GiveThx creates positive relationships and inclusive school communities where all students feel safe, valued, and connected.

Contact Us to Learn More

About Us

Increase belonging one thank you at a time.

Request a demoLearn More
GiveThx logo
Students laughing

Our Vision

We envision a world where all schools are safe, equitable, and inclusive and where all students have the social, emotional, and academic skills to thrive.

Our Values

  • Safety
  • Inclusion
  • Equity
  • Belonging
  • Gratitude

Our Story

GiveThx was developed in 2017 for and with students in low-income, high-trauma communities. At the time, GiveThx founder, Mike Fauteux was a high school math classroom teacher in California. Looking to support students who were significantly behind and struggling to catch up, he asked students three key questions: What do you need to feel safe? What do you need to feel like you belong? What do you need to feel like you can succeed? From their answers, the GiveThx program was born. 

The program was designed to center equity and inclusion. While GiveThx benefits all students, it aims to make those who feel most marginalized--most unseen and unsafe--feel included, worthy, and valued. Unlike social media platforms, where everyone can see who is being included, excluded, and bullied on the digital playground, GiveThx’s notes hinge on private and positive peer-to-peer engagement. The one-on-one messages allow students to build community through confidential notes of appreciation.

After engaging in early GiveThx practices, Mike’s students reported feeling happier, developing stronger relationships with their peers and teachers, and building a deeper sense of self. It became clear that strengthening social emotional skills through gratitude improved student belonging and school culture. This led, in turn, to better academic outcomes and increased engagement in school.

In 2018, Mike partnered with co-founders Amara Humphry and Javier Perez to bring these early prototypes to life through the GiveThx app. They are committed to creating easy, flexible, and equitable ways to integrate social emotional skill-building into schools through gratitude and technology.




Core Team & Advisors

Fauteux Headshot

Michael Fauteux

Executive Director, Co-founder

“Feeling seen and appreciated is essential for learning and growth. And I love a good thank you note.”

Mike is a co-founder of GiveThx. His career has been committed to increasing equity in education. He has taught math, been an administrator, and served as an innovation leader in middle and high schools. Mike co-created several edtech innovations designed to create more equitable learning. He believes that effective tools must be created with, by, and for students and educators.

Humphry Headshot

Amara Humphry

Product Director, Co-founder

"I do my best work when I feel like I belong. Every student deserves that opportunity."

Amara is a co-founder of GiveThx. She is a social entrepreneur with strong education and technology leadership expertise. She has a unique combination of embedded work with K-12 schools and leadership of global design and engineering teams. Amara has co-founded two education non-profits and is committed to designing technology for students and teachers who need it the most.

Javier Headshot

Javier Pérez

Engineering Director, Co-founder

"Social emotional learning is key for all us to lead healthier, happier lives."

Javier is a co-founder of GiveThix. He is a technical manager and software architect with broad experience managing teams and implementing enterprise solutions. He is the founding partner of Edify, a software company with 20 years of experience building K-12 and higher-ed products for companies like MacMillan and Kaplan. He dedicates his tech expertise to creating social impact.

Waters Headshot

Dr. Louise Waters

Advisor & Board Member

“Students learn best when they are meaningfully connected to other students & adults.”

Dr. Waters has worked in education for more than 45 years, specializing in schools that accelerate the learning of students of poverty and color, including the targeted use of technology.  Prior to retiring in 2019, she was the Superintendent of Leadership Public Schools and former Associate Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District. 

Erika Somogyi

Business Manager

“Feeling valued, safe, and included in any community is important, but even more so in schools.”

Erika Somogyi has worked in the field of education for over 15 years as a teacher, administrator, and EdTech leader. Trained in ESL and Montessori pedagogy, Erika is passionate about creating school cultures emphasizing student well-being. She has presented at both national and international conferences on topics related to educational leadership. She firmly believes that efficacious learning is deeply linked to student confidence and the ability to successfully navigate social emotional skills.

Bono Headshot

Dr. Giacomo Bono

Advisor & Researcher

The beauty of practicing gratitude is that it promotes wellbeing to benefit an entire community."

Dr. Bono is an Associate Professor of Psychology at California State University Dominguez Hills and core gratitude researcher at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. Dr. Bono is co-author of Making Grateful Kids: The Science of Building Character (2015) and director of the Youth Gratitude Project – a research program that promotes student success and wellness in primary and secondary schools.


Contributors

Lauren Jaecks

Creative Consultant

Gina Morris

Strategy & Operations

Viviana Pérez Salgado

Quality Assurance

Levitt Headshot

Dr. Kate Levitt

Fundraising

Braulio Castro

Software Engineer

Julio Arias

Devops Architect

Jon Hume

Business Development

Kevin Paniagua

Software Engineer

Gazelle Javantash

Marketing

Alejandro Bonilla

Quality Assurance

Shoshana Wineburg

Communications

Dr. Amy Alamar

School programs

José Carvajal

Software Engineer

David Umaña

Software Engineer

Sung Jae Moon

Software Engineer

Emmanuel Alfaro

Software Engineer

Luis Rojas

Software Engineer

Amy Filsinger

Customer Success Manager

Yosefin Solano

Software Engineer

This is good for the product page.

Help students build belonging and do good stuff.

Social-Emotional Learning with Gratitude

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Consectetur adipiscing elit.

Nurture Relationships and Self-esteem

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Consectetur adipiscing elit.

Increase Equity & Belonging in your classroom and school

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Consectetur adipiscing elit.

Dashboard

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. 

Custom Rules

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. 

Presets

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. 

Metrics

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. 

Plans & Pricing

No credit card required. No risk, 30-day money back guarantee!

Starter

$15 /month
500 Data Points
1 Team Member
Email Support
IOS and Android App
Customizable Dashboard
Metric API
Choose Plan

Professional

$30 /month
2000 Data Points
1 Team Member
Email Support
IOS and Android App
Customizable Dashboard
Metric API
Choose Plan

Startup

$75 /month
5000 Data Points
3 Team Member
Email Support
IOS and Android App
Customizable Dashboard
Metric API
Choose Plan

Business

$250 /month
15000 Data Points
10 Team Member
Priority Support
IOS and Android App
Customizable Dashboard
Metric API
Choose Plan
Need more Data Points or Team Members? Please contact us.

Student & Teacher Voice

“Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum.”

Kyle Killit
Designer at Tiempo Labs

“Ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna”

Sergie Kalashnikov
CEO at BentoBox

“Nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum.”

Bryant Chou
CTO at Slapper Labs

GiveThx is grateful for the support of the following organizations