By: Daniel Burt

Grey Todd needed computers for his 6th grade class at Presidio Middle School. Convinced that interaction with technology during the learning process brought great benefits to his students, Todd decided to take initiative and find a way to provide a computer for every student in his class.

Aware that requesting computers from the school would cost more money than the school had, and more time than Todd was willing to wait, he relied on technology to help him achieve his mission.

Teachers Paying Out of Pocket

Sadly, it’s not uncommon to hear that public school teachers pay for school supplies, books and other teaching materials out of their own pay check, but classroom computers is almost unheard of and Mr. Todd’s act has caught the attention of the media – from KTVU to NPR to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Why? Unwilling to start the school year with computers for only half the kids, Grey Todd put the rest of the computers on his credit card and is relying on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.com to continue to raise funds for new computers and to pay off his credit card. And San Franciscans love heart-felt tech-driven stories… His cause has received $7,250 from 19 people in just two months, but is still only half way to its goal of $14,500.

Crowdfunding for a Noble Cause

Thousands of people have turned to this type of fundraising to support their causes and have raised million dollars. The initiative taken by Grey Todd to implement this funding strategy at Presidio Middle School seems to be a growing trend with more and more teachers and coaches doing the same to fund their activities without putting greater stress on school budgets.

You can check out Mr.Todd’s GoFundMe.com page here.