Corporate gifting is a strategic and thoughtful way of showing appreciation to customers, employees and business partners. It doesn’t just have to be at the end of the year, it can be for birthdays, quarterly awards/rewards, appreciation, welcome, anniversaries and retirement. Not every gift needs to be over the top either. With an array of price ranges and promo options, gifts can be a small welcome tote bag of goodies or an elaborate gift set. It’s a physical way to show gratitude for the work, sacrifices and success that others have brought to companies and organizations. For industries like education, and specifically teachers and professors, gifting when paired with verbal appreciation will create an impression that will remain and could be the catalyst for a lasting relationship with a school or college. Retention and happy teachers are a recipe for long-term success.

Why Teachers?

In the past two years, teachers have become one of the top underappreciated professions throughout the U.S. The average U.S. teacher makes $65-67K annually, while teachers who work in inner cities like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for example, can make as low as $44K. Teachers also spend an average of $750 out of pocket on their classrooms, not including the amount of money parents and guardians have to spend to fill the gap between what teacher can and cannot provide.

During the pandemic teachers had to abruptly adjust the way they teach. Many teachers also battled issues of students not having adequate resources, like internet access or lack of food in the home, making it exponentially hard to teach languages, ABCs or even something like how to tie shoes. The number one battle teachers faced was a lack of support and funding for their virtual and in-person classrooms. Remind your education clients, there is no better time than now to show teachers the appreciation they deserve and have been asking for.

Where to Start

The key to gifting is providing products that the recipient wants. For example, gifting a lunchbox to a teacher might come from a great place but can’t be appreciated if there are other items the teacher asked for. No matter the audience, listening to what people want and then meeting that need will make an even longer lasting impression and appreciation than just any gift – especially for typically underappreciated and underfunded communities. When raises and promotions aren’t possible, lessening stress by meeting other needs is just the thing.

Let’s take a look at what teachers spend the most on. Tell schools, learning centers and colleges to gift these items to faculty if they want to improve productivity, morale and retention.

• Non-consumable supplies: It’s not unfamiliar to hear the annual complaints from parents of the ever-growing laundry list of items they must buy their kids because the schools no longer provide them. This is typically due to the lack of government resources and large-scale budget cuts plaguing school districts, forcing many teachers to pay out of pocket for essentials that the general public might assume are provided. For many teachers, gifting items they normally buy will provide a sturdy base to build their classroom:
  • Books
  • Curriculum
  • Software
• Prizes and rewards: Recent studies show young children learn better with positive reinforcement rather than emphasizing mistakes to fix. Prizes and rewards also make a great goal incentive for long-term projects, learning activities and behavioral plans. Present reward items like:
  • Award ribbons
  • Medallions
  • Challenge coins
  • Trophies
• Food/snacks: Snacks are important for teachers to have on hand for students who may have missed breakfast, are getting picked up later and especially for teachers who teach in low-income areas where students are not always fortunate enough to be food secure. A great example of how some teachers provide food or snacks to students is through care closets. Food and snacks are also a great gift for teachers for themselves, between coaching, club advising and other activities, having extra snacks helps keep them going. Life skills teachers sometimes have their students sell food and snacks to other students and faculty to learn about basic transactions.
• Consumable supplies: Teachers go through an endless amount of consumable supplies each semester and year, and either buy these supplies themselves or ask parents to. Teachers are frustrated they have to spend more of their own money, or parents are frustrated schools and teachers aren’t providing basic supplies. Alleviate frustration by suggesting these to your clients:
  • Writing instruments (pencils, pens, highlighters, styluses)
  • Notebooks and journals
  • Bookmarks
  • Coloring books
• Organizational items: The key to any classroom operating as efficiently as possible is organization. Teachers will appreciate and happily use items that can help them (and their students) stay on task:
  • Paper trays
  • Desk organizing kits
  • Desk caddies
  • Sticky notes and flags
• Classroom décor: Effective teaching often has a lot to do with positive learning environments. Classrooms are often bare, cement and gloomy. When students homelives are unstable, the world seems too stressful or they’re combating social anxiety, coming into a welcoming environment where they can learn and socialize with other kids can provide relief and comfort. Some items to suggest:
  • Signs, banners and charts
  • Balloons
  • Garden kits
  • Charts
  • Prize wheel
• Cleaning & first aid supplies: Between spills, sports and sickness, having the best and proper tools to handle any mess is key. Pitch these items:
  • Alcohol wipes and disinfectant wipes
  • Paper towels
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Tissues
  • First aid kits
  • Bandages
  • Sunscreen
  • Lip balm
  • Masks
  • Gloves

How to Distribute

Tell clients that the items mentioned can be gifted individually or put together in a kit. All of these items can’t always be branded but adjacent products are available. For example curriculum and software can’t be branded but bookmarks and coloring books are available to be added to any classroom library and activity center. Gifting could also include half of a personal and half useful gifts. For instance, the lunchbox previously mentioned could still be a great gift if it was then filled with useful classroom items. This can show support for the classroom and appreciation for the teacher – the best of both worlds.

Teachers are helping every student across the U.S. and world. Making sure they are given the appreciation they deserve after the past two years is a way to keep teachers teaching when there is a major social push to leave teaching due to the lack of appreciation. It’s not too late for schools and college institutions to show appreciation, so remind your clients to make sure the roughly 3.5 million teachers across the U.S. know how important they are to the structure of the future.