Dear Friend of the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program,
The following presentation consists of the 2010 results of Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc. (GOAL), Georgia’s leading student scholarship organization.
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.
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. Trends indicate that in 2011, the annual cap on tax credits will certainly be reached.
In 2010, an estimated 17,000 Georgia taxpayers contributed an estimated $40.4 million to the various SSOs approved by the Georgia Department of Education. Of these totals, 6,141 individuals and 60 corporations redirected $13.7 million of their state income taxes to GOAL. To date, GOAL has awarded close to 3,000 scholarships to students to attend the 107 GOAL participating schools. During 2011-2012, GOAL expects to award an additional 5,000 scholarships.
Although HB 1133 places no limits on either the amount of a scholarship or the household income of a scholarship recipient family, most GOAL participating schools adhere to voluntary guidelines containing such limits. As a result, in 2010, 510 GOAL scholarships having a total annual value of $2,333,197 were awarded to families having an AGI of $24,000 or less. Overall, the average value of the GOAL scholarship awards was $4,168 per student, almost $1,000 less than it costs the State of Georgia to educate a child in public schools.
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 2010 results from GOAL, which stands for and provides Greater Opportunities for Access to Learning!
Very truly yours,
Lisa M. Kelly
President
Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc.
