Catholic school students now have a new chance to receive financial aid for their tuition through Angel Scholarship Fund. The Catholic Community Foundation is in charge of administering a new scholarship tax-credit program that makes these awards feasible.
Angel Scholarship Fund: Overview
The Angel Scholarship Fund was established by the Catholic Community Foundation to benefit students attending local Catholic schools through the New Ohio Tax Credit Program.
Supporting tuition aid for Catholic school kids in the Diocese of Cleveland has found a new avenue thanks to a new initiative that enables Ohioans to earn a 100% tax credit for monetary contributions of up to $750 made to accredited organizations that provide scholarships. The Catholic Community Foundation has established the Angel Scholarship Fund to collect donations that will be eligible for the new state of Ohio scholarship tax credit beginning with the 2022 tax year.
It’s a win-win situation for students, families, schools, and parishes! Since there is no net cost to you as a donor if you contribute to the Angel Scholarship Fund. You must pay your state income tax regardless, and by directing your tax dollars to the Angel Scholarship Fund, you are directly funding students in need.
With the new initiative, donors can decide how to spend up to $750 of their Ohio income tax obligation for 2022. The Angel Scholarship Fund will give scholarships to low-income families (under 300% of the poverty line) that want to provide their kids with possibilities for a top-notch Catholic education a priority. Donors to the Angel Scholarship Fund will have the choice of providing gifts that helps educational institutions and students throughout the Cleveland Diocese based on need or providing a gift that is specifically intended to help students at a particular Catholic school. These scholarships are open to students in all Catholic elementary and high schools throughout the diocese’s eight counties.
Catholic schools give back to the communities they serve, and the Angel Scholarship Fund is a new way for the community to help students attend Catholic schools. This approach has a great deal of promise to maintain the availability of an irresistibly Catholic, academically superior education as far as possible throughout our diocese.
The Catholic schools of the Diocese of Cleveland comprise the largest school system in Ohio and the sixth-largest Catholic school system in the country. Catholic schools currently serve 38,312 students in Northeast Ohio. Students from the diocese’s Catholic schools can apply for scholarships by filling out a scholarship application form. The Diocese of Cleveland Office of Catholic Education will process applications. The Catholic Community Foundation plans to award scholarships as early as the fall of 2022.
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How To Apply for Angel Fund Scholarship?
An Angel Scholarship Application Form, which will be made available by the school offices, must be filled out by every family who wants to be considered for an award to request tuition assistance through the Angel Scholarship Fund.
1.The application process for an Angel Scholarship differs between undesignated and designated awards:
Undesignated awards are derived from contributions to ASF that are not designated for a specific school. The application process for an undesignated Angel Scholarship is similar to that of Diocesan Tuition Assistance (DTA) in that completing the FACTS application also qualifies the applicant for an Angel Scholarship.
Contributions to ASF designated for a specific school are the source for designated awards. Each applicant must take part in the process used by the school to determine their financial need in order to be considered for an Angel Scholarship such as:
- The FACTS application for financial aid.
- Another third-party assessment
- Documentation through an objective process such as state scholarship income verification, free-reduced lunch qualification, or other locally created processes.
- The number of undesignated and designated Angel Scholarships awarded and the amount of each award will be determined by the number of available funds and the number of applicants. The Office of Catholic Education (OCE) will work with schools to make recommendations for awards based on the following criteria:
- Low-income applicants (those earning less than 300% of the poverty line) will be given priority; once this need is met, non-low-income applicants can apply for an Angel Scholarship.
- Contributions to the Angel Scholarship Fund designated for a specific school will be awarded to students enrolled there.
- All contributions will be granted on the basis of financial need.
- Early in 2023, schools will be notified in writing of their total designated funds for 2022, and the process for recommending Angel Scholarship awards will begin.
Angel Scholarships and State Scholarship
If the family is considered low-income, they are not required to pay any tuition that is not covered by the scholarship. As a result, an Angel Scholarship would be unnecessary.
If tuition exceeds the amount of the state scholarship and the family does not qualify for low income status, the family may be required to pay the difference. In this case, the applicants will be considered for an Angel Scholarship.