Ignite the Future!
The Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit passed by Congress in July 2025 offers a powerful way to support Gross Catholic while directly offsetting your federal tax bill. Through this initiative, individual taxpayers can direct up to $1,700 of their federal income taxes toward need-based scholarships at K-12 schools, ensuring a high-quality Catholic education at Gross Catholic is accessible to more families.
Gross Catholic is joining forces with Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska (OSN) to maximize the impact for our students. Gross Catholic is launching the Ignite the Future effort to raise up to $2.0 million to support students and families seeking a Catholic, Marianist education. Our goal is for 1,200 families to contribute to OSN and designate Gross Catholic as their school to support.
How does the Education Freedom Tax Credit work?
Using the EFTC, a taxpayer can receive a tax credit of up to $1,700 for contributions made to a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO), like OSN. A tax credit reduces the amount of Federal income tax owed dollar-for-dollar. This differs from a tax deduction that just decreases your taxable income. This tax credit is available to any individual who is a citizen or resident of one of the fifty states or District of Columbia and makes a qualified contribution to an SGO during the 2027 taxable year.
Who can Claim the Federal Income Tax Credit?
An individual who is a citizen of one of the fifty states or the District of Columbia may claim the credit if they make a qualifying charitable contribution to an SGO like OSN for the 2027 taxable year. OSN will then use the contributions to fund scholarships for eligible students.
Can I use my contributions to help students at Gross Catholic?
With OSN, you will be able to designate a portion of your contribution to benefit kids who choose Gross Catholic. You are not able to designate a specific student to receive your contribution.
Which students qualify for scholarships through the Education Freedom Tax Credit?
An eligible student who qualifies for a scholarship through the EFTC is one who can enroll in a public K-12 school and is from a household with income not greater than 300% of the median gross income for the Omaha area. Practically, that means most Nebraska students will be eligible to apply for an Education Freedom Scholarship.
Questions!
If you have any questions or want to learn more about this amazing opportunity, please contact our VP of Advancement, Mark McNamara, at 402-734-2000 or mmcnamara@gcgmail.org.