“It seems too good to be true that you could help give Jewish kids a Jewish education with almost no out-of-pocket expenses,” says Elliot Holtz, Chairman of the Foundation for Jewish Day schools. “People say, “What’s the catch?’ There is no catch,” he adds with a laugh. “You really can just shift your Pennsylvania taxes to support scholarships for families in need.”
It’s true. Individuals and businesses can direct their personal and/or business taxes — money you would need to pay anyway! — toward Jewish pre- and day school scholarships. Here’s how it works: Eligible taxpayers can receive tax credits of up to 90% from Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program (EITC) for your contribution to a scholarship organization. The Foundation for Jewish Day Schools is one such organization. Created by the Jewish Federation of the Greater Philadelphia and local day schools, it is a separate 501(c)(3) whose mission includes providing needs-based scholarships to local Jewish pre- and day schools.
“Let me unpack this for you,” says Ellen Horowitz Matz, Director of Education Tax Credit Programs at Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. “Let’s say you owe ten thousand dollars to Harrisburg. You apply for EITC and get approved. You send your 10,000 check to the Foundation, the money goes to day schools and you receive a 90% state tax credit – a $9,000 state tax credit. It’s simple.” Thanks to the EITC program and donors’ generosity, the Foundation awarded over $7.8 million in needs-based scholarships during the 2018-2019 school year, which enabled over 1,000 students from low- to moderate-income homes to attend a Greater Philadelphia Jewish day school. The Foundation also awarded almost $740,000 in scholarships to 200 students attending a Jewish preschool.
The deadline for first-time business participants is July 1st, and Ellen is available to walk you through the application process to make it easy-peasy; you can contact Ellen directly at ematz@jewishphilly.org or 215.832.0525. For individuals, there’s almost always an opportunity to participate (with a minimum state tax liability of $6,200); Gwen Horowitz, Executive Director at Jewish Scholarship LLC, who works closely with Ellen, facilitates the process for individuals and can be reached at gwen@jewishscholarshipllc.com or 610.668.0044. (The Foundation encourages you to communicate with your tax advisor as well.) For more information, application forms and step-by-step instructions, you can also click here.