Educators at San Francisco Unified School District will each be receiving a $250 gift card from an anonymous local benefactor who wanted to convey how much they’re appreciated.

The anonymous donor, who lives in San Francisco and works in the tech industry, donated a total of $1.6 million to the almost 6,000 teachers, teachers’ aides, and other educators employed by the district, totaling about $250 each after administrative fees, as the Chronicle reports.

“My salary is more than the budget of many schools,” the donor said. “I think that says a lot about our society that we compensate (a tech worker) in orders of magnitude higher than the highest paid teacher.      

The donor first contacted the school district’s nonprofit foundation, Spark SF Public Schools, about the gift in November.

Educators reportedly received an email about the donations Thursday informing them to expect a message in the near future with a link to redeem their electronic gift cards with no strings attached.

The donor told the Chronicle the aim for the donation was to help counteract some of the negativity surrounding the education system in recent years.  

“Hopefully they will feel seen and appreciated,” they said. “That’s my goal here.”

Spark disperses around $16 million annually from a range of donors and helps pair philanthropic funding with the district’s various programs and wish lists addressing issues like absenteeism, literacy, and mental health. The donor told the Chronicle they appreciated how Spark gave them the ability to give directly to educators.

Spark President Ginny Fang said she hoped the donation will inspire other wealthy residents to donate.

“This is about inspiring and letting other people we believe are out there the ability to give,” she said. “There’s so much wealth in our city.”

Some specific needs that Fang listed, per the Chronicle, include marketing campaign help and assistance with AI regulation and policy. Funding for enrichment programs and other extracurricular activities is also needed on an ongoing basis.

Image: Spark SF Public Schools/Facebook