When you redirect part of what you already owe in federal taxes to CEN SGO, that money does not vanish into a general fund. It becomes a scholarship for a family choosing a Christian education. CEN is the network working to put Christian schooling within reach of more families. CEN SGO is the program that carries your gift from your hands to a student’s classroom. This article follows that path, step by step.
The gift starts as a redirect
You begin with money you already owe. Instead of sending part of your federal tax bill to the general fund, you redirect it to CEN SGO. That redirect earns you a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit, so the gift costs you nothing beyond what you already owed.
This is a tax credit, not a deduction. A deduction lowers the income you are taxed on. A credit lowers the tax itself, dollar for dollar. We explain why that distinction matters in [internal: Tax credit, not tax deduction: why the difference matters]. The point for now is that your gift and your tax bill are the same dollars, sent to a different place.
You can name a school, but not a student
When you give, you can designate a participating school you want to support. If your family has a connection to a particular Christian school, your gift can be directed toward scholarships at that school.
What you cannot do is earmark your gift for a specific child. The federal rules are clear on this. A donor may designate a participating school, but the choice of which student receives a scholarship rests with the scholarship granting organization, not the donor. The Bipartisan Policy Center notes that donors are not able to earmark contributions for particular recipients.
This keeps the program fair and keeps it a charitable gift rather than a private transaction. You support a school and its mission. The school and the SGO match the dollars to the families who qualify.
At least 90 percent goes to scholarships
Once your gift reaches CEN SGO, the law sets a firm rule on how it is spent. A scholarship granting organization must put at least 90 percent of what it takes in toward scholarships.
That floor exists so the overwhelming share of every dollar reaches students rather than overhead. The small remainder covers the work of running the program and supporting schools in your state. We look at how that local share strengthens Christian schools in [internal: How the SGO gives Christian schools room to fully fund their costs and reinvest in teachers and students].
How a family qualifies
The scholarships are built for working families, well beyond the lowest-income households. A student qualifies if the family income is at or below 300 percent of the Area Median Gross Income, measured in the year before they apply.
This is Area Median Gross Income, not the federal poverty level. It is a higher and more generous benchmark. The National Catholic Educational Association describes the 300 percent threshold as wide enough to cover the great majority of K-12 students. For many ordinary families, a Christian education has been a financial decision rather than a question of desire. This is the part of the program that changes that math.
The scholarship reaches the classroom
The SGO awards the scholarship to a qualifying family at a participating Christian school. The family applies, the SGO confirms eligibility, and the scholarship is applied toward tuition. A child sits in a classroom that teaches what the family believes, and a school that might have lost that student to cost keeps them.
That is the full arc. Your redirect becomes a credit, the credit becomes a gift, the gift becomes a scholarship, and the scholarship becomes a seat in a Christian classroom. None of it costs you a dollar beyond what you already owed.
One timing note. The program does not begin until tax year 2027. The first gifts will be made on or after January 1, 2027, so the first scholarships follow from there.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make sure my gift helps a specific child?
No. You can designate a participating school, but the SGO decides which students receive scholarships. This keeps the gift charitable and the program fair.
How much of my gift reaches students?
At least 90 percent. The law requires a scholarship granting organization to spend at least 90 percent of what it receives on scholarships.
Who qualifies for a scholarship?
Families at or below 300 percent of the Area Median Gross Income in the prior year. That is a generous threshold, set well above the poverty line, so many working families qualify.
Your gift becomes a real scholarship for a real family. To support a Christian school the moment the giving window opens in 2027, Get notified and we will tell you when it is time to give.