This document discusses analyzing over 50,000 past projects on DonorsChoose to determine which variables correlate with a project's chance of success in getting funded. It finds that total cost under $350 increases the likelihood of getting funded by 10-15% if the cost is over $550. Using the DonorsChoose giving pages can increase the chance of success by up to 40%. Posting the project in the first semester increases the chance by 10%. Art is a favored subject focus. 150 donors covered 50% of the over 250,000 projects analyzed.

1. What do
?
What we can learn from analyzing
more than 50 thousands past projects
Roozbeh
Davari

3. LA in The Last 10 Years:

4. LA in The Last 10 Years:
“3rd least funded”

5. LA in The Last 10 Years:
“3rd least funded”
How can we do better?

6. Which variables correlate with the chance of
Success

7. Which variables correlate with the chance of
Success

8. Which variables correlate with the chance of
Success

9. Which variables correlate with the chance of
Success

10. Which variables correlate with the chance of
Success
Not Accessible

11. Employing The Wonderful
Machine Learning

12. Employing The Wonderful
Machine Learning
Random forests:
assess variable importance
Gradient Boosting:
More exhaustive Search —> Sanity Check
Logistic Regression:
Easily interpretable —> Quantify the effects

13. Which actionable variables correlate with the chance of
Success

14. Which actionable variables correlate with the chance of
Success

16. Which actionable variables correlate with the chance of
Success

17. Total Cost < $350: if more than $550,
10-15% less likely to get funded
Spread the word (Giving Pages): up to
40% more chance
Post in first semester: 10% more chance
Favored Focus Subject: Art
…
Which actionable variables correlate with the chance of
Success

18. 150 (out of 250K) Donors Covered 50%

19. Roozbeh Davari
PhD Candidate in astrophysics
More information on this project at
github.com/roozbehdavari/InsightsFromDonorsChoose