Apr 16, 2026
It's not every day that you and your colleagues get an official directive to open suspicious emails promising you $250 each.
But that's what happened to nearly 6,000 teachers in San Francisco United School District (SFUSD) (1) this month, all of whom received digital gift cards (2) via their work emails.
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A benefactor who works in the tech sector sent them a message promising every one of them free money. At first, they treated it as spam.
Then they got a message from a local foundation that raises money for public schools SPARK SF Public Schools. Foundation president Ginny Fang confirmed the emails were legitimate and told the teachers to open the emails and claim the cash.
"That has been the hardest thing," Fang explained to the San Francisco Chronicle (3). "I'm like 'Please, click on it!'"
The donor, who wished to remain anonymous, made a $1.6 million gift to SPARK to be split among all educators so they could use the money for something they need for their classrooms.
"I'm kind of aware of how hard it is to be a teacher," the benefactor said in an exclusive interview with the Chronicle. "Hopefully they will feel seen and appreciated. That's my goal here."
How teachers are struggling to stock classrooms
The National Education Association reports that most educators across the country use their own money to buy supplies, and other needs for their students. On average, they spend (4) between $500 and $900 on things like paper, pencils, markers, subscriptions, snacks, cleaning supplies, and more.
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Teachers can take advantage of a tax deduction of up to $300 for qualifying classroom supplies (5) but many spend much more than this and are never reimbursed.
And with the teachers' salaries averaging $72,030 (or $46,526 for new hires) (6), they unfortunately don't have much extra cash to dole out.
In fact, the same 6,000 SFUSD teachers who received the digital gift cards went on strike in February demanding better wages, health benefits and resources for special needs students (7).
The strike lasted less than one week with a tentative agreement reached on February 13, 2026 and students back in class on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 (8).
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How donors can help support teachers and student needs
Even if you don't have $1.6 million to donate to 6,000 teachers, you can still help them create a better learning environment for students,
You can support one or more teachers through a "Clear Your List" (9) campaign via Get Your Teach On — which acts like a gift registry for educators. Teachers create wishlists of items they need for their classrooms via Amazon and other suppliers. These campaigns are often promoted in August with the lead-up to a fresh school year.
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The websites Get Your Teach On and The Wishlist Finder have searchable databases that connect you directly to a teacher's wishlist so you can help them clear one or more items.
Get Your Teach On was launched in 2021 and just three years later featured more than 68,000 teachers' wishlists, with 139 recent wishlists (10) added between Jan. 1 and April 15 this year.
Teacher Sarah Stair (11) started the Wishlist Finder. USA Today reported that actress Kristen Bell supported The Wishlist Finder by gifting Stair $25,000 last August to help clear teachers' wishlists ahead of the 2025-26 school year. (12)
Or you may want to do something closer to home, with a direct contribution to a local school. Even a little bit goes a long way.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
People (1, 2); San Francisco Chronicle (3); National Education Association (4),(6); Internal Revenue Service (5); PBS (7); San Francisco Unified School District (8); Get Your Teach On (9),(10); The Wishlist Finder (11); USA Today (12)
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Joanna Sinclair is an engagement editor for Moneywise. She holds a B.A. in Professional Writing from York University and has been working in digital media for nearly two decades.
