For everyone who had a great teacher

Thank the teachers who shaped you. With every paycheck.

Set aside a percentage or a flat amount from each paycheck, split it between the teachers who changed your life, and we hand it straight to them.

Start giving Find a teacher
  • Flat 1% fee, shown before every charge
  • Teachers pay nothing to receive
  • Change, pause or cancel any time
  • Payments and payouts handled by Stripe
Worked examplePaid every two weeks

One payday, three teachers

Take-home paycheck
$2,500.00
You set aside 1%
$25.00

Split between 3 teachers$24.75

  • Ms. Alvarez · 50% $12.38
  • Mr. Whitfield · 30% $7.42
  • Ms. Kowalski · 20% $4.95

The charge, in fullCard

Your gift
$25.00
Payment processing (you cover it)
$1.06
PayMyTeacher fee (1%)
$0.25
You are charged
$26.06
Your teachers receive
$24.75

Card payment with processing covered, so the whole gift arrives. PayMyTeacher keeps $0.25 — a flat 1% — and nothing else.

Where things stand today

  • 106,163
    US public schools and colleges in the directory
The mechanic

How the money moves

From your paycheck to your teachers' own bank accounts, with the one fee we take marked in the middle.

How a paycheck gift is split A $2,500.00 take-home paycheck. You set aside 1%, which is $25.00. PayMyTeacher keeps $0.25. The remaining $24.75 is split between 3 teachers: Ms. Alvarez 50 percent, $12.38; Mr. Whitfield 30 percent, $7.42; Ms. Kowalski 20 percent, $4.95. YOUR PAYCHECK $2,500.00 take-home, every payday you set aside 1% YOUR GIFT $25.00 PayMyTeacher fee −$0.25 to your teachers $24.75 A Ms. Alvarez 50% of the gift $12.38 W Mr. Whitfield 30% of the gift $7.42 K Ms. Kowalski 20% of the gift $4.95 How a paycheck gift is split A $2,500.00 take-home paycheck. You set aside 1%, which is $25.00. PayMyTeacher keeps $0.25. The remaining $24.75 is split between 3 teachers: Ms. Alvarez 50 percent, $12.38; Mr. Whitfield 30 percent, $7.42; Ms. Kowalski 20 percent, $4.95. YOUR PAYCHECK $2,500.00 take-home, every payday you set aside 1% YOUR GIFT $25.00 PayMyTeacher fee −$0.25 to your teachers $24.75 A Ms. Alvarez 50% of the gift $12.38 W Mr. Whitfield 30% of the gift $7.42 K Ms. Kowalski 20% of the gift $4.95
Every figure here is the same worked example as the receipt above: $2,500.00 take-home, 1% set aside, $0.25 to us, $24.75 to teachers.

Find your teachers

Search the directory for the teachers who made a difference. Not listed yet? Add them in a minute and we will invite them to claim their profile.

Choose your amount

Give a percentage of each paycheck or a flat amount, then split it between your teachers however you like. Adjust it any time.

We deliver it on payday

Stripe collects your gift on your pay schedule. We send each teacher's share to their own bank account, along with your note.

See the details and try the calculator
Why paychecks

The people who inspire us rarely see the return.

Teachers are underpaid for the work they do, and the students they set on a path usually drift out of touch. The lesson sticks; the thank-you never arrives.

A small, steady gift from the people you taught changes that. It is not charity and it is not a tip. It is a share of what you helped make possible, delivered on the same day you get paid.

Out of pocket
Many teachers buy classroom supplies with their own money. A steady gift helps cover it without a fundraiser.
Rarely thanked
Teachers seldom hear how things turned out. Every gift carries your note, so they do.
It adds up
A few dollars a paycheck from a handful of former students becomes real money over a school year.

“You taught me to ask better questions. Twenty years later I still do. Thank you.”

Example of a note a supporter might leave. Notes travel with every gift.

For teachers

Your former students want to find you.

Claiming a profile takes a few minutes. Once you are verified, gifts and notes come straight to you.

  • Claim your profile. Search for yourself, click “This is me”, and verify with ID.me. Most teachers are done in under a minute.
  • Verified, so people trust it. Only confirmed teachers receive gifts. Impersonation gets nowhere.
  • No fees to receive. Nothing is deducted from your share when it is paid out.
  • Weekly payouts. Gifts go to your own bank account through Stripe.
  • Read the notes. Every gift can carry a message from the person who sent it.
How it works for teachers Find my profile
Transparency

Where every dollar goes

The same $25.00 gift as above, paid by card with processing covered. No hidden margin, no upsell, no tips on top.

Of the $26.06 charged to you

94.97% to teachers 0.96% PayMyTeacher 4.07% card processing
$24.75
To your teachers, split by your allocations and paid to their own bank accounts.
$0.25
PayMyTeacher fee (1%). Keeps the site running. That is all we take.
$1.06
Payment processing. Stripe's charge for moving the money, not ours.

Common questions

The short version. The full FAQ has more.

How much do people usually give?

Whatever fits. Many supporters start with around 1% of a paycheck or a flat amount like $10 to $25 per payday, then split it between two or three teachers. You can change the amount or the split whenever you like.

What if my teacher is not on PayMyTeacher yet?

Add them. Give us their name and school, and an email if you have one, and we will invite them. You can promise a gift while you wait: we save what you entered, nothing is charged and no card is kept. When they join, we email you and you send it yourself in a couple of clicks.

Is this a donation?

No. Gifts through PayMyTeacher are personal gifts to individual teachers, not charitable donations, so they are not tax-deductible. Teachers are responsible for their own taxes; the FAQ sets out what that does and does not mean.

Read the full FAQ

Somebody believed in you before you believed in yourself.

Set up your paycheck gift once. Every payday after that, a teacher who mattered gets a share, and a note that says you remember.

Start giving Find a teacher