Mission
Adopt-A-Classroom advances equity in education by powering today's classrooms to prepare tomorrow's graduates.
Ruling year
1999
Executive Director
Ms. Ann Ruhr Pifer
Main address
401 Second Ave. N, Suite 350
MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55401 USA
EIN
65-0828272
NTEE code
Elementary, Secondary Ed (B20)
Arts Education/Schools (A25)
Children's Rights (R28)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
School budgets are tight and many families cannot afford to provide school supplies for their children. Teachers fill the gap by spending an annual average of $740 out-of-pocket on their classroom. We connect teachers and schools with funding to ensure every student has what they deserve to succeed in school.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Classroom Adoptions
When you choose a classroom and make an adoption, we direct 100% of these funds to the teacher. The teacher can then purchase purchase items that enrich the learning environment. Adopt-A-Classroom emphasizes accountability and responsibility. We send you information about your adopted classroom and an itemized invoice detailing exactly what the teacher purchased. We also send the teacher contact information about you. Throughout the school year, you communicate with the teacher and students and visit the classroom to experience first-hand the impact of your contribution. As you participate in subsequent years, you enjoy the cumulative effect of your efforts with each new class of students, as well as develop a lasting and meaningful relationship with the teacher.
STEM Fund
Teachers may apply annually to receive funding for classroom materials specifically for STEM subjects. Priority is given to teachers in Title 1 schools
Arts Fund
The Arts fund supports arts education programs in schools—from drama to finger-painting—so teachers can stock their classrooms with the supplies they need. Arts programs are especially vulnerable to limited budgets as teachers rely on expensive consumable products. A student’s creativity shouldn’t have a limit, and your support makes this a reality.
Inclusive Classroom Fund
What is an "Inclusive Classroom" and why is it important?
Every student learns in their own way and often at their own pace. And, we know teachers are uniquely positioned to identify and address each student's individual needs.
The Inclusive Classroom Fund will support teachers wanting to incorporate reading materials better representative of their students cultural and experiential backgrounds, materials for ESL students, equipment and curriculum materials for special needs students, anti-bullying programs and workshops, diversity training for teachers, alternative learning therapies, and much more.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of children who received school supplies
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of classrooms adopted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
AdoptAClassroom.org addresses educational inequity by connecting donors with teachers and schools who need funding. Our goal is to ensure that all students have the tools they deserve to succeed in school.
By 2025, we want to reach all of our nation’s school districts and provide funding for 3 out of 4 Title 1 schools.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We recruit individual donors to support education across the nation by adopting classrooms and schools. We reach out through traditional mail, email marketing, and social media.
We recruit teachers and schools to participate in our programs by distributing information to school districts, participating in national and regional education conferences, and volunteer outreach.
We also partner with corporations and foundations to fund classrooms and schools on a larger scale.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our website: Teachers and schools can register on our free crowdfunding platform AdoptAClassroom.org. Donors may search and adopt teachers and schools directly on our website.
Our proprietary eCommerce marketplace: No cash changes hands in our system. Teachers and schools spend their funds on our private eCommerce marketplace consisting exclusively of educational products and office supply vendors. Teachers and schools can get what they need, when they need it. All spending in our marketplace is tracked for full transparency.
Our programs: Our Teacher Program, School Program, and Spotlight Funds serve accredited K-12 public, private, and charter schools and teachers. Spotlight Fund grants fund need based on subject area or Title I status.
Our staff: Our staff of 12 employees is organized into Marketing & Development, Finance & Administration, and Operations & Technology. We leverage technology to keep our team as small and efficient as possible.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since 1998, we have raised $50 million, adopted 225,000 classrooms, and supported 5.5 million students.
By 2025, we want to reach all of our nation’s school districts and provide funding for 3 out of 4 Title 1 schools.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
AdoptAClassroom.org
Board of directorsas of 2/4/2021
Ms Jennifer Swanson
Jen Swanson, LLC
Term: 2019 - 2020
Ami Anderson
Tenet Healthcare
Julie Krueger
Google, Inc.
Scott Pansky
Allison+Partners
Martha Phelps
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Matt Johnson
West Monroe Partners
Kurts Strelnieks
Union Bank & Trust
Erik Huckle
HupBeat
Patrick Strother
Strother Communications Group
Neely Tamminga
Distill
Ryan Vernosh
St. Paul Public Schools
Rahoul Ghose
ECMC Group
Jordan McGowan
US Bank
Chuck Stroud
Minnesota Autism Center
Dale Robinson Anglin
Cleveland Foundation
Ashley Gobert
Accenture
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
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