Disclosure and scope

ScanRaise publishes this explainer and is one organization-wide fundraising option. DonorsChoose is discussed as an adjacent classroom-project model, not presented as a direct clone or an inferior substitute. DonorsChoose facts below link to its current public documentation checked on August 21, 2026. ScanRaise facts link to product pages and are also supported by the shipped repository.

The comparison is about workflow and fit. It does not rank either model or predict funding outcomes. A school may use one, the other, or both under district policy.

The short answer

Choose school-wide or organization-wide fundraising when

The PTA, booster organization, school, team, club, or district owns a shared approved budget and needs campaign-level payments, participants, donor records, and reporting across that scope.

Choose classroom crowdfunding when

A teacher needs specific classroom resources or an eligible experience and the selected platform's vetting, purchasing, shipping, ownership, and project-completion rules fit the request.

Consider both when

The school has separate needs, such as a PTA campaign for a shared program and a teacher request for named classroom materials, and district policy permits each workflow. Keep approvals, records, and donor language separate.

Compare the two models by decision point

Who starts the effort

  • School-wide fundraising: An authorized school, PTA, booster, team, club, or district administrator creates a campaign for its approved purpose.
  • Classroom crowdfunding: DonorsChoose says verified public-school teachers create projects requesting exact classroom items, and DonorsChoose vets the projects. DonorsChoose administrator workflow

What the request funds

  • School-wide fundraising: A shared campaign can support an approved school, program, event, team, club, equipment, travel, or general budget defined by the organization.
  • Classroom crowdfunding: DonorsChoose describes teacher projects for specific requested resources or eligible experiences, with the request explaining how students will use them. DonorsChoose project creation guidance

How money or materials move

  • School-wide fundraising: With ScanRaise connected Stripe, donations follow the organization's Stripe account payout flow. Approved platform-mode organizations receive monthly payouts. The standard ScanRaise platform fee is 2.5%, with payment processing separate. ScanRaise pricing ScanRaise payment-flow explanation
  • Classroom crowdfunding: DonorsChoose says it orders and ships requested items after a project is funded and does not send cash to the school through that workflow. DonorsChoose administrator workflow

Who the donor supports and who issues the receipt

  • School-wide fundraising: A ScanRaise donor gives to the organization named on the campaign, and ScanRaise sends an email receipt that identifies the donation amount and organization. Connected Stripe payments follow that organization's Stripe flow; approved platform-mode organizations receive monthly payouts. The receiving organization remains responsible for its tax-status and deductibility statements. ScanRaise pricing and donor receipts ScanRaise payment relationship
  • Classroom crowdfunding: A donor supports a project through DonorsChoose. DonorsChoose says it emails a donation receipt after each individual donation and makes annual receipts available through donor accounts. Receipt and tax treatment can vary by payment method or credit type, so use the current vendor guidance rather than assuming every transaction is treated alike. DonorsChoose donation receipt guidance

Who owns funded materials

  • School-wide fundraising: Ownership follows the organization's purchase, donor restrictions, school policy, contracts, and applicable law. The fundraising platform should not invent a different ownership rule.
  • Classroom crowdfunding: DonorsChoose says materials generally belong to the public school or Head Start center where the teacher works, with stated exceptions for items intended for student ownership. DonorsChoose materials ownership policy

Reporting scope

  • School-wide fundraising: ScanRaise supports campaign reporting and exports for the organization, with scope determined by the account and campaign structure. ScanRaise school platform
  • Classroom crowdfunding: DonorsChoose says it keeps records of items, value, and shipment dates and offers customized district reporting through its administrator program. DonorsChoose district reporting

If the project is not fully funded

  • School-wide fundraising: The organization should publish its own deadline, restricted-fund, cancellation, refund, and alternate-use rules before accepting gifts.
  • Classroom crowdfunding: DonorsChoose documents different handling for friends-and-family donations, other donors, teacher credits, and partner matching funds when a project expires without full funding. DonorsChoose unfunded-project policy

Published cost models are structured differently

DonorsChoose currently documents project costs that can include vendor shipping, sales tax where applicable, a 1.5% third-party payment-processing fee based on its weighted average, and a flat $30 fulfillment labor and materials fee. It also documents an optional suggested donation to DonorsChoose at checkout. These are vendor-published facts checked August 21, 2026, not a forecast for a particular project. DonorsChoose additional project fees DonorsChoose suggested donation explanation

