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Dear Friend of the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program,
In 2008, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill (HB) 1133, which created the Georgia Tax Credit Scholarship program. This law permits qualified tax-exempt, non-profit student scholarship organizations (SSOs) to be created to provide scholarships for children to attend private schools serving grades pre-k4 through 12. These scholarships can be awarded to Georgia students who are enrolled in public schools or who are eligible to enter pre-k4 or kindergarten.
Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc. is Georgia's leading SSO.
GOAL Scholarships are funded by contributions from individuals and corporations who receive a corresponding Georgia income tax credit and federal charitable income tax deduction. Presently, there is an annual $50 million cap on the amount of state income tax credits that are available to taxpayers for their contributions. In 2010, the annual cap on tax credits may be reached.
In 2009, an estimated 11,000 Georgia taxpayers contributed an estimated $25.4 million to the various SSOs approved by the Georgia Department of Education. Of these totals, 3,755 individuals and 45 corporations redirected $10.6 million of their state income taxes to GOAL. To date, the 89 GOAL participating schools have awarded over 700 scholarships.
HB 1133 places no limits on either the amount of a scholarship or the household income of a scholarship recipient family. GOAL accepts any reasonable scholarship recommendation from its participating schools, which include rural, urban and suburban schools. For instance, in 2009, 188 GOAL scholarships having a total annual value of $849,400 were awarded to families having an AGI of $24,000 or less; however, 55 GOAL scholarships having a total annual value of $154,731 were awarded to families having an AGI of more than $84,000. Overall, GOAL participating schools made annual average scholarship recommendations of $4,700 per student from families earning an average federal adjusted gross income of $45,000.
In the interest of transparency and to promote public support for this exciting education reform initiative, GOAL is publishing the following scholarship contribution and award results. We encourage other SSOs to do likewise, whether on their own initiative or at the request of their contributors, participating schools, or members of the media.
Thank you for your consideration of these 2009 results from GOAL, which stands for and provides Greater Opportunities for Access to Learning!
Very truly yours,
Lisa Kelly
President
Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc.
