In August 2017, with bipartisan support, the House and Senate passed a comprehensive education funding bill that was signed into law by the governor. The law includes a provision for tax credit scholarships, which provide strong incentives for donors to support non-public school scholarships for low-income students in the state. Illinois students from low-income families may use these new scholarships to attend a non-public school of their choice.


This legislation represents a major step forward that will help create more equity in school funding throughout Illinois, and for the first time provide real school choice for students and their families.

What is a Tax Credit Scholarship Program?


A Tax Credit Scholarship Program allows taxpayers – individuals, corporations, partnerships or trusts – to donate to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO) and receive a credit on their state taxes in return. Montini Catholic High School will utilize the SGO entitled Empower Illinois. Empower Illinois will then use the donations to grant scholarships to qualifying students to attend a qualifying nonpublic school. However, we are asking donors to designate Montini Catholic when submitting your application for donation to the State of Illinois. This insures that your tax credit donation will provide financial assistance to a Montini Catholic student. 

Who can support the Tax Credit Scholarship Program?


Corporate and individual Montini Catholic donors as well as incoming and current families are eligible to participate in this new program from the State of Illinois and support Montini Catholic by selecting the proper designations on their applications.


  • Corporate donors will need to designate Region II, of which Montini Catholic is a member, on their application form.
  • Individual donors will need to designate Montini Catholic/Region II on their application form.
  • Donor FAQs
  • Step by Step Instructions

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact Kevin Beirne, President, at kbeirne@montini.org.

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