Charles Best: The Social Entrepreneur We Should Aspire To Be

Growing up in a small, underserved town in rural North Carolina, I often heard adults discuss things that they felt could not happen in our small town when I was a child. Examples being how our town could not attract businesses, how crime could not stop in our community, and how our town could not seem to do better overall.

As a child, I realized early on that the county I lived in could not support its students in the ways it should. For instance, I remember how my classmates and I went on approximately 5 field trips in one school year when I was in 2nd grade, but when I got to 7th grade, our school lacked funding, so we had to watch a 3D movie in our auditorium instead of going on a field trip. I remember several of my math teachers in high school telling me and my classmates about how they had to purchase TI-84 calculators for their classrooms with their own money.

However, I realized this was not only an issue in my town. As someone who has colleagues and friends who are elementary school teachers, I have heard stories of teachers in other areas buying supplies for their classrooms out of their own pockets such as crayons, pencils, and glue sticks.

I never realized this problem had a solution until I heard about Charles Best's company, DonorsChoose. I learned about DonorsChoose by listening to Best's "From Scratch" podcast episode.

Through listening, I discovered how Best is a social entrepreneur in the following ways:

He innovated to solve a problem.

If you are not familiar with DonorsChoose, here's how it works: a teacher will post a project on donorschoose.org with details regarding their students and the project itself. While many teachers are seeking funding for projects, some are seeking donations for class supplies, flexible seating, and lab equipment. Once a teacher makes their posting on DonorsChoose, anyone can donate any amount of money he or she wishes to give.

Think of it as GoFundMe, but for classroom projects. Therefore, while Best not only solved a problem by giving teachers a platform to obtain funding for classroom projects, he was able to innovate by scaling it so individuals across the globe could donate to various classrooms.

He inspired others to take action.

As Best revealed in his "From Scratch" episode, the process of an individual donating to a classroom does not solely involve generating funds. When a teacher obtains all the funding he needs to complete a classroom project, he will not only post photos of the classroom project on the project's page on DonorsChoose, but the students will handwrite thank you notes to those who donated money towards the classroom project. This not only verifies each project but it teaches students how to express gratitude while inspiring individuals.

DonorsChoose has brought about extreme acts of kindness and generosity. For instance, in the podcast episode, Best mentions a woman who called him and asked how much it would cost to fund all of the California classroom projects listed on DonorsChoose. After telling her it would cost $1.3M, he was shocked to find out she donated that exact amount three days later. Unfortunately, Best discovered that she died 6 weeks following her donation. However, Best found a way to not only help teachers obtain funding, but his platform creates a feeling that one can pay it forward by donating to a classroom project.

He identifies his mistakes.

Whether one is a social entrepreneur or a typical entrepreneur, he must be self-aware to determine areas that need improvement in his business. In the podcast episode, Best admits that if he had to change one thing, it would be the name, DonorsChoose. He regards how the name is often forgotten, and how he wishes he would have sought the help of a branding expert. However, he emphasizes prototyping and how one should "go live" with their idea while putting thought into the name.

As someone who has created a podcast, this resonated with me as I am looking at possibly rebranding my podcast, which could potentially lead to a name change. I found it comforting to hear someone who has a successful platform who has the same struggles I have had as a student who has attempted to launch projects in the past.

Finally, Best said the following which truly inspired me: "The best effort to get someone to say 'yes' is infectious enthusiasm." As someone who has watched others run businesses and fail at running businesses, this could not be more true. If you are someone who is looking for venture capital to fund your start-up, or someone to join your team, or you need someone's help to expand your business, show that you are passionate about what you do. Not only does this inspire others to pursue their dreams, but it shows how serious you are in your efforts to better the world.

Listen to Charles Best's "From Scratch" episode here: https://www.fromscratchradio.org/show/Charles-best

Check out DonorsChoose here: https://www.donorschoose.org/