Trolley Car Teachers Fund

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Since around 2010, the Trolley Car Diner (now closed) has run a small charity called the Trolley Car Teachers’ Fund. Using a combination of diner proceeds and personal donations, the fund distributes about $25,000 a year in small grants to local public school teachers.

More than nine in 10 teachers say they spend out of their own pockets to outfit their classrooms, with the average educator plunking down $479 annually. Lots of teachers don’t have the wherewithal to write complex grant applications, much less the track record of success that major givers often want to see.

For many of those educators, the Trolley Car Teachers’ Fund has been a middle step between the worlds of self-funding and philanthropy.

Note:  The above descriptive information was adapted from a WHYY article.

In The News

• Thanks to this program for teachers, a distinctive Philly diner will live on after its closure, WHYY, February 17, 2020.