Founded in San Jose in 1994, RAFT turns surplus materials into hands-on, standards-aligned learning for educators and families everywhere.
RAFT is a nonprofit that makes hands-on STEAM learning affordable for every classroom. Businesses and individuals donate surplus materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill, and we turn them into low-cost learning kits and classroom supplies.
Reusing donated materials is the foundation of all our programming. Every kit we sell, every camp we run, and every workshop we teach starts with those donated materials and the volunteers who sort and assemble them. Give a student something real to build, and the learning sticks.
What guides everything we make and do.
We serve the education community with accountability, honesty, ethics, and fairness.
We bring together educators, volunteers, corporations, and donors to accelerate hands-on learning.
Our reuse of surplus materials has a positive impact on the local and global environment.
Our approach to hands-on learning sparks curiosity, exploration, and the joy of discovery.
of material kept out of landfills every year
educators supported annually
classroom STEAM idea sheets
serving Bay Area classrooms
We provide low-cost STEAM materials, makerspace support, and professional development for thousands of educators and their students.
