Explore how Classroom of Hope brings dreams to life by creating tangible opportunities from the donations of many. A focus on how funding works, where donor money goes, and how real action is being taken every day thanks to the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations.
At Classroom of Hope, Our Donors are Our Lifeblood
Since 2012, our mission has been to provide equal access to quality education and empower children to fulfil their dreams. Recently, our programs have developed to include affordable housing and embrace eco-friendly construction methods to create safe learning environments and sustainable living spaces, while removing tonnes of plastic waste from our environment. And here’s what we want to tell you – None of this would be possible without the generosity of individuals, corporations, teams, and foundations who have donated their time, money, and passion to fund our projects!
That’s why we want to take a minute to talk about our different types of donors (and ways to donate!), how we track the donor journey from contribution to impact, how we maximise the effect of every dollar donated, and how each and every donation to Classroom of Hope — no matter the size — makes a lasting difference in the life of a child or family.
It’s a Group Effort
Since our story began, Classroom of Hope has worked hard to collect donations from people who share our passion for equal educational opportunities for children across the world, and pass those donations onto our carefully-chosen local NGO partners to implement previously agreed upon projects to benefit their communities.
As a registered Australian nonprofit that focuses on building schools and providing equal access to education in Southeast Asia, Classroom of Hope believes strongly in community-led decision making and sustainable development, and we know that the local communities in which we work know their own needs better than anyone else can! By working closely with our local NGO partners, Classroom of Hope is able to tailor our projects to make sure they have the biggest impact on each community.
For our Block Programs in Lombok, Indonesia, we have been working hard over the past year with our local NGO implementing partner to document a list of over 100 schools in need of rebuilding, categorised by highest priority, feasibility, and cost. Because the team is locally-based, on-the-ground, and part of the community, they are uniquely able to understand which schools best fit our criteria, like the extent of earthquake damage and the number of children affected, displaced, and not learning.
That’s how we decide where Classroom of Hope funding goes next! With our pipeline of priority projects, we always have in mind the next few schools we know need our support the most. That way, if a major donor comes to us ready to sponsor an entire school, or a bunch of individual monthly donors reach the amount needed for a new classroom, we’re ready to put that money towards the next project on the list!
Where does Donor Money Go?
Any donor always wants to know where their money is going and what impact it will have. After all, no one wants to just be throwing money into the wind, right?
That’s why Classroom of Hope compiles impact reports (like this one) for all of our donors, giving information about the school they helped to build, the community where it will make a lasting difference, and the number of students, teachers, and families whose lives will be changed by their donation!
The Big Picture
The big picture is that any donation, no matter how small, is going to support the building of a school or home.
Your donations are helping us enhance educational resources in marginalised communities. You’re investing in infrastructure and resources for education, in combating gender inequality, in breaking the cycle of poverty. Right now, many of your donations are going towards building environmentally sustainable and earthquake resistant Block Schools and Homes in Lombok, Indonesia – schools that children won’t be afraid to enter after having suffered through the 2018 earthquakes that ravaged their island.
The Details
We know the details are important too! We’re passionate and meticulous about tracking our expenses for each and every project so that we can continue to make our buildings more efficient and optimise donor dollars to create greater impact.
Donations for our Block Programs go to:
- Cost of Building Materials: This includes not just the sustainable Block Solutions building blocks for the schools, but also the foundations, roofing materials, tiling, doors, windows and more.
- Furniture: Every school is equipped with whiteboards, desks, chairs, and ceiling fans.
- Construction: Our local NGO partner contracts with local construction teams to build all Block Schools, making sure that all additional jobs created by this project stay within the local community.
- Administration Overhead, Monitoring, and Evaluation: This category covers the cost of the behind-the-scenes work, like coordinating with governments and local partners, communicating with donors, tracking finances and creating these impact reports!
Where do Donations Come From?
Classroom of Hope embraces all types of donors – large or small, corporate, team, or individual. Every contribution, no matter the size, is a testament to our donors’ belief in the transformative power of education and creates a meaningful impact in the lives of children and their families.
Mainly, our donors come in one of four subgroups: Major Donors/Foundations, Corporate Donors passionate about their companies’ social responsibility, individuals or teams who fundraise on our behalf with support from friends and family, and members of The Block monthly giving community!
Major Donors and Foundations
Our major donors and foundations are an integral part of Classroom of Hope’s impact. They make substantial contributions that have a transformative impact on our organisation’s mission – often funding multiple schools! Some of our major donors give once in a large sum to support a specific project, and others have worked with us to direct large donations consistently over the course of years.
We are so incredibly grateful for the support and passion of our major donors!
“We’ve always lived our life by the quote: ‘When you learn, teach. When you get, give’ by Maya Angelou. So this decision was simple… it was the mission, the need, the team, and the dedication to bring something so significant to a young child’s life. For us to be able to help with providing access to education to those in need was already a dream in itself, but to be able to combine that with having such an impact on the environment [through the Block Schools Program] was the ultimate win.
D&J Gratitude Foundation, one of our Major Donors
There is such a need to have affordable, sustainable, and accessible structures around the world—may it be housing, classrooms, clinics, hospitals…the list goes on. The limiting factor almost always is cost and the resources needed to build structures. Our hope is that through the schools the world will be able to see what’s possible with these eco – Blocks. That seeing what’s built will empower them to take bold action in making it a reality for their countries and communities. We hope that this inspires many others to give and to support the efforts in providing access to housing or education to others.”
