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H O W W O ULD YOU L I K E TO SAV E SOME

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Q & A How would you like a gift to ISI to cost you only 25%? Giving to an ISI-SGO Scholarship has significant tax benefits. If you give a $100 donation, it would cost you only $25. If you give a $10,000 gift, it could cost you only $2,500.

Donors who have donated to an SGO approved by the Department of Education will then be eligible to take advantage of a 50% credit against their individual or corporation state-tax liability.

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SECTION NAME WHAT IS AN SGO SCHOLARSHIP? Tax Credit Scholarships, better known as “SGO Scholarships”, are scholarships awarded by a Scholarship Granting Organizations to low- and middleincome families to help them afford the private school of their choice.

SGOs were enacted in 2009 by the Indiana State Legislature, and have been expanded in subsequent years as a key component of the Indiana School Choice effort.

WHY GIVE TO SCHOLARSHIP?

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Donors (individuals or corporations) who have donated to an SGO approved by the Department of Education will then be eligible to take advantage of a 50% credit against their individual or corporation state-tax liability. While there are no limits to how much a donor can contribute to a qualified SGO, the entire tax credit program cannot award more than $8.5 million in credits this fiscal year (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016).

There are five SGO organizations in Indiana. The Institute for Quality Education, Inc. is a separately incorporated, 501(c)3 charitable organization, created to provide SGO scholarships specifically for private schools in Indiana. The International School of Indiana (ISI) is a qualified SGO with The Institute for Quality Education, Inc. As an SGO organization, ISI is allowed to provide scholarships to children of families who fall below 200% of the Federal free and reduced lunch levels.

WHY IS ISI INTERESTED IN SGO SCHOLARSHIPS? The International School of Indiana

has always enjoyed student diversity. In 2015, there were 598 students enrolled from 44 different countries in the world, so ISI is proud of the ethnic diversity of its students. However, the socio-economic composite of its students is far less diverse.

Less than 2% of ISI students qualify for state supported financial aid, currently. ISI believes that our students would benefit from a more diverse socio-economic mix and we wish to use the ISI-GSO Scholarship fund to grow that student population.

HOW DO I CONTRIBUTE TO THE ISI-SGO SCHOLARSHIP? Donors (individuals or corporations) are eligible to take advantage of a 50% credit against their state tax liability for these contributions. The difference between a Tax Deduction and a Tax Credit is simple. Unlike a tax deduction, where your charitable donation can be removed from your taxable income, a credit can directly reduce your tax liability “off the bottom line”.

Anyone can support ISI-SGO scholarships! However, to receive the Tax Credit you must pay or owe Indiana state taxes. Donations can come from corporations, partnerships, LLCs, PCs, the self-employed, or individual taxpayers.

Making a donation to the ISI-SGO is a simple process. You will need to direct your donation to “The Institute for Quality Education, Inc.”, not ISI if you want the tax credit. You will also need to complete a Donation Form (http:// www.i4qed.org/) to ensure you have submitted the needed information, including your name and address.

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To receive the tax credit, the donor must to give a gift to a qualified SGO; therefore, the donation will not be coming directly to ISI. Hence, ISI cannot recognize gift income to a SGO as a gift to the school. ISI will not recognize a donor’s pledge because it’s not a gift to ISI. However, once a qualified student is granted an ISI-GSO scholarship and the student attends ISI, the organization will benefit and so will the qualifying student.

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Because the donor’s gift passes through the SGO on its way to ISI and because ISI receives the impact of the gift only by accepting a qualified student, the scholarship gift cannot be counted as a campaign contribution or for any other purpose.

Here are some giving options: • Contact ISI’s Development Office for everything you need • Contact The Institute for Quality Education, Inc.”, (http:// www.i4qed.org/) at (317) 8702532 they can walk you through the process • Visit the website at http:// www.i4qed.org/ and click on the DONATE button. You can download the Donation Form, print, and send with your donation to The Institute for Quality Education at 101 West Ohio Street, Suite 700, Indianapolis, IN 46204 • You can also make an online credit/debit donation at the website.

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After your gift is received and deposited, staff at The Institute for Quality Education, Inc. will submit the needed information to the Indiana Department of Revenue (“DOR”). The DOR will then provide us with the credit certificate number for your donation, and the Institute for Quality Education, Inc. will send you the code with your official thank you letter for your tax records.

The entire process from donation to letter should be less than two weeks. You may also contact The Institute for Quality Education, Inc. at any time to check on your donation status.

The State of Indiana places a cap on the amount of tax credit available each year to donors. There is an $8.5 million per-fiscal-year (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016) cap for SGO state tax credits. There are no limits on the size of contributions eligible per donor (organization or individual) so you or your business

could donate any amount as long as the cap of $8.5 million remaining available. Think of the process as a “first donations in, first tax credits awarded” process.

In addition, you can reduce or eliminate up to the full amount you have paid or will owe the state. If already paid, you can receive a refund up to what you have already paid.

Should you be due more credit than you can use, you may rollover the remaining credits for an additional nine years.

Additionally, if you pay quarterly estimated taxes, you could couple the ISI-SGO donation with a reduced quarterly payment to the state. Please consult your own tax advisers for your own, unique situation.

Example of SGO Giving: A donation of $10,000 to ISI-SGO (through The Institute for Quality Education, Inc.) for an ISI-SGO scholarship could result in the following benefits for a donor in the 25% tax bracket: •$5,000 tax credit from your Indiana state tax due •$2,500 deduction from your federal tax due •Knowing that you made possible scholarships for students who could normally afford a high-quality education at ISI!

You can make a donation at any time during the year. All donations must be made by December 31 to be eligible for the Tax Credit for that tax year; gifts after December 31 would be eligible for the Tax Credit in the following tax year.

OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION ISI-SGO Scholarship can be a minimum award of $500 or as large as ISI’s full tuition and fees.

However, donors cannot I direct their gift to a specific student.

An SGO Scholarship is not part of the Voucher Program. One key difference between SGOs and Vouchers is that SGO Scholarships are funded by charitable donations, while Vouchers are funded by state tax distributions. The Vouchers provide scholarships to eligible students by utilizing a portion of the state funds allocated for that child to follow them to the private or public school of their choice, and family income must fall below 150% of the Federal free and reduced lunch maximums. ISI has the option to accept SGO scholarships while electing to not accept Voucher Scholarships. The two scholarships are separate programs and have separate guidelines.

The ISI-SGO Scholarship is not just for new students or Kindergartners.

Any student attending ISI can receive an ISI-SGO scholarship as long as they meet the program guidelines.

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