Dear St. Damian Community,
St. Damian School is grateful to you for supporting the advancement of Catholic school education. I am writing about a unique opportunity for Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic schools. The State of Illinois created a tax credit scholarship program through the “Invest in Kids” Act that is mutually beneficial to students and donors. It provides a 75 percent Illinois State income tax credit to individuals who contribute money to fund scholarships for students to attend private schools. Eligible students from low-income families in Illinois may use these scholarships to attend a non-public school of their choice, including the more than 200 Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic schools in Cook and Lake Counties.
To increase the funds available for scholarships next year, several donors have partnered with the scholarship granting organization Empower Illinois and the Archdiocese of Chicago to create a matching gift pool.
Every dollar donated to this program through Empower Illinois between Dec. 1, 2019 and Feb. 29, 2020 and designated to a school operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago will be matched with two dollars from this pool (limitations apply). The program will end when all matching funds have been depleted or on Feb. 29, 2020, whichever comes first.
A $5,000 donation will have a tremendous impact. With the 75 percent tax credit you receive on the donation and this match, it will have a net cost to you of $1,250 and will provide $15,000 in scholarships for low-income families.
After April 1, 2020, any matching gift program funds that are not awarded at a designated school will be reallocated to low-income students at schools with unmet demand.
Donors who would like to receive the tax credit for their 2019 taxes should begin the process prior to Dec. 16, 2019 to ensure they have enough time to make their gift by Dec. 31, 2019.
We hope you will join us in supporting Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic schools and provide more children a quality Catholic school education. For more information, please contact me or the archdiocese’s Tax Credit Scholarship Office at tcs@archchicago.org or 312.534.2617.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Miller
Principal
St. Damian School