Schools

Important information for schools regarding EITC scholarships

Non-public school principals, or other administrative staff, may request that eligible families with children currently attending their schools be considered for EITC scholarships through the Bridge Educational Foundation using the school official request letter template below.

This request is on behalf of the entire community of families that attend the school. This type of request is accepted year-round. Please read over our Policies and Procedures carefully before submitting your school official request letter to Bridge.

There are two EITC scholarship Programs within our Foundation: Pre-Kindergarten and K-12. Please designate which Program you are requesting tuition assistance for on the request template.

Upon receipt of the completed Request Statement, Bridge will add your request to our list. As scholarship funds become available, we will notify our Scholarship Approval Committee of your request. At that time, the Committee will review your request and determine if scholarship funds will be made available.

Please remember that your school request letter will only serve as a request for EITC scholarship assistance for the corresponding school year. If the Committee determines an award amount for your families, Bridge will contact you to begin the application process. Please note that donations come to Bridge year-round, so we are unable to predict if and when we will have an answer to your request. We will call you if we are able to assist with EITC scholarships.

Forms

Policies and Procedures

School Request Statement Template

Scholarship FAQs for School Officials

Does the Bridge Educational Foundation charge an application fee?

The Bridge Educational Foundation does not charge the scholarship families an application fee.

Is the Bridge Educational Foundation scholarship application for families available on your website?

Can my school send in a request for OSTC scholarships?

The Bridge Educational Foundation does not accept requests from schools for OSTC scholarships.  The Foundation only maintains a Request List for EITC scholarships for schools that sent in the school official request letter.

Does the student have to be a resident of Pennsylvania to apply for a scholarship?

Yes. Eligible students are school age residents of Pennsylvania and enrolled in a school located in the Commonwealth.

What are the income guidelines that qualify a family for EITC tuition assistance?

The student must be a member of a household with an annual household income of no more than $90,000, except that an additional income allowance of $15,842 is permitted for the student and for each other dependent (as defined by the IRS) living within the same household.

EITC Income Guidelines

Number of
Dependents		 Maximum AGI
0 dependents $90,000
1 dependent $105,842
2 dependents $121,684
3 dependents $137,526
4 dependents $153,368
5 dependents $169,210

Is there any other avenue I can explore to obtain scholarships for my students?

Please take the time to visit The Department of Community and Economic Development’s homepage. It provides information on the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program and other scholarship organizations that work within the EITC Program. Under the topic of EITC, there is a form that you can download called Scholarship Organization List that will list all of the other organizations that may be able to assist your family.

What is the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) Program?

The OSTC scholarships are targeted to help students who reside in the attendance boundaries of Pennsylvania’s lowest performing public schools.  OSTC scholarship recipients must be 1) Income-qualified with the same criteria as the EITC Program. 2) Students must reside in the attendance boundary of a Pennsylvania school with test scores in the bottom 15%, as listed annually by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. 3) Students must be enrolled in a school that is eligible to receive OSTC scholarship students. 4) Students who previously received an OSTC scholarship are given first preference for additional scholarships. 

The Bridge Educational Foundation does not accept requests from schools or families for OSTC scholarships.