A Caltech Alumnus Helps Crowdfund the Classroom

Since 2007, Caltech alumnus Cesar Bocanegra (BS '95) has been the chief operating officer (COO) of DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit that connects public school teachers with donors interested in supporting their unique classroom projects. The organization crowdsources the funding for each teacher-proposed initiative as well as arranges the purchase and shipment of any requested supplies once the fundraising goal is met. Founded in 2000, the company has had a substantial impact: approximately 62 percent of public schools in the United States have at least one teacher with a project on DonorsChoose.org. 

One of Bocanegra's focuses as COO is on the role analytics might play in growing the company's ability to improve education policy nationwide. He credits his Caltech education with giving him the tools to see what he calls the "opportunities in the data" he collects about the various requests from classrooms around the country. He hopes to use those data to inform administrators and elected officials about the needs and priorities of educators.

Read more about Cesar Bocanegra and his work with DonorsChoose.org.