Apogee Scholarship Fund
WHAT IS APOGEE?
Would you like to decide how your Georgia tax dollars are used? Terra School at Serenbe continues to partner with Apogee Georgia School Choice Scholarship Fund, a state-approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit SSO (Student Scholarship Organization) that provides private schools with financial aid funding.
Through this partnership, you can contribute to Apogee and receive a dollar-for-dollar credit on your Georgia State Taxes while providing financial aid for eligible K-12 students to attend Terra School at Serenbe. Apogee is an independent fund for private schools and does not impact public school funding. Signing up takes only a few minutes, and we are here to help!
Thank you to all who supported our immensely successful 2023 campaign. Terra was able to provide over $500,000 in financial aid to 2024 Apogee recipients! On the ground, these scholarships made it possible for our school to connect with 48 students and their families, providing resources needed for them to join Terra and for the mutual benefit among all students and families of getting to learn and be in community with more of our amazing neighbors.
This year, our goal is to reach $1,000,000 in Apogee designations. Due to the success of this program statewide, Georgia is currently awarding schools approximately 50% of what they receive in designations, so helping us reach this goal is key! By allocating your Georgia tax liability to the Apogee Fund, you can help Terra continue to provide critical financial aid to our Apogee families.
For questions regarding the Terra at Serenbe Apogee Fund,
please reach out to
fundraisingcommittee@terraatserenbe.org
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Before December 15th, pre-register here. In less than 10 minutes, you can complete and submit the application, which includes designating Terra School at Serenbe as the recipient school. You will electronically sign and submit the required Georgia Form IT-QEE-TPI (the Qualified Education Expense Credit Pre-approval Form).
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Once submitted, Apogee will pre-verify your taxpayer information with the Department of Revenue for accuracy. Assuming everything is good to go, Apogee will submit your taxpayer information to the DOR on the first business day of 2025. The DOR will mail you a copy of your approval letter in mid-January 2025. Apogee will email you correspondence related to your approved amount, due date, and payment instructions around this time as well.
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From the date of the approval letter, you will have 60 days to fund your approved tax credit amount. A member of the fundraising committee will also reach out with a reminder. You can make your payment of choice (up to the outlined maximums allowed) by check or credit card to Apogee.
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Once your contribution is received, you will receive documentation that you are eligible for a tax credit against your Georgia state taxes in the same amount for the current tax year (e.g. the contribution you make in 2025 will go toward your 2025 tax return filed by April 2026.)
Begin Your Donation to the Apogee Scholarship Fund
for Terra School at Serenbe
Other Helpful Information and F.A.Q.
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The more funds we receive from this program, the more Financial Aid we can offer students applying to certain programs. It’s a win-win in this regard. More students benefit from a Terra School education and our enrollment increases, the learning groups in the classrooms grow and additional revenue fuels the classrooms.
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You may contribute any amount up to these limits:
Married Filing Jointly: Maximum of $5,000
Individual Filer: Maximum of $2,500
Married Filing Separately: Maximum of $2,500
LLC Partners/Individuals who receive pass-through income: Up to $25,000
S-Corps & C-Corps: Up to 75% of GA tax liability
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This is a “first-come, first-served” program. The State has placed a yearly cap on the amount of credit available at $120 million. That means that every school, taxpayer, and corporation in GA is drawing from the same exact pool of credits. Once the funds are depleted, you will have to wait until the next tax year to participate in the program. Once the funds are deposited, they are immediately available to help families seeking to attend Terra at Serenbe, but otherwise couldn’t afford it.
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Yes. A tax credit is more beneficial to the taxpayer than a strict deduction, because it reduces your tax burden dollar-for-dollar while a deduction reduces the amount of taxable income on which your tax burden is calculated. As a reminder, the dollar-for-dollar credit is for your Georgia state taxes.
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You may donate any amount up to the limits allowed: $5,000 for a married couple filing together, $2,500 for married people filing separately, and $2,500 for those filing individually. Your GA tax liability is typically 5.75% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). You can also look at Line 18 of your GA tax return (Form 500) to learn your GA tax liability.
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Yes! Your estimated payments are only an estimate of your total tax liability divided into four payments. This is a great opportunity to use those funds to support education instead of paying that portion of estimated taxes. Ask your accountant to reduce your quarterly estimated tax payment by the amount of your contribution, which will reduce each of your quarterly payments by 25% of the amount you intend to contribute.
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The tax credit is a “non-refundable” credit. That simply means that you cannot receive a refund for any more than your GA tax liability. Any excess credit beyond your tax liability can be carried forward for up to 5 years.
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