If you’re interested in becoming a major donor for Classroom of Hope, please send us an email to learn more.
Corporate Donors
Classroom of Hope has been incredibly fortunate to have funding and support from many different socially-conscious companies across the globe through their corporate social responsibility programs. We love partnering with companies and organisations that share our values and are passionate about our mission!
“What a joy to be able to live our corporate culture and see our vision in action. And what a privilege to see first hand the difference these classrooms will make to many many children by providing a safe space for learning. All while being part of the solution to plastic waste in Indonesia. Thank you Classroom of Hope for doing what we can only talk about.”
Databee, one of our Corporate Donors
Some of our corporate donor partners make large annual contributions, others donate a portion of their proceeds, and still others hold fundraising events for Classroom of Hope OR get their employees involved by signing up for team-fundraising!
Speaking of which…
Fundraisers
On our online giving platform, any individual or group can sign up to Fundraise for Hope! Our amazing fundraisers set themselves a goal or challenge and then ask for friends or family to sponsor them – with all proceeds going to Classroom of Hope.
We’ve had fundraisers do all sorts of things to raise money – from bake sales to yoga classes, to shaving beloved beards and even, like fundraiser Kohen Grogan, riding a hydrobike for hours across open ocean!
Our fundraisers are also Classroom of Hope’s fantastic ambassadors – helping us to get the word out about our organisation and programs and spread awareness through their networks!
Check out this video from Alisoun Mackenzie, one of our amazing fundraisers, for a glimpse of her experience!
The Block
Sometimes, you don’t have to spend big to make a BIG impact.
The Block community is a passionate collection of regular monthly givers who support our mission year-round – a community of people like you, giving what they can and proving that when we work together, we can do anything!
This group is perhaps the most impactful kind of donors that we have. That doesn’t mean that they’re the largest donors – in fact, you can become a member of The Block community for as little as US$10/month.
You may think “Well, you can’t build a school with $10 per month,” (and you’d be right). But, if that $10/month that you can spare is combined with the “small” donations of other people – together, you are literally funding the creation of a brand-new school building for students in need, while also removing plastic waste, reducing carbon emissions, and being at the forefront of a movement towards sustainable construction!
Most importantly: by committing to ongoing monthly donations (of any amount!) The Block community makes a massive difference in Classroom of Hope’s ability to plan for the future. With the knowledge of a consistent monthly donation, our organisation is better able to know what projects we can take on, work to expand our capacity and future possibilities, and cover our operating expenses (more about that here).
By being a member of The Block, you also get access to exclusive monthly reports sent specifically to the Block community to show the incredible impact you are making across our organisation.
“We have always thought of ourselves as privileged to give, but now we see that it’s our responsibility to give. Joining The Block felt like an opportunity to give back in an even bigger way. With this new initiative, Classroom of Hope has found a way for us to help educate children and protect our planet simultaneously. As fellow travellers and environmentally conscious beings, we are thrilled to see an organisation tackle these global issues and even more proud to contribute to its success. Our monthly donation is part of our family values. We can’t wait to teach our son that helping others is how we all get better together.”
Megan and Matt Murray, founding members of The Block
So, How Can I Get Involved?
Join The Block!
Monthly giving is one of the most meaningful ways you can support our Block Program. Your monthly donations exponentially increase your impact by removing plastic waste, reducing carbon emissions, and building safe and sustainable schools for students living in disaster zones.
Donate!
Give Education, Give Blocks, Give Hope. Around USD$12,500 covers the cost of a block classroom in an environmentally friendly and earthquake resistant school that will provide children with a quality learning environment AND clean up plastic pollution.
Classroom of Hope does our best to make donating easy. For a one-time or monthly donation, just visit our website for easy checkout with a credit card. We also have other ways to give: you can donate through bank wire, or even donate shares!
Fundraise!
From giving up presents, to running a marathon, climbing a mountain, selling cakes or hosting an event, there are so many ways you can make a difference!
It’s easy – just register as an individual, team, or company, set a goal, and then share the mission with friends and family for sponsorship. We’ll support you along the way with toolkits, resources, and fundraising tips.
Fundraising campaigns can support our Block Schools or Homes programs. After your campaign is over, we will report back to you with an impact report along with GPS coordinates on Google Maps and photos of the school or home you helped to build using recycled plastic waste!
Get inspired! Watch this video to see how FUN fundraising can be and the incredible difference you have the potential to create with your campaign.
Share!
We understand that sometimes a financial donation isn’t feasible, and not everyone has the time to commit to a fundraising push. That doesn’t mean that you don’t have the power to make an impact!
While we don’t currently have the ability to accept volunteers in the field for our programs, we cannot express how much we appreciate our volunteer ambassadors – those who take the time to share our organisation, our mission, our Block Schools and Homes, and our need for funding with their own networks!
If you feel moved by Classroom of Hope’s mission and want to make a difference – share our story. Encourage your friends and family to follow us on social media, check out our website, read our blog, ask us questions, and – if they can – to join us in turning hope into action and creating a brighter, more sustainable future.