STATE TAX CREDIT SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR FAMILIES WITH NEED
In the fall of 2017, the Illinois legislature passed the Invest in Kids Act which provides a 75% Illinois state tax credit for donors who contribute toward scholarships for students from Kindergarten through Senior year in high school. The scholarships cover tuition and certain applicable fees, paid directly to the private school of choice for an Illinois student/family, if the family qualifies and funding is available. Scholarships can potentially cover 50%, 75% or even 100% of tuition, depending on the adjusted gross income and size of the family.
WOULD YOU QUALIFY? Check the chart below.
Note:
If more than eight people in your household, for each additional person, add $4,180 (2017), $4,320 (2018), or $4,420 (2019) to the baseline FPL number for a family of 8 ($41,320 – 2017 or $42,380 – 2018) and then multiply by 1.85, 2.5 and 3 to arrive at the corresponding income limits.
Foster children are deemed to have a household income that does not exceed 185% of the federal poverty level.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Contributions from donors will be made through qualified Scholarship Granting Organizations (Empower Illinois and Big Shoulders), and the scholarships will be awarded through the SGOs beginning sometime in the spring .
The Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools has contracted with Empower Illinois to be the SGO of choice for all of our Catholic Schools. Big Shoulders Fund is also a qualified SGO and, as an applicant through our school, you are asked to complete an application through BOTH SGOs.
Awards will be granted to qualified candidates on a first-come, first-served basis.
Applications for the 2020-21 school year will open in mid-January (see dates below…these are extremely important as you MUST be ready at a working computer with good wifi the second the applications open).
Even once you have applied for a State Tax Credit Scholarship through Empower Illinois and through Big Shoulders Fund SGO, we ask that you ALSO please submit a FACTS Grant and Aid Application as you may not be offered a TCS scholarship.
After April 1, 2020, all other qualifying students will be considered for scholarships, subject to availability of funds.
It is important that you apply through BOTH EMPOWER AND BIG SHOULDERS as there will be a very high demand and applying through both with improve your changes of being awarded the scholarships.
EMPOWER ILLINOIS APPLICATION
We’re excited to announce that reservations for a 2020-2021 Empower Illinois tax credit scholarship will open on Wednesday, January 15, 2020.
This year, the reservation will form will be available at 6:30pm, to give families time to enter their information before submission at 7pm. The reservation will have two pages. On page one, you will enter basic information, such as parent name, student name, and contact information. On page two, you will review this information and click submit. Only after clicking submit on page two will you receive your first come, first-served timestamp.
On January 17, you will be notified by email when part two of the application opens. You can complete this step whenever you are able to ensure accuracy, but we encourage you to submit your application before January 27 for the best chance at receiving a scholarship.
For more information read the the following documents to help prepare for reservation night. They can can also be found on Empower’s website under “How Do I Apply.”
If you need assistance, the Empower Illinois Hotline is (309) 416-0741, open Monday-Friday, 7:00AM – 5:00PM Central Standard Time. You may also email scholars@empowerillinois.org
English
- Tax Credit Scholarship Program FAQs
- About Empower Illinois & the Program
- Scholarship Application FAQs
- What You Need to Know
- Login Instructions
Spanish
- Programa De Becas De Crédito Tributario Preguntas Frecuentes
- Acerca De Empower Illinois Y El Programa
- Solicitud De La Beca Preguntas Frecuentes
- Lo Que Necesita Saber
- Instrucciones Para Iniciar Sesión
BIG SHOULDERS FUND APPLICATION
We are excited to announce that the Big Shoulders Fund Tax Credit Scholarship Program application will open for families on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 8:00 am. We will provide more details as they become available.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR DONORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE TAX CREDIT SCHOLARSHIP FUND
In 2019, more than 2,300 students were awarded scholarships, however more than 11,000 students remain on the wait list without a scholarship. Many more students could benefit from your generosity. The need is great. Your gift through a tax credit scholarship provides a high-quality, faith-based education for generations of students to come.
Consider applying for your tax credit today. To review the process, click here.
Big Shoulders Fund
https://www.bigshouldersfundsgo.org/donate/
312.751.3850
Empower Illinois
https://empowerillinois.org/donors/
309.644.4524
For general information about the tax credit scholarship program and donations, contact us at 312.534.2617 or investinkids@archicago.org
Triple Your Impact Opportunity
To help donations have even more impact in 2020/21, several donors have agreed to pool their resources and offer a 2-for-1 matching gift program to the more than 160 schools run by the Archdiocese of Chicago. The matching pool fund is at $3.36 million with funds still being raised. This means for every dollar designated to a qualifying school through the Empower Illinois scholarship granting organization between Dec. 1, 2019 and Feb. 29, 2020, the school will receive two dollars in matching funds. The donations are capped at $50,000 per school.
The program will end when all matching funds have been depleted or on Feb. 29, 2020, whichever comes first. After April 1, 2020 any matching gift program funds that are not awarded at a designated school will be reallocated to eligible students at schools with unmet demand. Donors who would like to receive the tax credit for their 2019 taxes should begin the process prior to Dec. 16, 2019 to ensure that they have enough time to make their gift by Dec.31, 2019.