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December 10, 2004/Kislev 27 5765, Vol. 57, No.15
STO deadline looms
STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer
The Dec. 31 deadline for contributing to the Jewish Day School Scholarship Fund is fast approaching, and Mark Schwartz, chairman of the Scholarship Tuition Organization, is pleased with progress so far.
"I think the STO is in an excellent position," he said.
The funds, generated through state school-tax credits to the Jewish community's STO, help families who wish to send their children to a Jewish day school and may not be able to afford it otherwise.
Distributions for the 2004-2005 year were up 18 percent, giving $1.13 million in scholarship funds to about 280 students attending seven participating Jewish day schools and kindergartens in the Valley.
"Last year, we spent the entire year working on structure," Schwartz said. A criteria and protocol committee was created to help identify the needs of the community and determine how to allot funds to those in need.
Other committees, such as legal and legislative and CPA committees, were formed to aid in the process.
"We made the determination that we would be the squeakiest cleanest STO around," Schwartz said.
Marketing of the STO was another big advancement. That effort focused on getting the word out to the various Jewish communities throughout the Valley.
"I'm very proud of what we as an organization did last year," Schwartz said. He added that almost half of the children that attend Jewish day schools are there because of scholarship dollars.
"It's those dollars that are being used to place those kids in those schools," he said.
Last year's progress will help this year. The processes set in place were created in a way that would allow for improvement, something Schwartz hopes to continue this year.
One of the first issues was the STO's dependence on the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix. The STO does not have a typical board of directors, so the federation handled a lot of the work.
But this year, a new program is in place to help alleviate that burden on the federation. The liaison program is designed to coordinate all marketing efforts within the community.
The criteria committee will also decide if last year's requirements still meet the needs this year.
Over the summer, the STO developed a cash-management program that Schwartz believes will also bring more funds to the organization.
All the funds for the 2005-2006 grant cycle must be received by Dec. 31. But none of that money will go anywhere until September, when the scholarships are granted. The plan will help to increase the funds, as well as keep track of where the money is going.
"We're able to put funds into longer-term investments so we can earn almost three times the interest," Schwartz said. This could provide about three more scholarships.
Schwartz won't know how much money he's dealing with until around Jan. 7.
"Once we know that, we'll start the process of how to distribute the dollars," he said. The goal for the year is to raise $2 million, of which the STO is required to pay out 90 percent in scholarships.
Anyone can contribute to the scholarship program, and any contribution can be applied as a tax credit towards state income tax. A single individual can claim up to $500, while a married couple can claim up to $625.
Other income tax credits for education are also available. Gan Yeladeem: The Looking Glass School participated in the extracurricular tax credit, which allows for up to $200 if single and $250 if married in tax credits.
For more information about the tax credit, visit www.jewishtaxcredit.org. The Web site also has links to find out about other tax credits.
Contact the writer here
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