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Guide for schools

What CEN does and what your school does

Updated September 28, 2026 · 5 min read

Related guides:
The compliance calendarHow scholarships are awarded and paidRegistering your school with CEN SGO
Tool:
State tracker

The compliance work behind the credit, and who carries each part.

In brief

  • CEN SGO carries the compliance work: state listing, separate accounts, donor acknowledgments, income checks, awards, payments, reports and the audit.
  • Your school does six things: sign the agreement, confirm enrollment, share the campaign, report changes, apply awards and name a contact.
  • Your team never walks a parent through tax rules or handles a family's income documents.
  • Your enrollment confirmations feed CEN's reports, so accuracy and speed matter.

Who does what

TaskWhoWhat it involves
State listingCENRegisters in each state that joins and stays on the state's list each year
Partner agreementBothYour school signs. CEN sets up your account
Giving pageCENBuilds and hosts your page. Every donation through it is tagged to your fund
Marketing kit and trainingCENWrites the materials and trains your team on the portal
CampaignYour schoolShares the kit with parents, alumni and church partners
Separate accountsCENHolds qualified contributions apart from all other money
Donor acknowledgmentsCENSends each donor an acknowledgment with a donor number
Donor tax questionsCENAnswers them, so your staff don't have to
Family applicationsCENRuns the application in the portal and answers family questions
Income verificationCENChecks every family's household income and size each year
AwardsCENMakes every award under the federal priority order
Enrollment confirmationYour schoolConfirms each scholarship student is enrolled
PaymentCENPays your school directly
Applying awardsYour schoolCredits each award to the family's tuition account
Student changesYour schoolReports withdrawals, transfers and grade changes
Reports and auditCENFiles state and federal reports and completes the annual audit
ContactYour schoolNames one person for CEN to work with

What CEN does

Certification

CEN applies in each state that joins, answers the state's checks and stays on its list each year. A state's list is due by January 1. (Source: §25F(g)(1)) Treasury expects states to verify each SGO themselves rather than take its word. (Source: Notice 2025-70)

Separate accounts

Qualified contributions sit in accounts kept only for them. Your school's fund is tracked inside those accounts, which is how the portal shows your balance. (Source: §25F(c)(5)(B))

Acknowledgments and donor numbers

Every donor gets a written acknowledgment within one business day, with a donor number made by the IRS method. CEN reports donations to the IRS under those numbers. (Source: Treasury guidance preview, June 2026)

Verification

CEN checks household income and family size for every applicant, every year. Families upload their documents to CEN, not to your school. (Source: §25F(d)(1)(F))

Awards

CEN makes every award, starting with last year's recipients and then their brothers and sisters. (Source: §25F(d)(1)(D))

Payment

CEN pays your school directly, on the schedule in your partner agreement, with a record of which student each payment covers.

Reporting and audit

CEN files state and federal reports and completes the annual audit. Your enrollment confirmations are part of the record behind them. (Source: Treasury guidance preview, June 2026)

What your school does

  • Sign the agreement. Once, at the start. Usually the head of school.
  • Confirm enrollment. For each scholarship student, before CEN pays. Usually the business manager or registrar.
  • Share the campaign. Through the year, on the kit's calendar. Usually the advancement lead.
  • Report changes. As soon as a student withdraws, transfers or changes grade. Usually the business manager.
  • Apply awards. When each payment arrives. Your business office.
  • Name a contact. One person CEN can reach, plus a backup.

One scholarship, step by step

  1. Family applies

    In CEN's portal

  2. CEN verifies and awards

    Income check, priority order

  3. School confirms enrollment

    Business manager

  4. CEN pays the school

    With a per-student record

  5. School credits the account

    Business office

Who does each step for one scholarship.

Example. A family at your school applies in the spring. CEN checks their prior-year income and awards a scholarship. In August your business manager confirms the student is enrolled. CEN pays the school, and your business office credits the family's tuition account. In November the student withdraws. Your business manager reports it in the portal the same week, and CEN takes it from there.

Common mistakes

  • Collecting income documents from families yourself. Send families to CEN's portal.
  • Telling a family whether they'll get a scholarship. CEN makes every award.
  • Confirming enrollment for a student who hasn't enrolled.
  • Leaving a withdrawal unreported until the end of the term.
  • Explaining tax rules to donors. Point them to CEN.
What's still pending. Treasury's rules will set the final reporting, audit and acknowledgment formats. The split above won't change, but some steps inside CEN's column may. (Source: Treasury guidance preview, June 2026)

Next step

Schools page

Questions about this guide? See them on the FAQ page

Sources: §25F(g)(1); Notice 2025-70; §25F(c)(5)(B); Treasury guidance preview, June 2026; §25F(d)(1)(F); §25F(d)(1)(D); §25F(d)(1)(C)

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