January 5, 2022
Tax Credit Scholarships
All families must apply

Five years ago, the State of Illinois created a program to help support families who choose to send their children to private schools. This scholarship is awarded on a first-come, first serve basis and is granted based upon financial need.

This program has been a blessing for our SCSL School families! A good number of our families have been awarded the scholarship and have received up to a full year in tuition.

The scholarships must be applied for each year - if your family received one for this school year, you will need to apply again for 2022-2023. They do not automatically renew. And if you applied last year and didn't receive one - keep trying...2022 may be your lucky year!

Applying for the TAX CREDIT scholarship is a mandatory requirement for our families.
This is a unique scholarship and is separate from financial aid awarded through FACTS and SCSL School and other various scholarships.

SCSL School will not be able to award financial aid in March through FACTS if families have not first applied for the Tax Credit Scholarship.

You may apply for the tax credit scholarship through a scholarship granting organization (SGO), which distributes the scholarships. We are working with two SGOs: Empower Illinois and Big Shoulders Fund SGO.

Please complete the application through both organizations.

We are so excited for this opportunity and can not wait to see how many of our families receive scholarships!

Please review the information below so you're ready to hit the ground running on Wednesday, January 12 and Thursday, January 13. The most important thing to understand is TIMING is EVERYTHING! Make sure you're ready to!


You've got this, Wildcat Families!
GOOD LUCK!







Zoom in this Saturday at 10am for a live informational session about the Tax Credit Scholarship program!

Learn more info, hear from the leaders of Big Shoulders and Empower Illinois and elected officials, and more!

Here's the Zoom link: https://bit.ly/TCS1822

 Empower Illinois Application Process and Key Dates
The Empower Illinois tax credit scholarship application is a two-step process.

Step 1: On Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 6:30 p.m., you will have access to a brief reservation form on Empower Illinois’ website – EmpowerIllinois.org. You will be able to submit the reservation form at 7 p.m., this timestamps your reservation. 

This is a critical step as your timestamp matters and may impact your chances of receiving a scholarship. You will want to submit this form right at 7 p.m. Seconds matter!

The reservation form will ask you for the following information:
  • Parent name
  • Contact information – address, phone number, email address
  • Child(ren) name(s)***
***Please note: All children you would like to apply for need to be listed on the reservation form. For more information, visit EmpowerIllinois.org.

Step 2: Several days later, you may complete the full scholarship application through the Empower Illinois online student portal. You will receive instructions via email about setting up your student portal after your reservation has been completed (step 1). .

Big Shoulders Fund Tax Credit Scholarship

The Big Shoulders Fund SGO application will be a two-step process this year.

Step 1: On Thursday, January 13 at 8 a.m., applicants will complete the online application with all household and student information and receive their date-time stamp.

Several days later, Big Shoulders Fund will reach out to a limited number of applicants, via email, requesting applicants to complete step-two of the process by submitting documentation to verify income and residence. Not all applicants will be asked to complete step-two. While step-one does not require uploading of documents, applicants do need to have their most recent federal tax return or other required proof of income on hand to accurately report their adjusted gross income.

More information and an application how-to guide can be found on Big Shoulders Fund’s website bigshouldersfundsgo.org.
THANK YOU wonderful SCSL School families! We are grateful every day for you and your children! We know that these are extraordinary times and we also know that we will get through them together.

Please let us know if you have any questions or need any assistance with applying for scholarships, re-registration, etc..

Stay safe and have a wonderful weekend!