Over 30K Students Apply for Empower Illinois Tax Credit Scholarships Within First Hours

Part one of the application launched at 7 p.m. on January 15, 2019

January 16, 2019, Chicago, IL – Tuesday night, over 24,400 families across Illinois visited the Empower Illinois website to complete part one of the tax credit scholarship application for the 2019-2020 school year. Applications were submitted for more than 30,000 students within the first few hours.

“This demand clearly illustrates both the need and support for this critical program, which makes quality education options accessible to low-income and working-class students across Illinois,” said Anthony Holter, Executive Director of Empower Illinois.

To date, more than $8 million and counting has been raised across all scholarship granting organizations (SGO) in the state. Empower Illinois is working closely with schools and donors to raise the private resources needed to support the demand by Illinois families.

One applicant commented on Facebook: “Hope we get another scholarship again. It’s been so helpful to our family this year.”

Last year, more than 33,000 students applied for tax credit scholarships through Empower Illinois, which raised in excess of $45 million of private funds. The state’s largest SGO was able to award 5,459 scholarships to students at 402 Illinois schools in the first year of this five-year pilot program.

“We heard first-hand from families about how life-changing this scholarship was to them and their children,” said Holter. “We look forward to seeing this impact continue to grow in the second year of the program.”

The second step of the application begins Friday, January 18. While not time-sensitive, Empower Illinois recommends completing part two, which involves uploading household documents, before January 28. Instructions on how to access the portal and begin part two of the application will be emailed to families who completed the reservation. Please visit www.empowerillinois.org/students/how-do-i-apply/. for additional information on the application process.

About Empower Illinois:

Empower Illinois is a statewide Scholarship Granting Organization created in 2017 to serve Illinois children through the state’s tax credit scholarship program. Empower Illinois’ mission is to expand quality education options for low-income and working-class families of Illinois.

The Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program was created in Illinois to benefit children whose educational options are limited by household income. Empower Illinois serves as a conduit for processing donations, scholarship awards and program compliance for approximately 80% of all Illinois private schools.