How Do We Do It

How Do We Do it?

When a teacher or donor first hears about our program we're usually asked how we keep our business running since our service is free to teachers and at a relatively low cost to our donors.

In 2003, Jerry Hall, the founder and executive director of iLoveSchools.com, used profits from his ongoing web design business to fund this nonprofit. He wanted to emulate a website he discovered back in 2000, (PENCIL), which exclusively serves New York City schools) and provide that same service to teachers across the country. This type of for-profit/non-profit collaboration is commonly referred to as a social-enterprise (it is not unusual for a for-profit business to create a non-profit entity). Hall intended to use subsequent profits and generous donations to back the non-profit business that he built with the following core principles: the site should forever remain free to teachers and schools; all schools should be served; and, donors should have the right to decide who gets their donation, and how much, if any, of their donation would go to iLoveSchools.com for its administrative costs.

Both businesses suffered as it proved very difficult for them to grow simultaneously over the first six years. It was especially frustrating that iLoveSchools.com did not flourish as much as it could have, meaning that teachers and schoolchildren were not best served

By 2007, Hall decided to form a school supply company with the intent to apply the retail profits toward generating income and sustaining iLoveSchools.com, as well as allow him to own equity in a company that would replace his existing web-design business. In June 2008, Hall created the for-profit business School Supply Drive, LLC, an online school supply and specialized products/services ecommerce store-SchoolSupplyDrive.com SchoolSupplyDrive.com.

Built into I Love Schools, Inc.'s growth strategy-in exchange for significantly investing in the the new iLoveSchools.com website and its daily operations for the past year-SchoolSupplyDrive.com currently acts as the nonprofit's exclusive online store for a set period of time. Now when teachers create WishLists on iLoveSchools.com, they have the option of shopping through the online store, seamlessly powered by SchoolSupplyDrive.com, or creating custom WishLists for items not found in the store. SchoolSupplyDrive.com also sells school and office equipment, materials and supplies to the general public. In either case, a varying and significant percentage of the gross profits from these sales is given to iLoveSchools.com on an un-restricted basis to be channeled toward its operational costs.

Terms of this relationship, heavily favoring iLoveSchools.com, allow the organization to do its work without significantly changing its core charitable model: providing an online forum where teachers can ask for anything they need at absolutely zero cost, and donors can direct donations to the teacher, school or district of their choice and decide how much, if any, they will contribute to iLoveSchools.com's administrative costs.

The success of SchoolSupplyDrive.com promotes iLoveSchools.com toward sustainable level while returning a reasonable profit to both Hall and private investors who funded this endeavor. Without the vision and financial support of these investors, I Love Schools, Inc. would not be able to serve America's schools and tens of thousands of teachers it does today.

Since its inception iLoveSchools.com is the first and only national non-profit matching America's donors with any school or teacher needing new or used donations of school equipment, materials, supplies and in-kind services. All at zero cost to the teachers and allowing the donor to select both the recipient teacher as well as how much, if any, financial support is given to iLoveSchools.com to run the non-profit.

We Need You

Since its inception, iLoveSchools.com is the first and only national nonprofit matching America's donors with any school or teacher needing new or used donations of school equipment, materials, supplies and in-kind services. This is accomplished at zero cost to the teachers and allows the donor to select both the recipient teacher as well as how much, if any, financial support is given to iLoveSchools.com to run the nonprofit.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Jerry Hall directly by clicking here.

Thank you very much!