"I love constructing stuff and feeling like, either figuratively or literally, you can put your hands on something you conceived of and designed and built."
Given the hundreds of thank you letters that pour into his Manhattan office each and every day, it's plain to see why Charles Best feels this way about what he built with DonorsChoose -- the crowdfunding site that helps public school teachers find funding for resources and projects.
Best founded DonorsChoose in 2000, unknowingly becoming a part of the group of startups that pioneered the now-flourishing crowdfunding movement. The site has played an important role in bringing important issues about the lack of funding in public education to light and has, to date, raised almost $400 million for public education.