UPDATED
A few months ago I learnt of the existence of Rocket Fund, which is a platform that UK schools can use to help them raise money for education technology. I thought it sounded like an interesting idea, something like Kickstarter but specifically geared to education.
I asked Cleo Fatoorehchi, Operations Commander at Rocket Fund, to tell me more. Here’s what she wrote:
Rocket Fund is a crowdfunding platform for schools. It modernises school fundraising, empowering schools to raise money from businesses and their community more efficiently. It helps teachers bring technology in the classroom by offering match funding to school tech projects. Any UK school is eligible to use the platform, including independent schools and private schools. The only restriction is that independent and private schools cannot receive “Rocket Boosts”.
So far Rocket Fund has helped 300 schools raise over £200,000.
Its next wave of projects will launch on 25 February 2019, and the first 20 projects to raise £250 will receive a £250 Rocket Boost.
Look out for announcements on the Rocket Fund home page, or sign up to their newsletter.
Rocket Fund has been created by Nesta, the innovation foundation, which backs new ideas to tackle the big challenges of our time. Nesta is a UK charity and works all over the world.
Here are a few quotes from users:
"Rocket Fund was a great way to involve parents in raising much needed money for Computing resources." - Ms. Willemse, Great Chart School
"Fab idea that allowed us to get some much needed tech into school at no cost to ourselves. Had improved engagement and outcomes for children and also acted as a great way to engage parents in the campaign." - Ms. Stawman, Courtwood School
"Rocket Fund was a great experience from the very start for me and the children in the class. Staff at Rocket Fund were helpful and encouraging, offering advice and ideas to improve our application. It is something I would do again as we now have technology that otherwise we wouldn't have!" - Ms. Anderson, Dunblane Primary School
Terry here again. Do check out Rocket Fund. The website has lots of examples of projects going on, which will give you a good idea of the kind of things schools have been trying to raise money for, and where they want to use their eventual purchases if they are successful. It looks pretty straightforward to create a project to get started. Good luck!