## You don’t change a community with a check. You change it with action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fifteen years ago, Dolan Toyota made a bet on the people who shape our kids every single day \u2014 the teachers \u2014 and we never stopped. The Dolan Class Project began with one simple conviction: that real change in Northern Nevada wouldn’t come from writing a check and walking away. It would come from showing up, every year, for the people doing the hardest, most important work in our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
## The problem we couldn’t ignore<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teachers give first. Across the country, they reach into their own pockets for the basics \u2014 classroom technology, books, everyday supplies. They quietly cover the gap, because their students can’t wait for a budget that may never come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the help rarely reaches them. When donations flow to a school district, the generosity too often stalls in the system \u2014 absorbed before it ever reaches the individual classroom doing the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So Dolan Toyota asked a simple question: **what if the giving skipped the system entirely?<\/strong>**<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## Our decision: give where it’s felt<\/p>\n\n\n\n We decided to put the money directly into the hands of teachers, so they could use it immediately, right where it mattered most. No district office. No paperwork. No waiting. That one idea became the Dolan Class Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## How it works<\/p>\n\n\n\n A whole community rallies in support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. **Teachers submit a video.<\/strong>** In a classroom category and a school category, teachers share what they’d fund \u2014 and a community project their students will lead if they win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. **The community votes.<\/strong>** Neighbors, families, and residents vote for the entries they believe in most. The most votes win, turning local giving into a regional event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. **Checks are hand-delivered.<\/strong>** Dolan Toyota visits every winning classroom and school in person to deliver the check and celebrate with the teachers and students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## Winning isn’t the end of the giving. It’s the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To enter, every classroom presents a community project of its own \u2014 a way to pass the generosity forward. When a class receives, it also gives. Students don’t just benefit from kindness; they get to participate in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## The ripple effect \u2014 one gift, multiplied across the whole community<\/p>\n\n\n\n The student-led projects reach far beyond the classroom walls. By giving back as part of the submission process, students experience the power of generosity firsthand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **Letters to veterans<\/strong>** \u2014 students have written to thank veterans for their service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **Food bank drives<\/strong>** \u2014 classrooms have gathered and donated food to neighbors in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **And every year, more<\/strong>** \u2014 new ideas, born from kids discovering they can make their corner of the world better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The giving multiplies \u2014 and the students carry it forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## Spotlights<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some built gardens, some built robots, some fed the hungry. Together, we made a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **Caughlin Ranch Elementary<\/strong>** \u2014 Community Garden<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **Little Flower Elementary<\/strong>** \u2014 Community Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **Virginia City High<\/strong>** \u2014 Robotics<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## We don’t mail checks. We show up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every winner gets a surprise visit, a hand-delivered check, and a celebration. The look on a teacher’s face \u2014 someone who has spent years quietly covering costs out of her own paycheck \u2014 is the whole story in a single moment. Fifteen years of those moments. Remembered for a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## Fifteen years of impact<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **$1,100,000<\/strong>** given directly to local classrooms and schools over 15 years \u2014 never to a district office<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **375,000+<\/strong>** community votes cast for projects \u2014 a town that truly shows up<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **900<\/strong>** classrooms and schools have competed for funding<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **15<\/strong>** unbroken years of showing up, every single season<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we’re just getting started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## Why it works \u2014 four things that make it more than a donation<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **Direct.<\/strong>** Money reaches teachers and students themselves \u2014 not paperwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **Community-powered.<\/strong>** Neighbors choose the winners, so the whole region owns it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **Self-multiplying.<\/strong>** Every grant sparks a new act of giving from the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **Built to last.<\/strong>** Fifteen unbroken years \u2014 and growing, not winding down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## 2026 \u2014 the 15th year, our biggest yet<\/p>\n\n\n\n To celebrate fifteen years, 2026 will be the largest single-year giving in the program’s history: **$150,000.<\/strong>**<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **15 classrooms \u2014 $5,000 each<\/strong>**, to fund the tools, books, and supplies their students need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – **3 schools \u2014 $25,000 each<\/strong>** \u2014 one high school, one elementary or middle school, and the next school with the most votes, regardless of type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ## Watch fifteen years of moments<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the very first announcement video to the latest surprise check-delivery, the full archive of recaps and broadcast spots tells the story better than words can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Watch the full video archive on YouTube \u2192](http:\/\/youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLRBPc_CZhe6qQKS6YiU6wX6goGx2LZNMl)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-11","adt_program","type-adt_program","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adolanthing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/adt_program\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adolanthing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/adt_program"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adolanthing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/adt_program"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adolanthing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adolanthing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}