FAQ

Yes! We realize this program sounds too good to be true, and we have thoroughly vetted the program with regional experts in education, civics, and government. This is truly a rare and genuine opportunity to support the ministry of The Garden Christian Academy at little or no cost to you (or to other people you know).

Yes, OCEN SGO is certified by the Ohio Attorney General. A list of certified and state-approved scholarship granting organizations can be viewed on the Ohio Attorney General’s website.

Section 5747.73 of the Ohio Revised Code sanctions tax-credit donations to scholarship-granting organizations.

The easiest way to predict your Ohio income-tax liability is to reference your most recent state income-tax return, specifically page 2, line 13 of the form titled  “Ohio IT 1040” (view example forms here: 2023, 2022, 2021). If your financial circumstances haven’t changed much in the past year, use this number as a dependable guide.

Another guide is your annual income. Everybody’s situation is different, but here are the Ohio Department of Taxation’s individual income-tax brackets for taxable years beginning in 2024:

Ohio taxable income Tax calculation
$0 – $26,050 → 0%
$26,051 – $100,000 → $360.69 + 2.75% on income exceeding $26,050
More than $100,000 → $2,394.32 + 3.50% on income exceeding $100,000

Based on these numbers, the following  estimates an be assumed:

Ohio taxable income Tax calculation
$40,210 → $750.09
$67,500 → $1500.57

To support even clearer decision-making for those who wish to participate, please make use of the tax-liability calculator on the Instructions page.

Yes, absolutely. Donors can give as much or as little as they want via the OCEN SGO. The guaranteed amount refundable or recoupable, however, per the key tax credit component of this program is limited to $750 for individuals and $1,500 for couples. GCA recommends any gifts in excess of those maximum limits be contributed directly to the school (rather than through the SGO) and is grateful for gifts of any amount.

Donors may choose whether to give in increments or to give once per year. From the OCEN SGO webpage, donors can choose to schedule their gift as either a “one-time” gift or a “monthly” recurring gift.

Recurring giving, annually totaling the maximum remittable gift amount, is encouraged. If a donor chooses recurring giving, s/he can be assured that each year, his/her maximum remittable gift ($750 for individuals, $1,500 for couples filling jointly) will be awarded after filing annual taxes.

A tax credit is advantageous as compared to a tax deduction because a tax credit directly offsets and lowers the amount of a taxpayer’s actual tax bill due, whereas a tax deduction reduces the amount of total income used in the calculation of the actual tax bill due.

Yes, you’re still eligible to participate!

Most pay taxes to the state through estimated deductions from their paycheck. If you paid too much during the year, you receive a refund. If you didn’t pay enough, you will owe more at tax time. It is not these amounts which determine whether you can make a fully refundable gift via the OCEN SGO. Rather, what matters is your actual tax liability—which can be found on page 2, line 13 of the Ohio IT 1040 form.

For example, let’s say when it’s time to file your annual taxes, it turns out you’ve overpaid Ohio and are owed $1,000 by the state. Assuming that your actual tax liability (found on page 2, line 13 of the Ohio IT 1040 form) is $750 or more, you could make a gift of $750 to the OCEN SGO and, after filing your taxes, you’ll receive a check for $1,750 dollars from the state!

Conversely, let’s say when its time to file your annual taxes, it turns out you’ve underpaid Ohio and you owe the state $1,000. You could make a gift of $750 to the OCEN SGO and then your debt to the state would be reduced to only $250!

If your actual tax liability is less than $750 (or less than $1,500 in the case of couples filing jointly), then you can still make a gift commensurate with this number. For example, let’s say you are a single person and your tax liability to the state of Ohio is only $500. You are free to give a gift of $500 via the OCEN SGO and be confident that this money will be refunded, dollar for dollar! Likewise, let’s say you are a couple filing jointly and your tax liability to the state is only $1,000. You are free to give a gift of $1,000 via the OCEN SGO and be confident that this money will be refunded, dollar for dollar!

We rejoice that Christian education, regardless of which school, can flourish in Ohio! It’s important to note that donors are free to give multiple gifts to multiple schools, so long as the maximum-gift limit is not exceeded. For example, an individual donor could give a $375 gift to GCA and another $375 gift to another school of his/her choosing, totaling $750. Likewise, a couple filing jointly could give a gift of $750 to GCA and a $750 gift to another school of their choosing, totaling $1,500.

This question has a short and a long answer. The short is no, not necessarily, and remember that the SGO program is ratified by the Ohio General Assembly and thus sanctioned by Ohio law. Proponents and opponents of tax credits for non-government schools are encouraged to advance their arguments for and against such legislation, but it should be clearly understood that this program operates in full compliance with the law of the land.

The long answer assumes something fundamental about education. Namely, that all schools are religious schools. In other words, there is no such thing as a school that does not transmit specific norms, values, ethics, axioms, ideals, affections, and more to its students. Schools are institutions of human formation in which students are enculturated. Schools cannot be regarded as religiously or ideologically neutral, for moral and normative values are fundamentally religious—and every school advocates some version of them. By way of example, students exit government schools with strong notions of the wrongness of oppression and the rightness of social justice. Moreover, students assimilate a sense of which systems and structures of power are guilty of propagating injustice, which groups are regularly the victims of injustice, and how one can and ought to serve as an ally to victimized groups. Many more examples could be referenced, but all of this begs the question: Why should government schools be afforded a privileged legal position to ideologically form students, while religious schools are excluded?

We also readily acknowledge and remind ourselves that the state government, in its most ideal and pure form, promotes legislation state-wide to promote good and virtuous behavior, to the benefit of our entire society, even inasmuch as public policy relates to tax credits, as it does so in this instance. As such, the state finds it worthy to incentivize financial support of this kind and we condone that position, recognizing as the state does that by virtue of this tax credit incentive more gross revenue will be generated with the program than without it, which is something that benefits schools of every kind across the state. In general, cultivating greater levels of charity and philanthropy is truly good for all involved.

Gifts to the OCEN SGO can be made year-round. Note that, for individuals, a maximum of $750 can be given per tax year. For couples filing jointly, a maximum of $1,500 can be given per tax year.

Yes. The tax credit is on a per-individual taxpayer basis. Married couples can receive two separate $750-deductions, totaling $1,500. To receive the maximum credit, spouses must list both of their names on the donation form so that a gift over $750 can be split between them.

No such program is planned at this time, but a future program is possible.

Please submit your question via the help page and GCA administration will be glad to help you. Moreover, you are invited to share your questions about this program with Jennifer Figueroa Branch, the school’s Operations Manager & Director of Admissions (216-352-3408) or with Matt LaFleur, the school’s Certified Public Accountant (440-225-2543).