We've been happy in recent months to get to know Charles Best, a former teacher in the New York City public schools who founded a nonprofit called DonorsChoose that makes great use of the Web.

DonorsChoose enables you to bring a classroom project to life—a reading corner, a field trip, a computer lab, or whatever most inspires you. Search for a state, ZIP code or topic and you'll see specific projects you can support. The Omidyar Network, an early investor in FM, is supporting the effort, and it's already paying off for kids and teachers all over the United States.

We’re so excited about their upcoming Blogger Challenge that we’ve distributed a philanthropic gift certificate to each FM author, so they can fund the classroom projects of their choice and then encourage their readers to help out.

We’re also sponsoring an award for the bloggers (FM or not -- open to all) who come up with the most creative incentive for their readers to give. So see what you can do with your passionate readers!