FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Date: October 3, 2013
From: Kate Saylor, Director of Marketing and Communications, Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc.
Subject: Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc. Announces 2013 Scholarship Contribution and Award Results
Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc. Announces 2013 Scholarship Contribution and Award Results
Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc. (“GOAL”), the largest K-12 student scholarship organization (“SSO”) operating under Georgia’s Education Expense Credit law has announced its 2013 scholarship contribution and award results.
Under the Georgia Education Expense Credit law, enacted in 2008, individuals and corporations who contribute to qualified, tax-exempt, non-profit SSOs are permitted to offset the amount of their contributions against their Georgia income tax liability.
The SSOs must use the contributions to provide scholarships to students enrolled in public schools (grade 2 and above) who desire to attend the accredited private school of their parents’ choice. SSOs may also award scholarships to students who are eligible to enroll in pre-k, kindergarten and first grade, regardless of whether they attend a private or public school.
During 2013:
• 6,819 Georgia taxpayers contributed a total of $15,035,842 to GOAL.
• Of the contributors, 6,747 were individuals and 72 were corporations.
• Since the inception of the program in 2008, GOAL has received $69,290,370 in contributions, which represents 31% of the approximately $225 million contributed statewide under the K-12 tuition tax credit program.
• Since inception, GOAL has awarded 12,259 scholarships worth $45.7 million to 6,501 students, with an additional $20.3 million being obligated and reserved for the funding of multi-year scholarships that have been awarded or for the awarding of future scholarships.
• The average value of the scholarship awarded to each student has been $3,728, with the balance of tuition costs being paid by scholarship families together with other financial aid provided by the participating private schools.
• Since inception, the average adjusted gross income (“AGI”) of the scholarship recipient families (as adjusted for family size) has been $25,035.
• GOAL has awarded 53% of its scholarships to families with an AGI of less than $24,000 and 91% of its scholarships to families with an AGI of less than $48,000.
• GOAL has awarded 36% of its scholarships to minority recipients.
• GOAL has awarded 1,659 scholarships in north Georgia; 4,353 scholarships in metro Atlanta; 3,209 scholarships in central Georgia; and 3,038 scholarships in south Georgia.
In 2013, the annual $58 million cap on available tax credits was reached on May 9th. According to GOAL President Lisa Kelly, “The 2013 scholarship contribution and award results evidence the increasing popularity of this life-changing school choice program. Nearly 1,000 Georgians have already reserved a place in line at GOAL to file for a tax credit in 2014.”
For more information about the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, interested readers can visit www.goalscholarship.org.
Press inquiries can be directed to:
Lisa Kelly
President
Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc.
lmkelly@goalscholarship.org
770-828-4625