We invite you to consider a donation to Summit’s STO for the 2021 tax year. The legislature voted to increase the credit percentage from 65% to 75% retroactive to 1/1/2021. This means all donations receive a 75% Iowa tax credit for 2021 and beyond.

Summit Schools, together with Scattergood Friends School, is part of the Independent School Association of Eastern Iowa School Tuition Organization, Inc. (EISTO). Our STO (student tuition organization) enables us to provide funding to eligible families whose income during the calendar year does not exceed an amount equal to three times the most recently published federal poverty guidelines so that their children can attend Summit.

Our STO is a 501(c)3 organization formed to help these families who seek a private education for their children that otherwise may be financially out of reach. As such, STOs are charitable organizations created to receive cash contributions from individual Iowa tax payers, and then allocate those funds to eligible families who attend accredited non-public schools represented by the STO. This video explains more about STO. (Please note that the video hasn’t been updated from the 65% tax credit to 75% yet.)

If you or anyone you know is in the 37 percentile Federal Tax bracket and are seeking Iowa Income Tax credits or a Federal Income Tax deduction, this may be the perfect opportunity!

Here is an example of what a donation to Summit’s EISTO can do for you:

$10,000 donation to Summit’s EISTO $10,000
Iowa Income Tax Savings (75% credit) $7,500
Federal Income Tax Savings $925
Tax Savings for Donor $8,425
Donor Cost $1,575

 

Compared with a donation directly to Summit:

$10,000 charitable donation to Summit $10,000
Value of Federal donation at 37% tax bracket $3,700
Value of IA donation at 8.53% tax bracket $850
Tax Savings for Donor $4,550
Donor Cost $5,450

We recommend that you consult your tax advisor to see if this opportunity would be beneficial to you. The accountant who manages our EISTO, Kirt Norris, would be willing to talk to you or your tax advisor to assist with any questions should you be interested. 

We are currently working to fulfill our EISTO funds for the 2021 calendar year and have just over $74,000 to raise.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity, please contact Larisa Bickel, Chris Graw or Paly Afridi ASAP. Donations will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Donations need to be made by December 31, 2021. Any amount would be greatly appreciated, and allows Summit and Scattergood the accessibility for students who otherwise couldn’t afford the schools. Thanks for your consideration!

Sincerely,
Larisa Bickel, Summit Director of Business & Operations
Chris Graw, Summit Board Past President
Paly Afridi, Summit Board President

Eastern Iowa School Tuition Organization, Inc. Board members:

John Huiskamp, President
John Zimmerman, Vice President
Kim Jones, Secretary
Kirt Norris, Treasurer
Larisa Bickel
Lisa Wiebenga
Bob Winkleblack