Raise scholarship money without running a scholarship fund
You get a branded giving page, a printable QR code, and a full marketing kit. Your only recurring job is clicking "yes, they're enrolled."
Cost to start
$0
Nothing to form, certify, or audit. You plug into a fund that already exists.
Your ongoing job
One click per student
Confirm they are enrolled. That is the whole commitment.
Time to onboard
Days, not months
Once the program opens: get approved, and your page and toolkit switch on.
Everybody at the table comes out ahead
This is the rare program with no loser in it. Follow the dollar and see who gains what.
Your school
Tuition, paid direct
Scholarship tuition is paid straight to your school by the fund — no invoicing a family for money they are still waiting on, and no entity of your own to form, certify, or audit.
Your donors
Net $0
Up to $1,700 each — $3,400 filing jointly — comes back off their federal tax bill, this year or on a later return. They are redirecting tax they already owed, not adding to their giving budget.
Your students
A smaller bill
Families at or under three times the median income for their area pay less for the school they already chose.
No one funds this out of pocket. The only downside is leaving the money unclaimed.
The dollars come out of federal tax that was already headed to Washington. A donor claims the credit against tax they owe, so a gift bigger than this year's bill simply lands on a later return — unused credit carries forward for up to five years.
Five steps, and only two of them are yours
Money, eligibility, awards, reporting, and the annual audit all stay with the fund. You share a page and confirm who is enrolled.
Add your school and get approved
A short form — contact, website, accreditation, enrollment. The fund vets your school and approves it. The program is not open yet, so today this form is the early-access list.
You · 5 minYour page and kit go live
A branded giving page in your colors, a print-ready QR code, and the whole marketing toolkit below.
Switched on for youYour community gives
Every supporter gets up to $1,700 back on their federal taxes — $3,400 for a couple — and names your school.
Your donorsYou confirm who's enrolled
One click per student. You see a name and a grade, never a family's finances.
You · 30 sec eachTuition lands
The fund pays tuition straight to your school, on a ledger you can see.
The fund paysYou also get the marketing team
Schools rarely lose this money because families do not qualify. They lose it because nobody told the community it exists. So the outreach tools come in the box — in your portal, at no extra cost.
Contacts
Your own list of parents, grandparents, alumni, and local businesses. Import your roster straight from a spreadsheet.
Links & QR codes
A trackable code for the lobby poster, the car-line sign, the bulletin — so you can see which ones actually bring people in.
Outreach emails
Personal emails drafted one at a time, in your school's voice, using what you know about each family. You approve every one before it sends.
Content studio
Social posts, newsletter items, letters home, bulletin inserts, call scripts, printables — drafted for you and checked for the required legal language.
Analytics
Where supporters came from, how your outreach performed, and how close you are to your community goal.
What the first two months look like
One school, from the join form to the first payout. St. Brigid Academy has 240 students and one part-time advancement lead.
St. Brigid Academy is an illustration. Real dates depend on your state's opt-in and your fund's own calendar — the federal credit starts January 1, 2027, so the useful work right now is lining up your community before the window opens.
- Day 1Day 1
Their advancement lead fills in the join form — contact, website, enrollment. No account, nothing to pay.
The school · 5 minutes
- Day 3Day 3
The fund approves St. Brigid. Their giving page, QR code, portal, and marketing toolkit all go live.
The fund
- Week 1Week 1
They print the QR poster for the lobby, drop the drafted letter home into the Friday folder, and email 300 alumni from their contact list.
The school · one afternoon
- Weeks 2–8Weeks 2–8
Supporters scan, give, and name St. Brigid as their preferred school. The goal thermometer on their page climbs in real time.
Their community
- As families applyAs families apply
A parent names St. Brigid on a scholarship application. It appears in the portal and the registrar clicks "enrolled."
The school · 30 seconds
- Award seasonAward season
The committee awards on need with St. Brigid's preferred pool in view. Tuition is paid straight to the school, on a ledger it can see.
The fund
Three things to be straight about
A school cannot run a fund for only its own families. Federal law requires awards to reach ten or more students who do not all attend the same school — that, plus the ban on earmarking, is the single biggest reason schools join rather than form.
Donors can name your school; they cannot earmark a gift to a child. The committee still decides every award.
The fund's own costs come out of its operating budget, never out of the 90% owed to students as scholarships.
Common questions
Can our school sign up today?
You can get on the list today; you cannot go live today. The partner-school program is coming soon — the fund that partner schools will join is being stood up ahead of January 1, 2027, when the federal credit begins. Adding your school now costs nothing and commits you to nothing, and early-access schools are onboarded first.
Do we have to start our own fund?
No, and most single schools should not. Federal law bars donors from earmarking gifts and requires awards to reach ten or more students who do not all attend the same school, so a school cannot run a fund for its own families alone. Joining an existing fund takes days to onboard and costs nothing to start.
What does it cost us?
Nothing up front, and nothing ongoing. The fund carries the cost of running the program out of its operating budget — never out of the 90% that must reach students.
What's the catch?
Genuinely small. A donor claims the credit against federal tax they owe, so if their bill is smaller than their gift, the balance lands on a later return instead — it carries forward up to five years rather than being lost. Beyond that, the program only runs in states that have opted in, and it starts January 1, 2027. Nobody at the table pays for it out of pocket.
Are the marketing tools really included?
Yes, at no extra cost. Your portal has your contact list, trackable links and QR codes, outreach emails drafted one at a time in your school's voice, a content studio for posts and letters home, and analytics showing what actually worked.
How much staff time is this?
Two things: share your page, and confirm enrollment for families who name your school. Confirmation is one click per student. Income checks, award decisions, payments, receipts, and audits stay with the fund.
What do we see about our families' finances?
Nothing. Your portal shows the student's name, grade, and guardian name so you can confirm enrollment. Income, documents, and eligibility decisions are visible only to the fund's reviewers.
Can donors give directly to our school?
They can name your school as their preferred school, and the committee sees that pool of dollars next to your students who applied. But federal law prohibits earmarking — a preference guides awards; it never binds them.
Keep going
Talk it through before you decide.
Tell us about your organization and we’ll set up a consultation on your formation path, your state, and the timeline. It costs nothing and there is nothing to sign — and if it’s useful, we’ll walk through the platform on the same call.
What happens next
We read your submission and respond within one business day
A working session, typically 45–60 minutes — your situation, not a sales pitch
Which of the three paths fits, what your state requires, and what the timeline is
You leave with a clear recommendation — including when the answer is to join an SGO rather than form one, or to wait