Consistent with Arizona law, the independent CPA audit of ACSTO’s financial records is filed annually with the Arizona Department of Revenue effective 2011.

The goal of ACSTO is to further Christian based education by effectively implementing the provisions of the Arizona Private School Tax Credit Law, A.R.S. Section 43-1089 for the benefit of Christian school students and their families.

Through outreach to the Christian community with the help of churches, companies, families, and Christian schools, ACSTO is committed to providing all parties with the information they need to be able to participate in this program so that Christian education can become a reality for as many Arizona students as possible. Appropriate contact through phone calls, mailings, and emails help to drive donations to our organization, as well as ensure that there are students available to receive scholarships.

ACSTO relies upon donors to achieve the goal of providing Arizona students with school choice. Since our inception in 1998, we have awarded more than $86 million to help families pay their student’s Christian school tuition. Statewide, more than 100 schools work with ACSTO to promote and implement the tax credit law. ACSTO also works with donors to take advantage of their company’s matching gift programs, which helps increase the impact we can have.

ACSTO is dedicated to promptly and efficiently turn a donor’s donation into tuition for a student at a Christian school. Our selection committees meet three times per year (June, October, and March) to decide on and make awards to students who have current applications on file with ACSTO. ACSTO works closely with parents and schools to ensure that families have as many opportunities to apply for scholarships as possible.

ACSTO regularly monitors annual giving, scholarships awarded, and trends therein to ensure that students are receiving scholarships in the most efficient way possible. Through accurate and frequent reporting, ACSTO is able to determine whether donations are up or down, whether applications for scholarships are up or down, and what steps need to be taken to consistently improve performance. ACSTO also provides detailed reports as required by the ADOR reflecting donation and scholarship information.

ACSTO has awarded more than 90% of its donations received as scholarships although the requirement is to award at least 90%. The total awards exceed $86 million to more than 19,000 students. The tax credit law, enacted in 1997, did not specify any particular demographic for who should receive scholarships.  However, ACSTO has awarded a majority of its scholarship dollars to students who would meet the means test found in the 2006 corporate scholarship tax credit law.