Q: What's DonorsChoose.org?

A: It's a super cool site where teachers can submit proposals for special projects they need funding for. Whether that's books, art supplies, technology, a field trip, musical instruments, or anything, the common thread is that our so-often underfunded schools can't provide them, so teachers have the choice to pay for this stuff out of pocket, or go without. DonorsChoose provides a third option—asking others for help. The way it works is, you (the donor) find a project to support, and then you donate part or all of the funding needed to fulfill the proposal. The teacher gets the supplies, the kids get a cool learning experience, and the donors are thanked with photos and handwritten letters.

Q: What's the Blogger Challenge?

A: Every fall, DonorsChoose lets blogs and websites create a Giving Page of projects as part of its Blogger Challenge. Those bloggers then blog about the challenge, and the blog's readers donate to the chosen projects. DonorsChoose keeps a leaderboard so the partcipating blogs can see whose readers have given the most. It's a fun way to work together and raise awareness, especially at the beginning of a new(-ish) school year.

Q: What kinds of projects are on MacLife.com's Giving Page?

A: We've got a middle-school classroom in North Carolina that needs reading materials for science class. A high school in Pennsylvania wants a MacBook to make videos and multimedia presentations. An elementary school in South Carolina already has a digital camera, but needs a printer dock and media packs for it. And one of our own readers here in California is a teacher, looking for Flip Ultra cameras for his class of second-graders. Feel free to email me at susie at maclife dot com if you want to suggest a project that we should add to our Giving Page.

Q: How can I be eligible to win a prize?

A: Just donate to any of the projects on our Giving Page—any amount, even just $1. DonorsChoose will email you a receipt (your donation is tax-deductable), and then you can forward that receipt to me at susie at maclife dot com. I will let you know that I've received it, and you are thereby entered in our random prize drawing, to be held on or around November 1, 2008.
One entry per person. Feel free to donate as many times as you like, but each individual donor will get one entry in the drawing.

Q: What's the timeframe for this? I need to wait until payday...

A: The Challenge runs through October 31. I will accept contest entries through November 1, 2008, at 11:59pm PST.

Q: What kind of prizes do you have?

A: The prize list is here, and it's growing all the time. Mac software and games, lots of cool headphones, Mac accessories, an iTunes gift card, even a copy of Microsoft Office.

Q: Can I enter if I am outside the United States?

A: Sure. DonorsChoose accepts credit cards from outside the U.S., so you should be able to make a donation and then forward me the receipt. If you have problems, email me at susie at maclife dot com, and we'll get them worked out.

Q: What if I win a prize I can't use? (A laptop case for example -- I've got an iMac!)

A: Since some of our prizes are specific to one type of setup (laptop cases that only fit certain laptops, games that only run on Intel Macs, et cetera), we'll let the winners choose. (DonorsChoose, winners choose...sense a pattern?) The first name that is drawn will get first choice, then the second winner can choose from what's left, and so on. If you are on the tail end of winners and hate all the prizes we have left, I will apologize profusely and offer you a Mac|Life T-shirt and/or free magazines. Or you can sell your prize on eBay or something. But the focus is on supporting teachers, schoolkids, and DonorsChoose—the prizes for you guys are just sweet, sweet gravy.

Q: I have more questions.

A: Email me at susie at maclife dot com, and I'll do my best to answer them!

Thank you all for reading, for donating, and for making a difference!