Last year Anil Dash participated in the Donors Choose bloggers challenge. I had heard of Donors Choose before but I had never donated. I wound up donating $50 to help a band class somewhere buy a new tenor saxophone.

After going through the experience of finding a grantee and making my donation, Donors Choose was my new favorite charity. I wound up giving Donors Choose gift certificates as Christmas presents, and making a couple more donations on my own.

Last week, I came home from work one day and found an envelope in my mail box from Donors Choose. It contained a thank you letter from the teacher who requested a grant, photos of the kids in her class, and individual hand written thank you notes from kids in the class as well. It also included an itemized breakdown of how the grant was used.

I already loved Donors Choose before getting the package in the mail, but I was completely overwhelmed afterward. If you have a chance, give Donors Choose a try. You won’t regret it.