During the pandemic, I founded a company that provided COVID testing to over 400 K-12 schools and universities across the U.S. It was heartbreaking to see the gap between what schools and teachers wanted to provide to their communities and what their budgets could actually support—even with Federal and State funding.

Back then, the focus was on masks and online classroom technology. Today, while life has largely returned to normal, the lingering effects of COVID coupled with budget cuts, continue to put schools, teachers, and students in serious distress.

So we started thinking about other ways to help schools fund their vital programs. State and Federal funding is limited, and donations can only go so far, but what if there was a way to support schools by better leveraging the purchases people are already planning to make? Imagine a bake sale—but for hundreds of in-demand products.

We got to work. By partnering directly with manufacturers who share our mission, we created a catalog of premium-quality products. This approach allowed us to give back five times more to schools compared to working with big-box brands. We also kept costs as low as possible and made it easy for schools to sign up with no fees.

Now, schools and communities across the U.S. are using Bakesale year-round to fund incredible projects and get resources to where they’re needed most.