Flash funding highlights online philanthropy's role in class

Wish lists posted by teachers on the education philanthropy website DonorsChoose.org are being fulfilled Thursday in a "flash funding" effort involving actors, pro athletes, tech titans and others, each of whom will fund all the projects in a specific city, region or entire state.

Educators, many of whom report spending an average of $500 from their own pockets to equip students, have secured millions of dollars for books and supplies by floating requests in cyberspace instead of before the school board.

[...] this week, the crowdfunding site GoFundMe.com announced a new concentration on education fundraising, beginning with a contest that will award a needy public school with 100 computers.

Association of Fundraising Professionals spokesman Michael Nilsen said online philanthropy will not replace spaghetti dinners or bake sales anytime soon because of the power in the personal connections those things offer, "but it will certainly be another tool for organizations and people to use in the future."

The benefactors include other actors (Ashton Kutcher, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick), athletes (Carmelo Anthony, Torrey Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, Dwight Howard), and business and foundation leaders (Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen; Bill and Melinda Gates; the chief executives of Zappos, LinkedIn and Yelp; Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg).