A new initiative that allows Ohio taxpayers to fund scholarships for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Columbus with their tax dollars raised more than $1.9 million in scholarships last year, effectively changing the landscape for making Catholic education affordable and accessible.
Known as the Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund, the initiative capitalizes on a law passed by the Ohio Legislature in late 2021 creating a tax credit – up to $750 for an individual taxpayer or $1,500 if married filing jointly – for donations made to qualified scholarship granting organizations (SGO).
Furthermore, taxpayers can designate all or a portion of their donation for use at a specific school(s) in the diocese or give to the unrestricted fund, which is distributed to families in need at any of the diocese’s 52 schools.
An SGO is a tax-exempt religious or nonreligious nonprofit organization that registers with the state attorney general’s office; mainly awards academic scholarships for students to attend primary and secondary schools; and prioritizes awarding those scholarships to students from low-income families. The Diocesan Education Corporation, doing business as Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund, was Ohio’s first SGO certified by the attorney general on Dec. 7, 2021.
“Since the Ohio law creating SGOs was passed late in 2021, we could only do a last-minute push for donations that year,” said Alison Metzger, associate director for government affairs at the Office of Catholic Schools. “We didn’t really begin promoting Emmaus Road until the fourth quarter of 2022 and were delighted with the response from donors in the last two months of the year.”
The $1.9 million collected during that time period came from approximately 2,000 donors.
“Allowing taxpayers to direct their tax dollars to support scholarships for our Catholic schools makes a Catholic education more accessible and affordable for everyone,” Metzger said. “It also means the financial assistance awarded by the diocese each year can help more families.”
She said the diocese awarded about $800,000 in such assistance for the current academic year.
SGOs aren’t new to the United States, just new to Ohio. Seth Burkholder, associate director for data analysis and finance also at the Office of Catholic Schools, said about 20 states have SGO programs, including Indiana, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Despite great success in 2022, he said, the Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund has just scratched the surface of potential capacity adding, for comparison purposes, that the Archdiocese of Chicago distributes more than $12 million in SGO funds each year.
“This new influx of funds will ease the burden on parishes that provide their own assistance to many school families,” Burkholder said, “potentially freeing money for other needs or ministries of the parish. Similarly, for many low-income families who attend Mass each Sunday and desire a Catholic education but can’t afford to pay tuition, the Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund may allow them to fulfill that desire.”
For the purposes of Ohio SGO awards, low-income families are defined as those earning at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, which is $83,250 for a family of four in 2022.
Metzger said the early success of the SGO program in Columbus and several of Ohio’s other dioceses has encouraged Catholic school officials throughout the state to push for increased tax credits to $2,500 per individual taxpayer for 2024. She is working with her own Legislative Advocacy Network, composed of parents from Diocese of Columbus Catholic schools, and the Catholic Conference of Ohio to promote that change.
“This sounds too good to be true, but you can turn your tax dollars into scholarships,” Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare School Principal Kathy O’Reilly told parents in a letter encouraging them to donate to the Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund.
“We can help so many families with this amount of money. I am just asking that you investigate this program. Each family has its own tax situation and needs to check with its own tax adviser, but the majority of you can do this.”
St. Brigid families responded enthusiastically, donating more than $400,000 in 2022.
Chillicothe Bishop Flaget School raised more than $51,000. “We’re really excited about this,” said principal Laura Corcoran. “It enabled us to access funds we normally wouldn’t be able to access, and it gave people a voice in how their taxes were spent. It will help free up money we use for tuition assistance and perhaps allow it to be spent on capital expenses or program expansions.”
Any student can apply for a grant from the Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund or the previously existing diocesan tuition assistance fund through FACTS, a third-party company contracted by the diocese to manage the application process for financial aid.
FACTS uses an internally built program to determine award amounts based on students’ tuition rates in comparison to their ability to pay. The application period opens Nov. 1 and closes March 15, with scholarship amounts for the coming school year determined in April and recipients notified by their respective schools in May. The SGO funds collected in 2022 will be distributed for the 2023-24 school year.
Donations to the Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund are accepted all year and anyone, including those who do not have a child attending a diocesan school, can donate in a lump sum or on a monthly basis to receive the tax credit. Donations are accepted in any amount, but tax credits are limited to the first $750 for individuals or $1,500 for couples married and filing jointly. The credit is claimed on line 9 of the Ohio IT 1040 income tax return.
Payments are accepted online at www.emmausroadscholarship.org or by check made payable to Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund and mailed to the Office of Catholic Schools, Diocese of Columbus, 197 E. Gay St., Columbus, OH 43215. All donors are sent a tax receipt via U.S. Mail to acknowledge their gift.
The Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund is being overseen by an advisory board consisting of Burkholder; Metzger; Dr. Adam Dufault, diocesan school superintendent; Theresa Vivona, associate director for advancement in the schools’ office; Jim Silcott, principal of Columbus Our Lady of Peace School; Becky O’Connor, business manager, Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare Church; and Father Theodore Sill, pastor, Gahanna St. Matthew the Apostle Church.
Explaining how the scholarship fund got its name, Dufault said, “In Luke 24:13-35, we hear about how Jesus, having recently resurrected, accompanied two of His disciples on the journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing what had transpired in the preceding days. The disciples did not recognize Jesus until later in the breaking of the bread, but they realized how their hearts were burning as He opened the Scriptures to them while accompanying them on their journey.
“This is exactly what we want for our students – for their hearts to be opened to Jesus through Catholic education. Donors to the Emmaus Road Scholarship Fund make this possible with their financial gifts, accompanying students on their faith journey following the example of Jesus.”