Giving Compass' Take:

• Global Citizen discusses a recent effort by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to contribute an added $1 for every $2 donation on DonorsChoose for school supplies.

• This shows the power that crowdfunding can have, along with the importance of supporting teachers, who often have to pay for their own supplies without compensation.

• Craig Newmark of Craigslist also recently gave a major contribution via DonorsChoose.

While many shops around the country are offering back-to-school sales on supplies, not every teacher in the U.S. can afford the items necessary to provide quality education to students.

But thanks to a generous boost from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ample help was received, reported Fast Company. Perhaps even more importantly, the issue received the added attention it deserves.

The foundation amplified donations to DonorsChoose by contributing an additional $1 for every $2 donation. DonorsChoose is a crowdfunding website through which people from around the country and the world can help a teacher receive the supplies needed for their classrooms, ranging from textbooks to computers to carpeting.

All of the Gates Foundation funds dedicated for the gift were spent within 24 hours, but many more teachers can still use contributions.

According to a federal Department of Education survey released in May, 94% of public school teachers in the United States paid for supplies without reimbursement during the school year straddling 2014 and 2015, reported the New York Times.

Read the full article about the Gates Foundation helping teachers through DonorsChoose by Joanna Prisco at Global Citizen.