Why Give to the SGO?

Scholarship Granting Organization Makes it Easy to Support Wildcats

 
Through the Saint Ignatius High School Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO), known as the Wildcat Ohio Tax Credit Fund, donors can support the school's mission while earning a tax credit.
 
The SGO provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations up to $750 for an individual and $1,500 for a couple who fills taxes jointly. The funds donated, which usually would be sent to the state as tax payment, are instead redirected to Saint Ignatius or The Welsh Academy.
 
Jim Woidke '81 and his wife Claire donated to the SGO in 2022, its inaugural year. "It's an opportunity to help schools relieve their burden," says Jim. "It's almost a no-brainer." According to the Ohio Attorney General's Office, a tax credit is available under the Ohio Revised Code for qualified donations to scholarship-granting organizations, typically nonprofit or religious organizations. Clicking a link on the school's website will take donors to the SGO page, and after filling out the required fields, the donation is secured. At the end of the year, the school will send the donor a form detailing the contribution to be included in a tax filing.
 
"It seemed too good to be true, so people were hesitant," says Claire. "But donating is clean, direct and obvious." Jim emphasizes that it truly is a dollar-for-dollar match. "If you're going to donate to the school anyway, there's no need to decrease the amount you give," he says. "This is additional. It is another opportunity for funds to be directed to the school."

Last year, the Woidkes donated $1,500 through the SGO and plan to give another $750 this year. The couple has two Wildcat alumni and a daughter who attended Magnificat High School.
 
Jim says the Woidke children also donated to the SGOs at their respective alma maters. The family has a connection to the school and to Jesuit education. Claire graduated from St. Joseph Academy, Georgetown University and worked in the Saint Ignatius High School principal's office for years. "Since 1931, a member of my family has been a student at Saint Ignatius," says Claire. "The mission of the Jesuits in the world means everything to us, and there's no place we'd rather send our money."