The strategy and suggestions below provide ideas for implementing Teachers Know Best at your organization. This is not intended to be prescriptive, rather it's food for thought as you develop your own plan.

Your company will be responsible for:

• Selecting teachers' proposals to fund
• Raising money to cover the proposal(s) you select (this project is cash only, not goods or services)
• Sharing your results with Companies That Care

Companies That Care will:

• Provide a variety of proposals from teachers, ranging from $50 to $2500 in cost
• Offer planning guidance and support to individual companies, by phone or through the Companies That Care Day Ideas Kit
• Offer banners for Companies That Care Day, and other employee recognition promotional materials through the Companies That Care Store
• Track and publicize nationwide results

Step-by-Step Suggestions

1. Review the requirements (above) for the Teachers Know Best initiative and determine whether this initiative is a good fit with your organization.
2. Link to the teachers' proposals at Donors Choose, Inc. (http://www.donorschoose.org/locale0/donors.php) to get a sense of the needs and the associated costs.

Planning

3. Engage your employee community involvement committee if you have one, or set one up.
4. Set a goal for your organization - total number of dollars raised or total number of proposals funded. Be sure your goal is realistic given the size of your organization.
5. Decide whether your company will match the funds collected by employees.
6. Develop criteria to select the proposal(s) your company will fund.
7. Select proposal(s).
8. Plan how to motivate employees (both locally and remotely) to donate money to cover the selected proposals. There are endless possibilities - here are a few suggestions: Employees can wear blue jeans to work if they donate $5; auction goods and services donated by employees; sell raffle tickets and raffle off a great prize; let employees purchase time off in 1/2 hour increments; sell recognition cards and deliver them on Companies That Care Day.
9. Plan an employee communication strategy. Consider holding a kick-off event in celebration of Companies That Care Day.
10. Develop a marketing and PR plan if you want the public to know about your participation in Teachers Know Best.
11. Encourage other area employers to join you in supporting Teachers Know Best.
12. Plan the collection process. Who will be the "keeper" of all the money that is collected? How will employees' contributions flow from the employee to the "keeper"?
13. Plan an acknowledgement for employees who participate. (Employee premiums are available through the Companies That Care Store.) The teachers who are funded will send you photographs and a thank you note after the proposal is implemented. These can be shared with employees.

Implementation

14. Communicate and promote Teachers Know Best. You'll find a sample letter in the Companies That Care Day Ideas Kit. Consider using banners, posters, reminder emails.
15. Hold the kick-off event, if part of your strategy. You may want to focus on several of the 10 Characteristics of Companies That Care.
16. Implement the fundraising activity.
17. If you're interested in media attention, alert the press.

Follow-up

18. Count the funds raised and/or proposals funded.
19. Fund your selected proposal(s) by selecting your proposal (go to http://www.donorschoose.org/locale0/donors.php) and following the instructions to fund the proposal.
20. Measure the collection against pre-set goals and announce results.
21. Notify Companies That Care of your results: marcikoblenz@companies-that-care.org.
22. Acknowledge employees for their participation in a successful initiative.
23. Share the photographs and thank you notes with employees when you receive them from the funded teacher.
24. Consider building an ongoing relationship with the school(s) and teacher(s) your company has just supported. In what ways will you continue to demonstrate your commitment to the educational needs of less-advantaged schools?