Submitted by Cincinnati Hebrew Day School
In recent years, Ohio has seen lots of governmental encouragement for parents to provide the best quality education for their children. One initiative that passed legislation is the scholarship donation credit, whereby one can get a tax credit by donating to a scholarship granting organization (SGO), which enables families who can’t afford the full burden of private school education to receive previously unavailable tuition assistance.
Rabbi Yitz (Eric) Frank, Executive Director of Agudath Israel of Ohio and Chairman of the Board of School Choice Ohio, who was instrumental in this new program, explained to another Ohio Jewish newspaper, “The way that the program is designed to work, the SGO will make an award to students that apply for a scholarship and those funds will then be applied to the families’ tuition obligation. It helps families afford private options that they wouldn’t necessarily be able to otherwise.”
While many states have scholarship tax credits, Ohio is fairly unique in allowing a dollar for dollar tax credit. This means for every $1 given to a scholarship granting organization, one receives $1 back on state taxes, capped at $750 a person. A couple filing jointly can receive up to $1,500 back on their Ohio income tax, provided their tax liability isn’t lower than their donation.
Last year, Cincinnati Hebrew Day School joined with the Every Child Every Family Scholarship Granting Organization, a project of School Choice Ohio, to help Ohio taxpayers take advantage of this tax benefit with which they could choose to make a donation to their scholarship fund and designate CHDS as the recipient of those dollars.
Donors in Ohio received a 100% tax credit for their contributions through this easy and quick process. They found it convenient to donate, and at tax time, simply submitting their receipt resulted in a dollar-for-dollar credit. The receipt was delivered electronically and in hard copy, simplifying the filing process for state taxes.
One donor who has now contributed for two consecutive years was excited to directly impact local families. “Finally, after years of paying taxes to the State of Ohio, my husband and I were able to choose how our money is being used and have it go straight to our community,” commented Mrs. Miriam Goldstein. “We have always grumbled at tax time, but this helped sweeten the experience.”
Due to these donations, Cincinnati Hebrew Day School was able to award 19 students with scholarship funding, strengthening its mission of providing quality education to families regardless of their ability to pay. As the longest standing Jewish day school in the area, CHDS hopes to be able to fund even more scholarships this coming school year with increased awareness of this program.
It only takes a few seconds to make a tremendous impact! If you are an Ohio tax payer, please visit the school’s website for more information.
By designating Cincinnati Hebrew Day School as the recipient of the funding, you are ensuring that your tax dollars go to your fellow community members who need it the most to be able to provide their children with quality education.
