that may not otherwise have afforded access to Christian
schooling are now able to provide their children an educa-
tion founded on biblical principles.
Grass Root Efforts
the Virginia Tax Credit Scholarship program, we had not
even heard of it, but after doing some [due] diligence, we
discovered that this is an excellent tax planning tool that we
now encourage all of our clients to consider and a great way
to leverage your giving dollars as a Kingdom impact invest-
ment in our children.”
Studies are indicating that these types of tax incentive
programs are opportunities for states to greatly reduce
the cost incurred by educational obligations as “the tax
credit given is less than [the] per-pupil amount the state
would spend on a student in a traditional public school”
promoting prudent use of tax resources utilized for educa-
tional funding. 3 In Virginia, for the years of 2014-2015,
“the average scholarship size was $2,535 per child—[this]
eliminated state expenses of $5,052 per pupil. This means
the state will “profit” from the tax credit—to the tune of
$2,945,949 for just 1,368 scholarships.” 4 Although this
transference in state ideology seems to be driven by the
onus of budgetary considerations, this shift corresponds
with an overwhelming sentiment from families requesting
opportunities for affordable access to a Christian educa-
tion. Through substantial cost saving opportunities, many
Although these options are becoming more recognized, the
battle for access and choice are far from over. We must rein-
force and strengthen support for these programs to continue
intersecting significant monetary savings with valuable
scholarship funding for those seeking education based on
biblical principles. In those states that currently have not
enacted this type of legislation, two components are crucial
to the advancement of educational choice: contacting your
legislative Representatives and private organizations in
support of faith-based educational choice. The Heritage
Foundation (heritage.org) and the Thomas Jefferson Insti-
tute for Public Policy (thomasjeffersoninst.org) are two
organizations advocating for educational choices.
Specific ways that have proven most effective to gain
support have been generated by direct telephone contact
with the legislative office in the district that you reside.
Another practice found successful in gaining legislative
cooperation are attending town hall meetings held in your
voting district and inviting others that support and share an
affinity for advancing affordable choice to education.
A small investment of time is an opportunity to develop
the next generation of leaders founded on biblical principles.
States adopting these fiscally responsible programs will
realize the effects of more money saved and countless lives
changed. For more information or examples on the powerful
effectiveness of these programs, please contact Renewana-
tion at renewanation.org or 1-855-TO-RENEW.
Curtis Cornell is Director of Scholarship Development for Rene-
wanation. He has more than 20 years experience in the health-
care and sales industry and holds a Bachelor of Science degree
in Political Science from Radford University and a Master of Sci-
ence degree from Jefferson College of Health Sciences. Curtis
and his wife, Brandi, reside in Hardy, VA and are the proud
parents of one daughter, Ashtyn.
FOOTNOTES
1. “Scholarship Tax Credits,” National Conference of State Legislatures, http://
www.ncsl.org/research/education/school-choice-scholarship-tax-credits.aspx.
2. “School Choice in America Dashboard,” EdChoice, https://www.edchoice.
org/school-choice/school-choice-in-america/#.
3. “What Are Tax Credit Scholarships?” Empower Mississippi, http://empow-
erms.org/tax-credit-scholarships.
4. Christian N. Braunlich, The Virginia Education Improvement Scholarship Tax
Credit: Helping Children, Saving Tax Dollars, The Center for Legislative Analysis,
2016, p 3. http://www.thomasjeffersoninst.org/files/3/EITC%20Fiscal%20Ef-
fects%20Paper%202016.pdf.
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