40 under 40” list of “business’s hottest rising stars.”
Find Best on Twitter: @charlesbest
About Big Omaha & Thinc Iowa, SPN Premier Events
Silicon Prairie News hosts two premier annual events, Big Omaha in May and Thinc Iowa in October. Both events bring together entrepreneurs, innovators, creative individuals, investors and others for a lineup of inspiring speakers, a schedule of unique networking opportunities and a community of support.
To sign-up for alerts regarding Thinc Iowa, which will take place Oct. 10-11 in Des Moines, visit thinciowa.com.
Credits: Photo of Best by Malone & Company/Big Omaha. Headshot of Best courtesy of Best.
About our sponsor, Microsoft BizSpark
Microsoft BizSpark is a global program that helps software startups succeed by giving them access to Microsoft software development tools, connecting them with key industry players, including investors, and providing marketing visibility to help entrepreneurs starting a business. BizSpark will fast-track the success of your startup with software, support an visibility.
