I wished more of my teacher friends used these sites. One of my friends uses DonorsChose each summer to get books for her classroom and I think it's great. I know how limited some school budgets are and would love to help them out. One of my close friends works for the city and it's very well known in the media that they've had a bunch of budget cuts. I wish she would create an account so I can regularly donate to her and her class. I know there are friends who live and work in wealthier or more funded school districts and maybe may not feel the need to crowdsource.

Is is frown upon as a teacher to do this?

In the past, I usually just give my friend cash but since I'm out of state, I sent it to her electronically through PayPal. Unfortunately, the payment got returned. I think maybe her husband has to accept it. I told her it was coming.
Maybe I'll just send her a check from now on.