ScanRaise publishes a 2.5% platform fee for standard fundraising, with payment processing separate. Connected Stripe campaigns receive donations through the organization's Stripe account; approved platform-mode organizations receive monthly payouts. Compare total costs and workflow, not a single percentage detached from shipping, tax, fulfillment, payment, event, or product costs. ScanRaise pricing and payment modes

Questions for the teacher, PTA, school, or district

  • Who is authorized to create the request or campaign and approve public copy?
  • Is the need one classroom's specific resource list or a shared organization budget?
  • Does the school need money, vendor-fulfilled items, an eligible experience, or a mix?
  • Who receives funds or materials, and who owns and inventories purchased property?
  • What project, donor, payment, shipment, and accounting records does the district require?
  • What are the published platform, processing, shipping, tax, fulfillment, event, and product costs?
  • What happens if the target is not reached, an item is unavailable, travel is canceled, or a donor requests a refund?
  • What student privacy, photo, consent, procurement, accessibility, security, and vendor-review rules apply?
  • Can the organization explain the selected model to families without implying that the other model is unsuitable for every need?

Example fit scenarios

A teacher needs a defined set of classroom books

A classroom-project model may fit if the teacher and school accept the platform's eligibility, vetting, fee, fulfillment, ownership, and expiration rules.

A PTA is funding a shared playground project

An organization-wide campaign may fit because the PTA owns the approved shared budget, communications, payment records, vendor payments, and reporting.

A band needs travel support across many participants

An organization-wide campaign with participant pages or QR cards may fit the shared program and reporting scope, subject to district and trip rules.

A district wants visibility into classroom projects

DonorsChoose documents customized district reporting. The district should compare that scope with its own procurement, inventory, privacy, and approval requirements.

A school has both classroom and shared needs

The school can evaluate both models under district policy, keep each purpose and record set clear, and avoid combining donor language or funds without authorization.

Frequently asked questions

Is classroom crowdfunding the same as school-wide fundraising?

No. Classroom crowdfunding usually centers a teacher's specific project or resource request. School-wide fundraising centers an approved organization, program, event, team, club, or shared budget. The workflows can coexist under district policy.

Does DonorsChoose send cash to a teacher or school?

Its administrator documentation says that after a project is funded, DonorsChoose orders and ships the requested items and never sends cash through that project workflow.

Who owns materials funded through DonorsChoose?

DonorsChoose says materials generally belong to the public school or Head Start center where the teacher works, with exceptions for consumables and resources explicitly intended for student ownership. Check the current policy and district requirements.

Can a school use both models?

It can evaluate both when different approved needs call for different workflows and district policy allows them. Keep sponsors, purposes, money or material flow, ownership, records, and donor explanations distinct.

Which model has the lower cost?

There is no universal answer from one percentage. Compare current published platform, processing, shipping, tax, fulfillment, event, product, staff-time, and refund costs for the exact project and payment flow.

Sources and review notes

Sources checked . External rules and product policies can change, so confirm them before launch.

  1. DonorsChoose: Your District and DonorsChoose. Teacher verification, project vetting, item purchasing and shipping, district reporting, and administrator-facing ownership summary.
  2. DonorsChoose: Creating a new project. Current teacher workflow for selecting project type, resources, and project explanation.
  3. DonorsChoose: Materials Ownership Policy. Current ownership, stewardship, school-move, and district-policy guidance.
  4. DonorsChoose: Additional fees included on a project. Current vendor-published shipping, tax, payment-processing, fulfillment, and optional-support model.
  5. DonorsChoose: Suggested donation explanation. Current explanation of the optional suggested allocation at checkout.
  6. DonorsChoose: What happens when a project is not funded. Current vendor policy for project expiration, donor choices, credits, and partner matching funds.
  7. DonorsChoose: Finding a donation receipt. Current vendor guidance on individual email receipts, annual receipts, and transaction types excluded from annual receipts.
  8. ScanRaise pricing. Current ScanRaise platform fee and payment-mode explanation.
  9. ScanRaise school fundraising platform. Current commercial school-software scope, reporting, and fit boundaries.