Giving to Athens City Schools
Athens City Schools appreciates the support of our parents, community and business partners. We are fortunate to enjoy tremendous generosity from the Athens community in the form of donations. There are several ways to donate to our schools, and we have established guidelines to make the process consistent, transparent, open and accountable.

Ways to Give
There are several ways to give to support our schools, individual classrooms, projects and more. You can choose one of the following:

• Donate to the Athens City Schools Foundation to help fund the Teacher Classroom Grant Program. The Foundation is a 501(c) nonprofit organization supporting teachers and students in ACS since 1994. 
• Choose a classroom or project to support from the official ACS LeanStream Needs Gallery.
• Participate in the LeanStream WiFi on the Go portable hotspot program and a portion of your hotspot subscription is donated to the school of your choice each month.
• Donate to an individual classroom or project through DonorsChoose.org.

About LeanStream and the Needs Gallery 
Athens City Schools uses a service called LeanStream as our primary classroom fundraising platform. LeanStream is a district authorized, centralized hub for fundraising that provides transparency and accountability for donors, teachers and the district.  The Needs Gallery Portal promotes teacher and student-driven projects. For teachers and students, the Portal provides a user-friendly platform for professionalized solicitation of funds and centralized administration and visibility. For the community and charitable donors, the Portal facilitates real-time exposure of project-based learning initiatives and District needs, while optimizing transparency and accountability

Simply choose a classroom or project that inspires you and give any amount. All donations go toward district-approved projects and classroom needs. 

Contributions to Needs Gallery projects may be deductible for purposes of calculating Federal and State income taxes. However, donors are encouraged to consult with a tax professional for deductibility. The District does not accept responsibility erroneous or otherwise improper application of charitable donations in personal or corporate tax filings.

Unless otherwise designated, assets generated by and through the LeanStream Needs Gallery and Annual Campaign Portals are expendable at the discretion of the District superintendent, subject to applicable State and Federal Laws and in accordance with Board Policy.

Teacher Signup Information
Teachers in Athens City Schools interested in collecting donations for a classroom, project or other need must contact their school administrator to submit a Needs Gallery request or a DonorsChoose.org request for approval. Athens City Schools does not endorse the use of other third-party donation solicitation platforms, sites or services other than LeanStream and DonorsChoose.org.

Athens City Schools Foundation Teacher Classroom Grant Program applications are accepted in the spring of each school year for the upcoming school year. These grants are funded in the fall of each new school year. To learn more about Teacher Classroom Grants from the Foundation, please contact Dr. Chris Hamilton, Executive Director of the Athens City Schools Foundation.