Raise from your own community.
Your parents, grandparents, alumni and church partners can each redirect up to $1,700 of federal tax to your school's scholarship fund at no net cost to them, if they owe that much.
Partner schools get a full campaign kit: the calendar, the words and the links, with your school's name and giving link filled in. Here's a preview.
When to ask
Calendar
From pledges in the fall to the year-end push, five moments in the first year.
- 1October to December 2026Announce. Pledge drive. Chapel or assembly announcement, one email, one printed one-pager
- 2January 1 to 15, 2027Donations open. One email with the giving link. Pledgers get their completion link from CEN
- 3MarchReminder to those who haven't donated. Tie to tax season
- 4SeptemberBack-to-school ask for new families
- 5November 1 to December 15Year-end push. The last day to donate for the 2027 return is December 31
For partner schools
What's in the kit
Everything below comes with your school's name and giving link filled in.
- Your giving linkA link tagged to your school's fund, for your emails, newsletter and website.
- Three emailsAnnounce, donations are open, and a reminder, each timed to the calendar.
- Chapel scriptNinety seconds to explain the credit from the front of the room.
- Bulletin insertA hundred words for your church bulletin or newsletter.
- Social postsThree posts with the approved claim, and photo ideas.
- Parent FAQTwelve questions parents ask, on one printable page.
- Co-branded filesEvery piece with your school's name and giving link filled in.
- Campaign trackingPledges and donations to your fund, in your portal, as they come in.
A sample
The announcement email
The first of three emails in the kit, sent in October or November 2026. Partners get all three with their details filled in.
Subject A new way to support [School] with the federal tax you already owe
Dear [School] families,
Starting January 1, 2027, a new federal tax credit lets you redirect up to $1,700 of the federal tax you already owe into scholarships for families at [School]. You donate to CEN SGO, choose [School], and get the full amount back as a credit on your 2027 return, as long as you owe at least that much federal tax.
We've partnered with CEN SGO to run it. They handle the receipts, the verification and the paperwork. All you do is donate.
Donations open January 1. You can pledge now so we can plan: [giving link]. Pledging takes a minute and nothing is charged.
Questions? [School contact] or CEN SGO at info@censgo.org.
[Head of School]
Get the claim right
Approved phrasing
Use this sentence for the tax claim. It carries the condition every time.
Say
“Donate up to $1,700 to [School]'s scholarship fund through CEN SGO and get every dollar back as a federal tax credit, as long as you owe at least that much federal tax.”
Don't say
- free
- costs nothing (without the condition)
- tax write-off
- guaranteed
- anything about your child getting the scholarship
Never compare your school to public schools in campaign copy.
Get the full kit
The kit is for CEN partner schools. Register your school and it's yours, filled in with your name and giving link. Already a partner? Ask your CEN contact and we'll send it.