That is our north star goal and the standard we are building toward. Until our donation base reaches the level needed to fund full-tuition awards for every family on our list, scholarships will cover the maximum amount our available donations allow — awarded to the lowest-income families first. We are transparent about this because your family deserves to plan accurately, not on false hope. The scholarship amount will grow as our donor community grows. Our goal is a complete scholarship — a full school year, fully funded, at no cost to your family.

No. Scholarkids is a secular organization with no religious requirements for applicants. Qualifying private schools may have their own religious affiliations — that is a choice your family makes independently when selecting a school.

Any private school in Arizona that meets the requirements under Arizona STO law qualifies. This covers a wide range of schools across the state — religious and secular, large and small. Contact us and we will help you determine whether the school you have in mind qualifies.

We rank every application by household income — lowest first. The families with the lowest household income move to the front of the line. We do not rank by who applied first, by school affiliation, by religion, or by any other factor. Financial need is the only criterion. This is our north star and it is how we ensure that every scholarship dollar reaches the families who need it most.

Arizona law allows donors to recommend a student. However, Arizona law also prohibits an STO from awarding, restricting, or reserving scholarships solely on the basis of a donor’s recommendation. Our scholarship decisions are determined by financial need — lowest household income ranked first. A donor recommendation does not override the income ranking.

Your household income documentation is used solely to determine your ranking on our applicant list. It is not shared with donors, schools, or any third party. Your information is kept confidential.

No. A student who receives ESA funds cannot also receive STO scholarship funds for the same academic year. The two programs cannot be combined in the same year.

If you terminate your ESA contract during the academic year there is no conflict for your child to receive STO scholarship funds for the remainder of that academic year after the termination date. You can request a letter from the ESA program confirming your account closure date and provide that to Scholarkids. We may then consider awarding scholarship funds for the remainder of the year.

Yes. All awards are based on verified financial need and current enrollment. A student must have a current and complete application on file and must be enrolled at a qualifying private school before Scholarkids can consider any award for that student. Applications expire at the end of each school year regardless of when they were submitted.

Scholarkids can award scholarships to students in grades K through 12. Disabled preschoolers who are at least 3 years of age and hold an Arizona public school IEP or MET are also eligible. Kindergarten students must turn 5 by December 31st of the school year in which they receive a scholarship.

There are two Arizona STO scholarship programs your child may be eligible for depending on their situation:

Original Individual Credit — Available to most students enrolled at a qualifying Arizona private school. This is the primary program most families use.

PLUS/Switcher Credit — Available to specific student groups including kindergartners, most newly enrolled students, former ESA recipients, military dependents, prior corporate credit recipients, and prior PLUS credit recipients.

Both programs are funded through Arizona’s dollar-for-dollar tax credit mechanism. Donors receive a full tax credit for their contribution and those funds are awarded as scholarships. Regardless of which program your child qualifies under, Scholarkids applies the same principle to both — applications are ranked by household income and scholarships are awarded toward the maximum possible amount given our current donor base.

There are two Arizona STO scholarship programs your child may be eligible for depending on their situation:

Original Individual Credit — Available to most students enrolled at a qualifying Arizona private school. This is the primary program most families use.

PLUS/Switcher Credit — Available to specific student groups including kindergartners, most newly enrolled students, former ESA recipients, military dependents, prior corporate credit recipients, and prior PLUS credit recipients.

Both programs are funded through Arizona’s dollar-for-dollar tax credit mechanism. Donors receive a full tax credit for their contribution and those funds are awarded as scholarships. Regardless of which program your child qualifies under, Scholarkids applies the same principle to both — applications are ranked by household income and scholarships are awarded toward the maximum possible amount given our current donor base.

Yes. You can indicate which qualifying Arizona private school you would like your child to attend. We will do our best to honor that preference when processing your application.

Yes. A student may receive scholarship funds from more than one STO in the same school year. However, schools can only accept tuition aid up to the amount of tuition actually due for the current school year. Any amount that exceeds the tuition owed must be returned to the STO.

Your application remains on file and your family stays on our waiting list. As our donor base grows, more families move from the waiting list to funded scholarships. We encourage you to check back with us regularly and to share Scholarkids with anyone in your community who might be able to donate. Every new donor moves someone on the waiting list closer to a scholarship.

Every scholarship Scholarkids awards is paid directly to the school — never to the family. Arizona law does not require this. We chose it as our operating standard because we believe it represents the highest level of integrity. Your family never handles the funds. The school receives payment on your child’s behalf and your family pays nothing toward the funded portion of tuition.

Our long-term vision is sustained multi-year scholarship support for the families who need it most. We are building toward the ability to make that commitment — funded by donors who give monthly and annually with exactly that purpose in mind. At this stage of our growth, scholarships are awarded on an annual basis and require a new application each year. As our donor base grows and stabilizes we expect to be able to offer greater certainty about continued support from year to year.

From a family’s perspective the practical difference is eligibility. The Original Credit is the broader program available to most private school students. The PLUS/Switcher Credit applies to specific student categories — newly enrolled students, kindergartners, military dependents, former ESA recipients, and others. In terms of how Scholarkids awards scholarships, both programs follow the same income-ranking principle. Your application will be evaluated under whichever program or programs your child qualifies for.