Scholarship Granting Organization Certification

A tax credit is available under section 5747.73 of the Ohio Revised Code for qualified donations to "scholarship granting organizations" certified by the Attorney General. To apply for certification, an organization must fill out and submit the form below along with all required attachments.

You will be contacted by a compliance examiner from the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to notify you of the status of your application within 30 days of submission.

Applications for certification will be considered at any time. To be eligible for certification by January 1 of each year, applications shall be completed on or before the preceding November 30.

Please keep in mind that to be eligible for certification you must:

Be a religious or nonreligious nonprofit organization exempt from federal taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Primarily award academic scholarships for students to attend primary and secondary schools (K-12).
Prioritize awarding scholarships to low-income primary and secondary school students.
Comply with all registration and reporting requirements with the Ohio Attorney General applicable under the Ohio Charitable Trust Act, Ohio Revised Code (ORC) ORC 109.23-109.32, and/or the Ohio Charitable Organizations Act, ORC Chapter 1716.

Please consult ORC 5747.73, ORC 109.23-109.32, ORC 1716, OAC 109:1-1, and OAC 109:1-8-01 for details concerning eligibility and requirements.

Information contained in this application may be considered a public record. To ensure privacy, please do not submit any personal income information of individuals or families.

A list of certified scholarship granting organizations is available here.

Certification Application

* indicates required field

Organization Information

Organization Name

Organization Aliases or DBAs

EIN

XX-XXXXXXX

Phone

( ) -

Business Address

Street

City

State

Zip Code

Mailing Address Same as Business Address

Mailing Address

Street

City

State

Zip Code

Eligibility Requirements

1. Is the scholarship granting organization a religious or nonreligious nonprofit organization exempt from federal taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code?

Yes
No

2. Does the scholarship granting organization primarily award academic scholarships for primary and secondary school students?

Yes
No

3. Does the scholarship granting organization prioritize awarding its academic scholarships to low-income primary and secondary school students?

Yes
No

4. Is your organization compliant with all registration requirements with the Ohio Attorney General?

Yes
No

Reporting Period

Please give the begin and end dates for your most recently completed fiscal year. If you have not yet completed your first fiscal year because your organization has recently formed, please use your formation date as the begin date and today’s date as the end date.

Begin Date

End Date

Expenses

Note: if the organization has not yet completed its first fiscal year please mark N/A

Total expenses for the most recently completed fiscal year

Program Service Expenses for the most recently completed fiscal year

Academic Scholarship Expenses for the most recently completed fiscal year

Low Income Scholarship Expenses for the most recently completed fiscal year

Required Supporting Documents

Note: The total size of all attachments may not exceed 10MB

Only Word, PDF and Excel files can be uploaded.

Formation document

Bylaws or operating agreement

Notarized statement indicating how the Scholarship Granting Organization meets the requirements for certification

Documentation showing that the scholarship granting organization gives priority to low-income students when processing awards for academic scholarships

Documentation showing that the scholarship granting organization primarily gives academic scholarships to primary and secondary school students when processing awards for academic scholarships

Additional supporting document

Filer Information

First Name

Last Name

Relationship to Organization

Phone

( ) -

Street

City

State

Zip Code

After selecting SUBMIT, please go to the top of the form to make sure your submission was successful.

FAQs

Scholarship Granting Organization Certification

What is the tax credit for donations to scholarship granting organizations?
The Ohio General Assembly passed a new law that allows a credit against a taxpayer’s Ohio income tax liability (see Ohio Revised Code Section 5747.02) when that taxpayer donates to a certified scholarship granting organization. The law allows a credit against income taxes for donations up to $750 annually.

What is a scholarship granting organization?
The law defines a “scholarship granting organization” as an organization certified by the Ohio Attorney General as satisfying three criteria. First, it must be a religious or non-religious charitable organization with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Second, it must primarily award academic scholarships to primary and secondary school students. Third, it must prioritize awarding scholarships to low-income primary and secondary school students. The organization must also comply with all applicable registration and reporting requirements with the Ohio Attorney General in order to be certified.

How will the certification process work?
The attorney general’s online application requires a scholarship granting organization to demonstrate that it meets the legal definition to be certified. The Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section will evaluate applications and publish a list of qualifying organizations. The Ohio Department of Taxation will post the list online for donors to reference.

The attorney general’s office is currently working on administrative rules for the application and certification processes. A draft of those rules is available for download under Publications at the bottom of this page.

When can my organization apply for certification?
Organizations can apply for certification at any time. However, to be eligible for certification by January 1 of any given year, organizations will be required to submit applications prior to November 30.

Can I donate to one of the certified scholarship granting organizations and ask them to send the funds to my child’s school to cover his or her tuition expenses?
Charitable organizations, including scholarship granting organizations, are strictly prohibited by federal tax-exemption laws from engaging in those types of arrangements in which personal benefits are received in exchange for contributions.

PUBLICATIONS

List of Certified Scholarship Granting Organizations

CONTACT

Charitable Law Section
30 E. Broad St., 25^th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 800-282-0515
Email: SGOCertification@OhioAGO.gov

Scholarship Granting Organization Certification

Certification Application

Organization Information

Business Address

Mailing Address

Eligibility Requirements

Reporting Period

Expenses

Required Supporting Documents

Filer Information

FAQs

PUBLICATIONS

CONTACT

APPLICABLE LAWS